ZANT NEWS Z OROASTRIAN C ALENDAR. 11/27-12/1 Maidyoshem Gh (S) 12/21 Shab-e Yalda (F) 12/26 Zarthosht-no Diso (F) 12/31-1/4 Maidyarem Gh (F)

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1 ZANT NEWS A Publication of Zoroastrian Association of North Texas December 2010 ZANT E ZANT EVENTS 12/12 Children/Youth religious class 12/18-12/19 Yalda 12/26 Dar Go-zasht e Ashu Zartosht/Zartosht no-diso 01/08/11 Adult Cooking Class 01/23/11 Woodworking Class Z OROASTRIAN C ALENDAR 11/27-12/1 Maidyoshem Gh (S) 12/21 Shab-e Yalda (F) 12/26 Zarthosht-no Diso (F) 12/31-1/4 Maidyarem Gh (F) INSIDE THIS ISSUE Upcoming Events 2 Past Events 4 Kid s & Youth Corner 6 Building Update 7 Treasurer s Corner 8-9 Global Happenings 10 MESSAGE FROM THE ZANT PRESIDENT Dear ZANT Community Members, At this time of year we look forward to the festive season and the end of the year. It has been a very eventful year in ZANT and we give our thanks for the realization of a dream and the creation of the center - the foundation on which this community and our kids can grow. We give thanks to the amazing efforts of so many of our community members that have given in spirit, effort and financially this year to promote our initiatives. The Board is pleased to announce the tentative date for the formal opening ceremony on May 7, 2011 and further details will be shared in the coming months. As we finalize our fund raising efforts for this phase of the capital campaign, we are encouraging contributions until Jan 15, 2011, after which we will close the campaign and finalize our donor lists. Various committees continue to work towards developing policies and procedures for the center operations that will be proposed to the community at the upcoming general body meeting. Also, we encourage all to participate in the North American Zoroastrian Congress being held in Houston on Dec 29 31, which is a good opportunity to participate in various educational and cultural activities. Wishing all of you a safe and happy holiday season! ZANT President BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Vice President Treasurer Secretary Social Director Director Director Zal Parakh Saghar Behroozi Pearl P. Balsara Khurshid Jamadar Delnaaz Irani Afsaneh Samiya Boman Godiwalla Mailing Address: P.O. Box Flower Mound, TX ZANT Center: 1605 Lopo Road Flower Mound, TX We welcome and encourage feedback from our community. Please send comments or suggestions to president@zant.org or mail to ZANT, P.O. Box , Flower Mound, TX ZANT News - Dec

2 UPCOMING EVENTS CHILDREN AND TEEN RELIGIOUS CLASS When: Sunday December 12, 2010 Time: 11:30am Where: Balsara Residence ADULT COOKING CLASS When: Saturday January 8, 2011 Time: 11am 3pm Where: Behroozi Residence The next religious class is held on Sunday December 12, All interested are requested to attend a short meeting at 12:30, after the religious class, to brainstorm ideas for kids & adult performance at the upcoming Navroz Function. For further details, please contact Pearl Balsara. YALDA CELEBRATION When: Saturday December 18-19, 2010 Time: 9pm for dinner, 10:30pm for Yalda Celebration Where: Patel Residence This year ZANT would like to invite all to join in the celebration of Yalda on Saturday, December 19th. We will begin the evening with dinner at 9pm at the Grand Chinese Buffet, 2390 E. Lamar Blvd., Arlington, TX 76006, (817) Yalda celebration will start at 10:30pm at the Patel s residence. Please RSVP to Delnaaz Irani by December 15th if you are attending and are planning to join for dinner. For further detail, please refer to page 3 of this newsletter. Please come and join us for a fun cooking class at the Behroozi s residence. Ruth-Dinaz Sarkari and Dhun Daniels will be teaching Bacon & Egg Pie and Pineapple Bread Pudding. In addition other volunteers (to be announced) will be teaching Fesenjan, an Iranian dish made of chicken, walnut and pomegranate paste, and Rice (Iranian style) and a vegetarian dish. No need to bring anything, just attend and enjoy interacting with a group of enthusiastic cooks. The written instructions for each recipe will be provided. Please RSVP with Saghar Behroozi by Wednesday January 5, WOODWORKING CLASS When: Sunday January 23, 2011 Time: 11am-1pm Where: Tengra Residence Teens and Youth, come and join us