List of festivals in Iran


The following list is a list of festivals in Iran.

Iranian cultural festivals

  • 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. It starts on the first day of spring, 21 March, in that 12 days as a sign of the past 12 months, all Iranian families gather around to visit each other.

  • Sofre-ye Haft-Sin: sofre, haft, sin. Al-Bīrūnī said: Haft-sin came from Jamshid since he destroyed the evil that made Persian lands weak, so on the first day of Iranian calendar people celebrated Norouz 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 ".
  • Sizdah Bedar: Persian Festival of "Joy and Solidarity". The 13th and last day of Norouz celebration. Because of the end of twelve days they celebrate the 13th day as a new beginning of the next twelve month and it has no relations with the number 13.
  • Mehregan: Festival of Mehr. A day of thanksgiving. It is a day which everyone shows the mehr 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..
  • Shast-Sheshi festival is held annually near Isfahan. Beginning on the sixty-sixth day after Nowruz, the festival corresponds in date and function to the ancient feast of Khordadgan, dedicated to the divinity Khordad, the female guardian of water.

Religious festivals

Zoroastrianism

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.

Islamic

Christian

The majority of Iranian Christians are Armenian-Iranians also known as Parska-Hye who follow the Armenian Apostolic Church, an Oriental Orthodox branch of Christianity. This minority has their very own special festivals and traditions.
There is also a significant minority of Assyrian people who follow the Oriental Orthodox Christian Assyrian Church of the East and the Chaldean Catholic Church, these two church groups also have a minority of Persian followers. The followers of this church have a blend of Persian and Assyrian culture.
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.

Jewish

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 in Susa, Iran and the central figures of the story Mordechai and Esther are customarily believed to be buried in Hamedan
  • Illanout (tree festival) Celebrated in February, it is nearly identical to Shab-e Cheleh and is a lot more elaborate, reminiscence of the pre-Islamic celebrations
  • Shab-e 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 due to the holiday’s proximity to Nowruz 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 to Sizdah Be-dar
  • Similar to Shab-e Sal, Lel Resh Shata or simply Lel Shata 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, sending gifts to each other, and eating hames and dairy. The holiday is often connected to the waving of the 'omer, and some miswot like miswat qali may be performed then.

Film festivals