Nowruz: The word of "Norouz" includes two parts; "no" that means "new" and "ruz OR rouz" which 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 to visit each other.
Haft Seen traditional table of Norouz
Sofre-ye Haft-Sin:sofre (tablecloth),haft (seven),sin (the letter S [س]).Al-Bīrūnī said: Haft-sin came fromJamshid since he destroyed the evil that made Persian lands weak, so on the first day of Iranian calendar people celebratedNorouz and they put 7 different symbolic items on their table as a sign of thanking nature for giving humans all they need. Since then every year Iranians put Haft-sin on their tables, but nowadays they put 7 things that start with letter "S (س)".
Sizdah Bedar: Persian Festival of "Joy and Solidarity". The 13th and last day of Norouz 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).
Mehregan: Festival ofMehr (orMithra). A day of thanksgiving. It is a day which everyone shows themehr or the love they have for each other and it is one of the most important days in the year.
Jashn-e 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 assist the revival of the sun to bring back warmth and summer.
Shab-e Yalda: Also known as The turning point. End of the longest night of the year, and beginning of growing of the days.
Sepandarmazgan: Day of Love, Friendship and Earth in ancient Persian culture.
Chaharshanbe Suri: Festival of Fire, last Wednesday night in the Iranian Calendar year.
The basis of nearly all of Iranian national festivals are from its Pre-Islamic Zoroastrian era. However, there are some festivals that are celebrated exclusively by Zoroastrians and some with less extent in other communities too.
Khordadgân: Celebration of the 6th day of Iranian calendar.Khordad is one of theIzadans name which means completeness. In this day people used to go near the river or a sea to thank God for everything and they gave each other flowers as a sign of happiness.
Bahmanagân: Also maintained by Iranian Muslims until the Mongol invasion. The festival was celebrated on the second day of the month of Bahman. Bahmanjana is a later modified form of Bahmanagân.
Jašne Sade: Festival of Fire. Lit. the 100th day (before Nowruz).
Jašne Mehregân: Festival of Mihr (or Mehr). A day of thanksgiving dedicated to the highest Angel,Mithra.
Jašne Tiregân: Festival of Tir. A day dedicated toTishtrya, Angel of the star Sirius and rain. Also celebrated in some Muslim regions in Iran includingMazandaran.
Shab-e Qadr: the "Night of Qadr" towards the end of Ramadan, which is when the first verses of the Qur'an were revealed to Muhammad. Iranians stay awake during the nights and some light candles and listen to Dua while reciting the Qur'an.
Eid-e Qurban: "The Festival of Sacrifice". In Iran, some wealthy people and farmers sacrifice their herds and offer the meat to neighbors and the poor as charity.
Eid-e Ghadir Khumm: is a Shia feast, and is considered to be among the "significant" feasts ofShia Islam. The Eid is held on 18Dhu Al-Hijjah at the time when the Islamic prophetMuhammad (following instruction from Allah) was said to have appointedAli ibn Abi Talib as his successor.
Iran has a large and fast growing Christian community gaining popularity amongst Persians. During Christmas times, Christmas trees can be seen from windows in Tehran and north-western provinces. Although Christmas has an official recognition in Iran, it is not a national holiday.
Iranian Jews celebrate all the same holidays as Jews worldwide, but often maintain unique customs in the observance of those holidays. Some more uniquely Iranian traditions include:
Purim is particularly special among Jews in Iran because it recounts the story of a Jewish queen married to a Persian king inSusa, Iran and the central figures of the story Mordechai and Esther are customarily believed to be buried inHamedan
Illanout (tree festival) Celebrated in February, it is nearly identical toShab-e Cheleh and is a lot more elaborate, reminiscence of the pre-Islamic celebrations[1]
Shab-e Sal, lit.Night of the Year: The night of the end of Passover, whenchametz can once again be eaten. It is usually celebrated with many types of breads and dairy items.[2] This festival is unique toPersian Jews due to the holiday’s proximity toNowruz and is not celebrated in this way by most other Jews. The day after Passover is similarly known as Rooz-e Sal, which would often involve outdoor picnics similar toSizdah Be-dar[3]
Similar to Shab-e Sal, Lel Resh Shata (Lishan Didan:Night of the New Year) or simply Lel Shata (Lishan Didan:Night of the Year) is celebrated by Nash Didan Jews from Iranian Azerbaijan. Many customs and practices are identical to Shab-e Sal, but there are some distinct practices. Customs include: placing a mirror on the table to reflect happiness into the new year, placing grain and coins/jewelry into a bowl of water (to recall the events of the Splitting of the Sea and the New Year for the Grain), sending gifts to each other, and eatinghames and dairy (as they couldn't be eaten onPesah, hames due to Biblical prohibition, and dairy since many Nash Didan Jews are stricter on the practice ofHalaw Yisrael on Pesah than the rest of the year). The holiday is often connected to the waving of the'omer, and somemiswot like miswat qali (as mentioned inMishna Menahot 10) may be performed then.
Shirzad Aghaee,Nouruz - Berliyan-negin-e jashnha-yi irani va digar jashnha va jashn-aiyinha-yi mardomi-yi iran (Nouruz and other Iranian National Festivals), Stockholm, Sweden, 2002.