for a fun woodworking class, taught by Pheroz Tengra. These classes will be held on the last Sunday of every month. Please RSVP Saghar Behroozi by January 20, DAR GO-ZASHT E ASHU ZARTOSHT/ ZARTOSHT NO-DISO When: Sunday December 26, 2010 Time: 4pm Where: Rustomji Residence Please join us for Jashan prayers at 4 pm. Please bring a dish of your choice which does not require heating to share after the prayers. Please RSVP with Delnaaz Irani. JASHN-E SADEH When: Saturday January 29, 2011 Time: 6-9pm Where: Star Creek Pavilion 2110 Star Creek Parkway Allen, TX Please come and join us to celebrate 50 days and 50 nights until Norouz! And the celebration of the discovery of Fire. Please bring a dish to share. ZANT News - Dec

3 QUICK POINTS The tentative date for ZANT center opening ceremony is Saturday May 7, The deadline for ZANT Building Fund contributions for donation recognition plaques is January 15, ZANT Membership: Please note that your annual membership terminates on October 31st of each year regardless of the month of the year you become a ZANT member. Please take a few minutes and renew your membership. A membership form is attached. The ZANT board is initiating a directory for members that provide services in the Dallas metroplex area, so we as a community are aware and can avail of these services when needed. Specific details of the program will be included in the upcoming newsletter. Please contact Zal Parakh for questions. ZANT Time Capsule: Deadline for donating items to ZANT Time Capsule is extended to Saturday April 23, Please send all items to Sherazade Mehta. Please note that the source of the Mehregan article in October newsletter and Yalda article in November newsletter was: Chronology and Ancient Iranian Festivals-With The Religious Ceremonies and Customs of The Zarathushtrians (Parses), By: Hashem e Razi YALDA CELEBRATION Shab-e Yalda is a celebration of the Winter Solstice, which is traditionally the longest night of the year. This year ZANT would like to invite all to join in the celebration of Yalda on Saturday, December 18th to the morning of December 19th. The location for this years celebration has been graciously made possible by Arbez and Hoshang Patel. Their house in Arlington will be the overnight gathering spot. In the tradition of Yalda we are asking our participants, young and old alike to bring a poem or short story to share with everyone. If there are those who play a musical instrument that can be brought, please feel free to share your favorite music with us. There are lots of kids activities planned for the night so come prepared to stay up until sunrise on Sunday. We will begin the evening with dinner at 9pm at the Grand Chinese Buffet, 2390 E. Lamar Blvd., Arlington, TX 76006, (817) We request that all interested kindly RSVP with Delnaaz Irani. We can pre-request sitting together at the restaurant. Adults cost will be $12 and children under 10 will be $10. We shall then head to the Patel s house. Our Yalda festivities, which will begin with a prayer shall start at around 10:30 pm. Please bring some snacks to share with all at night, but we request no cake or brownies or just generally messy items for the night. Teens will be collecting can and non-perishable food items for donation. Please RSVP to Delnaaz Irani by December 15th if you are attending and are planning to join for dinner. ZANT ANNUAL CAMPING TRIP ZANT Annual Camping Trip is being held from Friday, April 22 to Sunday, April 24, 2011 at Lake Hugo State Park in Oklahoma. We are happy that all cabins have been taken & we look forward to a fun camping trip! ZANT News - Dec

4 PAST EVENTS Diwali Mela On October 30, 2010, ZANT volunteers joined all celebrating Diwali Mela at the Cotton Bowl and sold Falooda and Chai to raise funds for our organization. We raised approximately $ ZANT would like to thank the following volunteers for donating their time and money to offset the cost of the stall and supplies and helped to sell Chai, and Falooda: Poras & Pearl Balsara, Kamran, Saghar, Aurush, Armand and Autusa Behroozi, Keshvar Buhariwalla, Niloofer & Firdausi Desai, Yazdi, Pooru and Rohan Dustur, Boman Godiwalla, Behram & Farieda Irani, Mahnaz Irani, Spenta, Delnaz, Afshan and Anaiza Irani, Jamshed & Khurshid Jamadar, Rubina and Aryana