Iranian celebrations
What do you know about ancient Iranian festivals? If you take a look at the history of ancient Iran, you will see that there were many festivals and customs in the ancient calendar, each of which has a story or a reason behind it. Currently, out of all these festivals, only Nowruz, Charshanbe Suri and Yalda night are celebrated among the general public, and some other festivals are held only in some cities of Iran and there is no epidemic. In this article, we are going to travel back in time and take a look at all Iranian festivals and ancient Iranian holidays and see which ones are still celebrated. If you want to join Sights Iran on this trip, read this article until the end.
Nowrouz celebration
Nowruz is celebrated on the first day of the Iranian solar year. From the time of ancient Iran until now, on this day, all people celebrate the beginning of the new year. This celebration is not only in Iran, but in many countries of the Asian continent and Persian countries, including Iran, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Syria, Iraq, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Albania, China, Turkmenistan, India, Pakistan and so on. .. Language is celebrated, but the main home of this celebration is Iran, and it is as if its name is registered in the birth certificate of Iranians.
It is not clear from where Nowruz celebration entered the culture of ancient Iran. Some believe that when Cyrus the Great attacked Babylon. He remembered this custom from them and since then in Iran, the first day of the beginning of Sahel was celebrated. Iranians believe that Nowruz is the beginning of the resurrection of nature and the birth of gardens, and as nature becomes new, man should look at life with a new mind and attitude. It might be interesting for you to know that Nowruz International Day has been registered in the UNESCO list.
Where does the word Nowruz come from?
The word “Nowruz” came to us from Middle Persian and its roots reach the Avesta language. The meaning of the word Nowruz was the sixth day of April with the name “Khordad”, but now this word means the beginning of the year for the public. Ancient Iranians called Nowruz Nava Sarda. You should know that the word Nowruz is pronounced differently in different languages. Indians pronounce it Nauroz, in Latin alphabet it is Nowruz. It is registered in UNESCO in the same way. Afghans call this word næu̯ɾo:z, and it is pronounced as næu̯ɾʉz or næu̯ɾɵz in Farsi by Tajik people. In Middle Persian, this word is pronounced as no:g ro:z, and in standard Persian it is pronounced nou̯ɾu:z.
Nowruz celebration in legends and myths
Nowruz is talked about in a number of old Iranian texts such as Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, Tabari’s History. Some of these texts have mentioned the narrative that Jamshid or Kiyomarth (two ancient kings of Iran) founded Nowruz in Iran. In Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, it is written about the formation of Nowruz: “Jam (Yama) enters the citadel of Jamshid while passing through Azerbaijan and sits on his throne wearing a golden crown. When the sun shines on his crown, The world becomes bright and people are all happy. They call this day the New Day and Jam is Jamshid. In general, the mythical figures of Iran such as Jamshid, Siavash and Kikhusro have a close relationship with Nowruz. On this day, Jamshid wins over Divan and over filth like cold. wins.”
Forughan Festival
The people of ancient Iran used to celebrate the dead on the 19th day of the month of ancient Iran in the Avestan calendar of Farurgan, Farrdingan or Farudag. On this day, people visited the graves and shared the joy of Nowruz with their dead. You might think to yourself why should we celebrate for our lost loved ones? You should know that there is no mourning in the Zoroastrian religion and that is why they celebrate the dead.
On this day, people of ancient Iran used to make fire and put incense on the graves of the dead and wash their tombstones with water and rose water. This custom currently exists among Iranian people. Usually, at the beginning of the new year, people go to the graves of their lost loved ones and visit them to share the joy of Nowruz with them. But the Zoroastrians celebrate this custom in its ancient form.
Tirgan festival
Tirgan should be considered as one of the ancient festivals of Iran, which was usually celebrated by the water. They would wet each other and then ask God for a year free from drought and full of rain. This festival is also called Barizgan, Abpashan, Sarshuran. Other customs held on this day include leaving the bracelet in the wind and taking fortune from the jar. Currently, the people of Mazandaran, Farahan and Armenians of Isfahan are celebrating this day.
