Iran - Andrew Burke [318]
* * *
‘APPROXIMATE’ DATES FOR RAMAZAN:
1 to 30 September 2008
22 August to 19 September 2009
12 August to 9 September 2010
1 to 30 August 2011
21 July to 18 August 2012
* * *
Although you shouldn’t have many problems in larger cities, in rural areas finding any food might be difficult during daylight hours.
Secular Holidays
Secular holidays follow the Persian solar calendar, and usually fall on the same day each year according to the Western calendar.
* * *
IRAN’S AGE-OLD CELEBRATION OF THE NEW YEAR
No Ruz literally means ‘new day’ and while the celebration is for Persian new year, much of the traditional ceremony is about renewal and hope for the future. The roots of the No Ruz tradition stretch deep into history, with the spring equinox (usually 21 March) having been celebrated since before Achaemenid times. It’s a peculiarly Persian tradition that has nothing to do with Islam – a fact that many Iranians are proud of but which doesn’t sit well with the Islamic theocracy.
No Ruz festivities stretch for about three weeks. Apart from frenzied shopping, the outward sign of No Ruz is street-side stalls selling the haft seen, or seven ‘s’es; seven (or more) symbolic items with Farsi names starting with the letter ‘s’. They are supposed to be laid on a table at home, though you’ll see them everywhere from TV news studios to taxi dashboards. Today’s most commonly seen seen, and their symbolic meanings:
sabzi (green grass or sprout shoots) and samanu (sweet wheat pudding) represent rebirth and fertility;
seer (garlic) and sumaq (sumac) symbolise hoped-for good health;
sib (apple) and senjed (a dried fruit) represent the sweetness of life;
sonbol (hyacinth) is for beauty
On many tables you’ll also see sekeh (a gold coin, symbolising adequate income), serkeh (vinegar to ward off bitterness), a mirror, a Quran and candles. You’ll also see sorry-looking goldfish in tiny bowls. No-one we asked knew how or why the goldfish found its way into this tradition. Fish might have represented Anahita, the ancient god/angel of fertility, or perhaps it simply symbolises life – and the poor goldfish is the easiest ‘living’ being to put on a table – an estimated five million live, and then die, on Iranian tables every No Ruz.
On the Tuesday night before the last Wednesday of the year another pre-Islamic tradition is played out. Chahar shanbe-soori (Wednesday Fire) sees people sing, dance (men only) and jump over fires. The jumping symbolises the burning away of ill luck or health, to be replaced by the healthy redness of the flames. Unfortunately, actually finding a fire can be tough. Chahar shanbe-soori is viewed as a pagan festival by the government. When we went fire jumping outside Mashhad the animosity between revellers and the (often half-hearted) Basij militiamen was instructive. Basijis would arrive and order fires to be doused and dancing to stop. After being ignored for a few minutes they would leave, accompanied by laughter and fire-crackers hurled in their direction. Some towns do now have grudgingly ‘approved’ fire-sites but visiting these can become deafening and rather hazardous due to the uncontrolled impromptu displays for fireworks thrown by excitable youths.
After all this No Ruz itself finally arrives. Families gather around the haft seen table to recite a prayer seeking happiness, good health and prosperity, before eating sabzi polo (rice and vegetables) and mahi (fish). Mothers are also expected to eat symbolic hard-boiled eggs, one for every child. At the moment of the equinox (announced on every radio station) people kiss and hug and children are given eidi (presents). For the following two weeks Iranians cross the country to visit relatives and friends in their home towns, before No Ruz celebrations finish on the 13th day of the year,