Jamshidi, Ahneesh Mohanty, Darius, Cyra & Sasha Shroff, and Feroze & Anahita Sidhwa. Adult & Youth Hiking On Sunday November 7th, nine adventurous community members (and Lucky, the athletic dog) joined in a 3&1/2 hour hiking along the Grapevine Lake Trail in the Twin Coves Park. We hope to schedule more hiking due to interest of many people once the weather is more favorable. Please contact Kamran Behroozi if you are interested to join the hiking group. ZANT would like to thank Kamran Behroozi for organizing this event and along with Kambiz Behroozi guiding the hiking group through the beautiful trail on a perfect Fall day Youth Movie Night By Autusa Behroozi On Friday November 18th, eight ZANT teens got together to watch the first part of the 7th Harry Potter movie, The Deathly Hollows, at Cinemark at Vista Ridge Mall in Lewisville. We hope to have even more teens to join us for the part two of this movie.. HELPING HANDS A member of a young Parsi family in their mid forties in the suburb of Denver, Colorado is struck by cancer. Due to the nature of his work, the husband has to travel out of town frequently. This family is currently seeking a PARSI LADY of any age to assist the wife on an as needed basis with cooking Parsi dishes, homemaking, accompanying her during her CHEMO treatments at the hospital and assist after chemotherapy at home, etc. The applicant will be provided with a fully furnished room and monthly remuneration. If you know of any person who can assist this family, please call Jahangir Shroff. A VERSE FROM GATHA Ahnavad Gat, Haat 31, Yasna verse 22 O, Mazda Ahura, the wise and clever man is the person who realizes the truth and is aware of the Lord s Law by His thought. He protects the truth and purity through His spiritual power, and will neither speak nor act except in truth. He shall try his best for the spread of truth. Such a man, O Mazda, shall be faithful to Thee and shall be regarded as worthiest man for helping the people. Source: Gathas, The Holy Songs of Zarathushtra by Mobed Firouz Azargoshasb ZANT News - Dec

5 YOUTH CORNER As a part of community service ZANT has organized a can food drive. Teens will be collecting can food and non-perishable food items for donation to local food pantry. We encourage all to donate generously. The donated items will be collected during Yalda Celebration Night only. The 5th World Zoroastrian Youth Congress will be held from June 30 to July 5, 2011 at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. For more information please refer to the following website or congress2011@shaw.ca. ZANT encourages all the youth to participate in this event. A woodworking class for the teens and youth will beheld on the last Sunday of every month starting January 23rd at Pheroz Tengra's residence. Come and join us to learn about woodworking skills & equipment and how to do some simple and fun projects. Pheroz Tengra will be teaching the class. Only 5-6 participants at a time can be accommodated due to limited space. For questions and to RSVP, please contact Saghar Behroozi. Youths you should know: Anahita Dua is currently a general surgery resident at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She has a great interest in international development and will travel to Haiti this August on a medical mission with the International Medical Relief group to aid individuals affected by the recent earthquake. (Source: FEZANA, Fall/September 2010) Shayan Ushtori, a Sophmore at Firooz Bahram High School in Tehran majoring in mathematics, is a member of Badminton Team of Tehran, Iran. He has won three 3rd place titles in singles and one 3rd place title in doubles Badminton tournament in the city of Tehran. He is now accepted into the Badminton Camp of Tehran with 32 other athletes who will try out for the Iran s National Badminton team. (Source: Amordad An Iranian Cultural Bi-weekly newspaper Mehr Mah 1387 Khorshidi, October 2008) A FAREWELL TO A ZANT FAMILY ZANT would like to wish Behram, Dinaz and Cyrus Contractor all the very best on their move to San Antonio, Texas. Behram Contractor has been a part of ZANT since 2007; Dinaz joined him in 2008 and finally Cyrus came along in 2010! We thank the Contractors for helping out with many ZANT activities and always willing to lend a hand wherever