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Iranian New Year
(Nowruz)
The greatest Iranian holiday, Nowruz (literally “new day”), is
celebrated on March 20 or 21 and commemorates the entrance of the
sun into the sign of Aries at the vernal equinox. The Iranians
believe that Nowruz was instituted by king Jamshid; we know for
certain that it has been celebrated for at least 2,500 years. It is
the only festival of ancient Persia that has not been displaced by
Islamic holidays. The Iranians never fail to celebrate it, expect
when the movablelunar calendar of Islam causes some mourning
ceremony to occur the same time. The medieval version of the holiday
lasted a week, during which there was a general carnival whit
bonfires, acrobats, jugglers, masked, games, and gift-giving.
Today’s Nowruz lasts two weeks. During this time, schools and
businesses traditionally close and people spend their time visiting
each other.
In the weeks before Nowruz, people start to buy new clothes and
clean their houses from top to bottom. Hajji firuz – a black faced
character in a red costume –appears in the streets during the weeks
before Nowruz.
Nowruz is preceded by another ancient ceremony, chaharshanbeh - Suri
( literally meaning “Wednesday Fire” ). It is celebrated on the
Tuesday evening before the last wednesday of the old year.
On this night , people gather in the streets to jump over a fire for
luck while chanting “ your redness (health) is mine; my paleness
(pain) is yours” Groups of young men, their faces concealed by
veils, go from door to door banging a spoon against a metal bowl
asking for sweets or money.
Another old and almost obsolete ritual is falgush ( fortune hearing
), when people try to guess the future by walking around in the
street and treating any chance words they overhead as omens.
On Nowruz eve, families gather for afeast where the table includes
haft sin , seven things whose names begin with letter “S” in
Persian. Today the seven S’s typically include sabzeh (home grown
sprouts), samanu ( the juice of crushed ears of green wheat),sib
(apples), sonbol (hyacinth),senjed(jujube fruit ), sir (garlic), and
somagh ( sumac ). In additional to the seven S’s, there mayalso be
the Koran, painted eggs, gold coins,a bowl with goldfish, a mirror,
and candles.
Each item symbolizes something; for example, the sprouts and samanu
represent fertility and rebirth of spring, hyacinth symbolize
beauty, apples and jujube bring sweetness, goldfish is a symbol of
life, garlic and sumac represent health, coins bring prosperity,
while candles are symbols of light and goodness. The traditional
meal of this day is sabzi polo – a pilaf with green herbs, often
served with fish. At the moment of the equinox, people kiss and
exchange good wishes, and children are given gifts.
The 13 th of Nowruz is called Sizdah – be – Dar( “getting rid of
thirteen” ). On this day, people leave their houses and go
picnicking in the country. At the end of the picnic,they throw their
plateful of the picnic into running water. The sabzeh is supposed to
have collected all the sickness and ill fate that lurks in the part
of the family throughout the coming year.
Touching someone else’s sabzeh on this day or bringing it home is
therefore not a good idea because it may result in absorbing someone
else’s pain and hardship. Another meaningful ritual performed with
the dumping of sabzeh is that young single women tie the sabzeh
lives prior to discarding it, symbolizing the wish to be tied in a
marriage by the sizdah– be – dar of the next year.
Yalda
Yalda is celebration on the longest night of the year, December 21.
Meaning “the birth”, it is supposed to mark the birthday of Mittra,
or Mehr as it is called in the Zoroastrian tradition. This is
perhaps the only ancient Iranian ceremony except Nowruz that has
retained its importance among the Iranians. Light, day, and sunshine
are assumed to be the signs of good Ahuramazda, whereas night,
darkness and cold are thought to be associated whit evil Ahriman.
Because the days get longer after the longest night of winter and
the warmth and light of the sun increase, this night is supposed to
be the time for the rebirth of sun (mehr).
The obligatory trappings of the Yalda are an enormous variety of
nuts and fruits, particularly watermelons.
Abandoned Persian Holidays
In the ancient Iranian calendar, each day of the month had a proper
name. when the name of the day coincided with the name of the month,
a holiday was held. The most significant and popular of them was
Mehregan, celebrated on the Day of Mittra, the 16th day of the 7th
month of the Zoroastrian year, roughly October 8. For the ancient
Iranian, the year was divided in two seasons. Nowruz was the first
day of summer, while Mehregan ushered in the winter season. On
Mehregan, a special table was laid with an incense burner, a copy of
the Avesta, a mirror for self – reflection, water to symbolize the
source of life, grains for prosperity, fruits, sweets, wine, coins,
and candles. It was a community holiday, and blessings by a priest
usually opened the celebrations.
Sedeh was a mid – winter celebration observed by Zoroastrians. It
included preparing a large bonfire for the purpose of driving back
the winter and defying Ahrimam. Sedeh was celebrated on two
different dates, either on December 11 or January 24.
Official Iranian Calendar and Secular Holidays
The official Iranian calendar dates from the Hegira of Mohammad in
622 AD. However, unlike the Arab Muslim calendar, it is solar. The
first sixth Iranian months have 31 days, the other five – 30, and
the last month is 29, or 30 in the leap year. The Iranian months
start on the 20th or 21st day of the months of the Gregorian
calendar. The names of the Iranian months are very ancient and have
Old Persian roots:
Farvardin : from fravahar (the divine nature of things)
Ordibehesht : angel of purity and holiness, keeper of all the fire
on earth
Khordad : “righteousness and perfection”
Tir : angel of rain and prosperity
Mordad : “eternal life”
Shahrivar : the name of Ahuramazda’s country
Mehr: Mittra, god of the sun, light, and love
Aban : angel of water
Azar : angel of fire, the most sacred substance, according to
Iranian beliefs
Day :“creator and giver”, attributes of Ahuramazda
Bahman : the angel of everything good, the second in the Zoroastrian
divine hierarchy after Ahuramazda
Esfand : “safeguarder of prosperity”;
the official Iranian secular holidays include:
Nowruz : 1 to 4 Farvardin
The Day of the Islamic Republic : 12 Farvardin
The Day of Nature, (or sizdah – be – Dar) : 13 Farvardin
The Day of Ayatollah Khomeini ’s Death : 14 khordad
Anniversary of the Uprising Following Ayatollah Khomeini ’s Arrest :
15 khordad
The Day of the Victory of the Islamic Revolution : 22 Bahman
The Day of the nationalization of Oil : 29 Esfand.
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