List of festivals in Iran

The following is a list of festivals in Iran.

1 Iranian Festivals
2 Zoroastrian
3 Islamic
4 Christian
5 Jewish
6 Unofficial
7 Bibliography

Iranian Festivals

Nowruz: the word 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 firz, 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:
حاجی فیروزه سالی یک روزه همه میدونن منم میدونم عید نوروز

ارباب خودم سلام علیکم ارباب خودم سرتو بالا کن ارباب خودم منو نگا کن ارباب خودم لطفی به ما کن ارباب خودم بزبز قندی ارباب خودم چرا نمیخندی؟ بشکن بشکنه بشکن من نمیشکنم بشکن اینجا بشکنم یار گله داره اونجا بشکنم یار گله داره این سیاه بیچاره چقدر حوصله داره

sofreye haft sin: sofre (tablecloth), haft (seven), sin (the letter S [س]). 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 [س]. 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. People do different things in this day: they build a fire and they jump over it, they eat different beans and day do: ghashogh zani: all the girls wear chadors in a way that no one can recognize them and they start tapping on a dish with spoon around midnight in the streets, awaken other people until they are paid or is given something such as candy. It is truly one of the funniest nights of the year.

Zoroastrian

Islamic

Ramadan (Ramazan in Iran): Iranian have special recipes as Zoolbia-Bamieh, Shole Zard, Ferni, Halva and Ash Reshteh in Ramezan.
Eid ul-Fitr or Eid e Fetr: "The Festival of Fast-Breaking" which comes at the end of Ramadan. People give gifts and money to poor people, patients and the handicapped.
Ashurah and Tasoa: Shi'a Muslims observe the day in mourning for Hussein and in remembrance of his martyrdom. In Iran, Iranians perform Ta'zieh, the old Iranian dramatic parade (post Islamic era). There exists also a rather special recipe for some special drinks in this festival. Many people cook something and offer it to their neighbors as gifts.
Nimeh Şabân: celebration for the twelfth and final Shi'a Imam. The festival consists of some fireworks and decorating the cities with lights, bulbs and trees.
Ghadr nights: the "Night of Qadr" towards the end of Ramadan, which is when the first verses of the Qur'an were revealed to Muhammad. Iranian stay awake the nights and light candles.
Ghorban ceremony: "The Festival of Sacrifice". In Iran, Iranian sacrifice sheeps and offer the meat to neighbors and also poor people for free. There is also a barbecue in almost every house.

Christian

Majority of Iranian Christians are Armenian-Iranians also known as Parska-Hye who follow Oriental Orthodox branch of Christianity. This minority has their very own special festivals and traditions.

Iran has an over-whelmingly Muslim population but the Christian Community has a visible presence. 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.

Jewish

Purim Festival
Illanout (tree festival) Celebrated in February, it is identical to Shab-e Cheleh and is a lot more elaborate, reminiscence of the pre-Islamic celebrations
Shabe Sal, lit. Night of the Year: The night of the end of Passover, when chametz can once again be eaten. It is usually celebrated with many types of breads and dairy items. This festival is unique to Persian Jews, and is not celebrated in this way by most other Jews.

Unofficial

Bibliography

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.
Festivals in Encycloapedia Iranica

List of festivals in Asia

Sovereign states	Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Burma (Myanmar) Cambodia People's Republic of China Cyprus East Timor (Timor-Leste) Egypt Georgia India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Thailand Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen

States with limited recognition	Abkhazia Nagorno-Karabakh Northern Cyprus Palestine Republic of China (Taiwan) South Ossetia

Dependencies and other territories	Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Hong Kong Macau