and whenever needed. We will miss them here in Dallas, but we wish them much success in San Antonio as Behram takes up a new role in his job. May they always know that they have a home in Dallas and they are always welcome back. All the very best from the ZANT family CONGRTULATIONS TO OUR MARATHON RUNNER On November 7, 2010, Mahesh Nasta took part in a 26.2 mile marathon in New York. He was amongst 44,000+ athletes who navigated through all the 5 boroughs of New York finishing the course in 4:55...a sub 5 marathon. The men s winner was an Ethiopian runner who finished in 2:08 hours. ZANT congratulates Mahesh Nasta on this remarkable achievement and we hope our youths get inspired by Mahesh s achievements. ZANT News - Dec

6 KIDS CORNER Good Luck to all our kids preparing for their Exams! Exams are knocking at your door Just keep your cool & study hard We are sure all of you will do well All the BEST! Religious Class: At our November class, our little ones went over the significance of the sudreh and kusti again. This time we played a matching game to review the information. The children had to match the parts of the sudreh and kusti to their meaning. They were so good with helping each other find matches and sharing the matches they found, they all got prizes instead of just the winners. Our middle-age group continued their virtual tour of Iran We learnt more about our 3 rd destination - Persepolis - Ceremonial Capital of Persia, founded by King Darius. Using Poras uncle s Persepolis slide-show, we visited and learnt about the.. Tachara the winter Palace of Darius Hadish the Palace of Xerxes Tripylon Xerxes Hall of Audience The Hundred Column Palace also known as Throne Hall The Museum The Treasury November classes had the teen group analyzing the Gathas. We started with the Ahnuavaiti 1, Ha 29. The children dissected the verses to have a better understanding and write in their own words what the section was about. Joke Time (Laugh it increases your face value) Teacher: Can anyone give me the name of a liquid that won't freeze? Pupil: Hot water! Teacher: Does anyone know which month has 28 days? Pupil: All of them! Source: Internet Thoughts for the Month: To accomplish great things, We must not only act, but also dream Not only plan, but also believe! Every sunset gives us one day less to live But every sunrise gives us one more to hope! So, hope for the BEST! Have a determination of a MIRROR It never loses it s ability to reflect Even if it is broken into thousand pieces Source: Internet Children s Religious Class: Our next religious class will be held on Sunday, December 12, 2010 at 11:30 am, at the Balsara Residence. All interested are requested to attend the short meeting at 12:30pm, after the religious class, to brainstorm ideas for kids & adult performance at the upcoming Navroz Function. For further details about the Religious Classes, please contact Pearl Balsara. Hope we see you all at the Yalda celebration! ZANT Center Opening Ceremony Celebration: If your kids/teens are interested in taking part in the ZANT Opening Ceremony Entertainment Program, please or call Sherazade Mehta (sherezadem@yahoo.com) (Kid s Corner logo courtesy of Zoroastrian Studies, India) ZANT News - Dec

7 BUILDING UPDATE In November much progress was made on our ZANT Center. The majority of wood work and other carpentry was completed. Doors were installed. Walls were painted. Electric system was completed and inspected. Exterior was painted. Flower beds were planted outside. Irrigation system was adjusted and inspected. Overall, it was a productive month. As December approaches, we are continuing with much of the interior details and are resolving a few minor issues with the landscaping on the exterior. If all goes smoothly over the next few weeks, by late December we will be installing plumbing and lighting fixtures and preparing the final stages of the finish-out. With the holidays approaching, some of our contractors may be slow to respond, but we are hopeful that any delays will be short. We have conducted a few preliminary walk-throughs with the city inspectors and there do not seem to be any major issues with the construction. We are still targeting to begin the occupancy inspection process in January and do not anticipate any major