Ceremonial Settings

Sofreh is a cotton cloth, often embroidered with prayers and poems that is spread over a Persian carpet or a table, and on which dishes of food are placed for a meal. Sofreh can also refers to the ceremony for which a sofreh is prepared. It serves as a ceremonial or religious setting on which various symbolic elements are displayed and from which food is served.

Sofrehs are divided into three kinds: the “presentational sofreh,” such as the Nowruz setting, Sofreh-ye haft seen; the “votive sofreh,” nazr, where a promise is made to God to organize a sofreh in return for fulfilling a request; and the “sofreh of thanks,” when the supplicant’s request has been fulfilled.