List of Festivals in Iran - Iranian Festivals

Iranian Festivals

• Nowruz:now means new and the word ruz means day, so nowruz means starting a new day and it is the Celebration of the start of spring ("Rejuvenation"). It starts on the first day of spring (also the first day of the Iranian Calendar year), 21 March, in that 12 days as a sign of the past 12 months, all Iranian families gather around and visit each other. It is also the best time to re-experience the feeling of mehr (pure love). In nowruz all families talk about their best experiences of the last year and the things they are looking forward in the next year and they all become bonded again in peace. There are many other things Iranians do for nowruz including khane tekani (cleaning the house) and haji firooz, where a person who make his face black and wears a red dress, walks around the streets and entertains people by singing a special song:
• Sofreye Haft Sin: sofre (tablecloth), haft (seven), sin (the letter S ). Al-Bīrūnī said: haftsin came from jamshid because he destroyed the evil that made pars lands weak so in first day of Iranian calendar people called it nowruz (starting of a new day) and they put 7 different beans on their table as a sign of thanking nature for giving humans all they need. Since then every year Iranians put haftsin on their tables, but nowadays they put 7 things that start with letter . Some people also believe that sasanian had a very beautiful plate that was given to them from China and they called it chini plate, and after some years the word chini changed into sini (a beautiful plate) so people would put 7 things in a sini.
• Sizdah Bedar: Persian Festival of "Joy and Solidarity". The 13th and last day of Nowruz celebration. Because of the end of twelve days (a sample of twelve month) they celebrate the 13th day as a new beginning of the next twelve month and it has no relations with the number 13 (as an unlucky number). It is celebrated outdoors along with the beauty of nature. Al-Bīrūnī also called this day: tir ruz: blissed day.
• Mehregan: Festival of Mehr (or Mihr). A day of thanksgiving. It is a day which everyone show the mehr or the love they have for each other and it is one of the most important days in the year.
• Jashne Sade: A mid-winter feast to honor fire and to "defeat the forces of darkness, frost and cold" in which people gather around and build a fire so that they can receive good things from the fire and give the fire their incompleteness.
• Shabe Chelle: The turning point. End of the longest night (darkness) of the year, and beginning of growing of the days (Lights). A celebration of Good over Evil. Also known as Shab-e Yaldā they have special nuts for that night.
• Sepandarmazgan: Day of Love, Friendship and Earth in ancient Persian culture.
• Chaharshanbe Suri: Festival of Fire, last Tuesday night in the Iranian Calendar year. It marks the importance of the light over the darkness, arrival of spring and revival of nature.