surprises. With our next newsletter update in January, we are hopeful that the project will be nearing its completion. This is a very exciting time for our community. If you have questions about the building project, please call Jamshed Rivetna. OUR RLIGIOUS CLASS KIDS FIRST PUBLICATION Our ZANT Religious Class kids had written & illustrated a book Creations of Ahura Mazda in March 2009 as their Fundraising effort for the ZANT Center. This literary work included the Amesha Spentas and the Seven Creations, the Zoroastrian Creation story, the 30 days of the Zoroastrian Calendar, and finally a few puzzles and activities to keep the mind sharp in regards to Zoroastrianism. For reading this book online, please visit Please pass this on to your family and friends world-wide & encourage them to contribute to ZANT to show their appreciation. ZANT WISH LIST Thanks to the generosity of many ZANT families most of the items from our wish list have been donated. As we approach the final stages of completion of our Center we have few things remaining that need to be purchased so that we can finish furnishing the Center. Please help us by donating towards these items so that we have all the furnishings ready when the Center is open and we can start using the Center to its fullest capability. 80 $25.00 each 4 rectangular $ each 2 Table trunk stands to stack $ each 2 Basketball hoops $ each (includes installation) ZANT News - Dec

8 DAR GO-ZASHT E ASHU ZARTOSHT/ZARTOSHT NO-DISO On Khayr-Izad Rooz of Day Mah (5 th day of the Day Mah ) Ashu Zarathushtra and seventy two of his friends and companions gathered in Balkh Atash-Kadeh (Agiari). The city of Balkh was the name of present day Ghandehar city in Afghanistan. On this day Ashu Zarthustra recited the following from Hath 53, verse 1, to his friends in Balkh Atashkadeh: Every wish of the prophet Zarathushtra Spitama has been fulfilled in the best possible manner and Ahura mazda, the Lord of Life and Wisdom, has granted him the best blessings, i.e. a happy, prosperous and holy life through all Eternity. Even those who have opposed him have learnt to pay him reverence and follow the good religion in every word and action. As they were praying with their hands raised in prayer, they recited: Oh, Ahura Mazda, keep us away from lies and evil, give us the ability to increase our wisdom and knowledge, help us to conquer our internal and external enemies, and inspire us to renew the world with twice as much capability. During this time Touran and Iran were at war, and on the above day of prayers, while Goshtasb (King of Iran), and his army were out of the city, the Touran Army attacked Balkh Atashkadeh, and killed Ashu Zarathushtra and his friends by stabbing them on the back without any warning. Ashu Zarathushtra s killer, Bar-a-toor, was later seen escaping on his horse. Being born on the 6 th day of Farvardin (first month of Spring), and after 47 years of prophecy, Ashu Zarathushtra was able to guide people to follow the path of Asha and believe in the Omniscient God. Zarathushtra s teachings and doctrine has survived for more than 3400 years, and his teachings are still applicable today. Ashu Zarathushtra wanted a renewed world rich with knowledge, wisdom, peace, reconciliation, & friendship; Many Zoroastrian scholars have lived through history by following this doctrine of renewing the spiritual and material world. Dar Gozasht-e Ashu Zarathushtra is special amongst Zoroastrians all over the world, and on this day, they set aside work to remember their prophet. For the sake of his faravashi s (spirit) happiness, people perform certain rituals; Starting at sunrise on Khayr-Izad Rooz of Day Mah, Zoroastrians visit the cemetery and one can hear the soothing voice of the Mobeds reading prayers throughout the day. To show their unity on this day, Zoroastrians get together to prepare Aash, prepare fresh and dry fruit and help those in need. In Tehran, ladies go to the mabed (Atashkadeh) a week in advance of this day, and volunteer by preparing ingredients ahead of time such as cleaning/washing beans, greens/vegetables, etc. Then on the evening before the actual day of Ashu Zarathushtra s death, they bring all these prepared ingredients plus other items to the cemetery s (ghassrefiroozeh) kitchen, and begin