The story of Tirgan festival
It is said about the story of the foundation of this festival, when Manouchehr (King of Iran) and Afrasiab (King of Turan) were at war with each other; On the first day of Tir, Iran is defeated by the Turan Army and therefore public mourning is declared on this day. Finally, the two countries decide to declare a truce and end the celebration. They decide to mark the border of the two countries so that no country is allowed to encroach on the other. Arash Kamangir, who was one of the most skilled archers in Iran, is asked to mark this border.
He throws an arrow that has been flying in the sky since the morning of the same day until the next afternoon and finally sinks into the trunk of a walnut tree next to the Jihun River, and this river is considered the border between Iran and Turan. It is said that Arash Kamangir died after throwing this arrow. Abu Rihan Biruni has mentioned somewhere that Arash showed his naked body before throwing this arrow and said: Look! My body is free from any kind of wound or disease. But after this shooting, I will be destroyed.”
There is another story about the Tirgan festival, according to which Tishtar, who was actually the rain angel, appeared as a beautiful young man in the first ten days of this month, in the next ten days in the form of a cow, and in the last ten days in the form of a horse. comes out At this time, he faced the drought demon and fought with him for three days and nights. When this angel fails, he reaches out to God and asks him to win against the demon of drought. In the next neg, he will win and the earth will be filled with rain and abundance.
The feast of Amrdadogan
The next ancient festival held in the month of August is called Amrdadogan. This festival, which was one of the twelve festivals in ancient Iran, was held on the 7th of August every month to honor the character, action and self of a work. To celebrate this festival, Iranians used to go to gardens and fields and dance and stomp. If you search the old Iranian texts, you will get a lot of information about the Amrdadogan festival.
For example, in his book, which is written in Pahlavi, you read about this festival: “The Immortal Amordad is the lord of countless plants, because he is like a plant, he is his own. He grows plants and increases the flock of sheep, because all the animals are from They should eat it and live. In the beginning of the new world and life at the end of the work of the world under the rule of Sushyant, a savior from the lineage of Zoroaster, they should also prepare “Anoush” [/food for immortality] from Amrdad. If someone eats the plant If Ramsh forgives or hurts, then Amrdad will be relieved or offended…”
Or in another place, Abu Rihan Biruni wrote about this day: “The meaning of Amardad is that it does not have death and nothingness. Amardad is an angel who is responsible for maintaining the world and adorning the food and medicine, which is based on plants, and removing hunger and loss and It is a disease, it has been found
Charshanbeh Suri celebration
Another festival that was held in the month of March and is still being held in an epidemic manner all over Iran is the celebration of Charshanbeh Suri. There are various theories about the origin of Charshanbeh Suri. For example, some have believed that the spirits of the dead return home during Furorugan festival. For this reason, on the Wednesday of the end of the year, they light a fire on their roofs so that the spirits can find their homes.
You should know that there is not enough evidence that this festival was held in ancient times, and for this reason, some historians believe that Charshanbeh Suri entered Iran after Islam. On this day, people jump over the fire to give their yellowness to the fire and take the redness of the fire instead. In Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, passing through fire and its importance are mentioned many times. For example, the story of Siavash is one of these narratives. Therefore, some say that the ceremony of Charshanbeh Suri goes back even before the Zoroastrian period and has its roots in Iranian legends and myths.
Which of the ancient festivals is still celebrated?
In this article, we talked about the ancient festivals of Iran and introduced them to you. In general, in ancient Iran, there was a festival for each month, which is included in the list of twelve festivals, and in each of them, a goddess Ahura Mazda was honored, and there were also festivals that were included in the category of festivals related to fire and water.
In general, the ancient calendar was full of various celebrations because people at that time believed that God loves happiness and is the enemy of sadness, and therefore they rejoiced so that blessings and goodness would enter their lives. Currently, only a few of these ancient festivals such as Nowruz Eid, Charshanbeh Suri and Yalda Night are held all over Iran, and you can see some other festivals only in some cities. But knowing about Iranian festivals can introduce you to ancient Iran and its glory.