making the Aash as well as baking bread all night long. Then throughout the next day they hand out bowls of Aash and fresh baked bread to all those that have come out to visit their loved ones graves at the. It's a nice way to greet old friends you might have not seen for a while as well as making new acquaintances while enjoying good food and warm tasty bread, and praying for the souls of the deceased. Keeping in mind that Ashu Zarathustra s faravashi looks after us wishing for everlasting laws of righteousness to prevail and wants us all to practice good thoughts, good words, good deeds. Source: Amordad-An Iranian Cultural Bi-Weekly Newspaper Azar Mah 1387 Khorshidi. ZANT News - Dec

9 GLOBAL HAPPENINGS The 5th World Zoroastrian Youth Congress The 5th World Zoroastrian Youth Congress will be held from June 30 to July 5, 2011 at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. For more information please refer to the following website or The Fifteenth North American Zoroastrian Congress The Fifteenth North American Zoroastrian Congress is being held from December 29-31, 2010 at Houston, Texas. Please visit the NAZC website at for more information and to complete the registration form. A Selection of Global Zoroastrian Publications Please let ZANT know if you know of any other global journals. Below please find a list of some of the Global Zoroastrian publications. FEZANA Journal: Published in North America, journal subscription@yahoo.com HAMAZOOR: Published in United Kingdom, Journal of the World Zoroastrian Organization, FRAVAHAR: Published in Tehran/Iran, fravahar2009@yahoo.com AMORDAD: An Iranian Cultural Bi-weekly Newspaper, Published in Tehran/Iran Parsiana: Published in Bombay/India, parsiana@vsnl.net, parsiana@hathway.com Iran Zamin: A publication of The Ancient Iranian Cultural & Religious Research Development Center, North Vancouver, BC, Canada, Payke Mehr: Vancouver, BC, Canada Chehreh Nama: A publication of California Zoroastrian Center, CYPRESS, TREE OF MEHR Cypress tree has a special place in Iranian Culture and is in close relationship with Mehr or Mithra. Several thousands of years ago, ancient Iranians lived in a very close proximity to nature. They observed the sun, the stars, change in day and night, change of season, and planed their daily activities around these natural events. Soon, they discovered the importance of sun and by understanding the natural effects of sun rays they strived to understand the ultimate light, the creator. As a result, they worshiped the light, friendship and kindness, and importance of honoring a treaty which lead to the birth of Mithraism. During first century B.C., Mithraism expanded from Asia to Europe via Romans. Yalda is the celebration of the birth of Mithra (Mehr), and rebirth of the sun. According to Mithraism tradition, Cypress is specific to the Sun and birth of Mehr since it is always green and withstands cold and darkness, and this is why during Yalda, Persians decorated Cypress of Mehr. Amongst Mithra believers, Cypress is the symbol of freedom, righteousness, tall, proud, new, young, sprout, shade, evergreen, and eternal life. The drawings of Cypress is apparent in ancient Iran Archeological findings, in carpet patterns, tile art, Gelim (small carpets), and other Iranian crafts. Cypress was a permanent and long term member of Persian gardens and Sarv-e Naz (Pretty Cypress) is a Persian name. One of the oldest Cypress trees in Iran is Sarv-e Kashmar which according to some was planted by Zarthushtra. The oldest Cypress tree in the world is several thousands of years old and is in Abr Kooh in city of Yazd. (Source: The Zoroastrian Journal, Fall 2010) ZANT News - Dec

10 ZANT NEWS A Publication of Zoroastrian Association of North Texas December 2010 Keep this stub Please detach and return this side Accept my contribution of: for your records. with your contribution payable to: ZANT" and mail to: ( ) $10 ( ) $20 ( ) $30 ( ) $40 ( ) $50 ( ) $ To: ZANT ZANT Treasurer P.O. Box For: Check # Flower Mound, Texas Date ( ) General Fund ( ) Building Fund Amount $ ( ) Other ( ) Newsletter FROM: Without a sense of caring, there can be no sense of community. Help us pass on the good religion to future generations. ZANT P.O. Box Flower Mound, Texas ZANT NEWS To: ZANT News - Dec