Zoroastrian News – اخبار زرتشتیان

... Prophet Zoroaster (Zarathushtra) is also said to have instituted many feasts, festivals and rituals to pay homage to the seven creations, the holy immortals and the God Ahura Mazda. The seven most important ones are known as Gahambars, the feasts of obligation. The last and the most elaborate was Norouz, celebrating Ahura Mazda and the Holy Fire at the spring equinox. ...

Tradition dates Norouz as far back as 15,000 years ago, before the last ice age. The mythical Persian King Jamshid (Yima or Yama of the Indo-Iranian lore) symbolizes the transition of the Indo-Iranians from animal hunting to animal husbandry and a more settled life in human history in which seasons played a vital role.

Everything depended on the four seasons. After a severe winter, the beginning of spring was a great occasion with Mother Nature rising up in a green robe of colorful flowers and the cattle delivering their young. It was the dawn of abundance. Jamshid is said to be the person who introduced the Norouz celebrations.

Prophet Zoroaster (Zarathushtra) is also said to have instituted many feasts, festivals and rituals to pay homage to the seven creations, the holy immortals and the God Ahura Mazda. The seven most important ones are known as Gahambars, the feasts of obligation. The last and the most elaborate was Norouz, celebrating Ahura Mazda and the Holy Fire at the spring equinox.

Norouz is a beautiful national celebration that reflects the rich cultural heritage of Iran. It not only embodies a colorful historical and mythical basis but demonstrates the ancient Iranians’ impressive understand of science and astronomy. Norouz is an optimistic celebration of life in all its glory. It is a celebration of universal and timeless values and ideals, truth, compassion, wisdom, justice and peace. It is a celebration of the first day of spring and as such the renewal of life and the world. As flowers blossom and the world awakens to the beauty of spring, so the Iranians celebrate the glorious gift of life and new beginnings.

Many Iranian festivities such as Norouz festival have been inherited from the Zoroastrian era and embody the optimistic philosophy of the Zoroastrian religion, in particular the idea that God or Ahura Mazda (The Lord of Life and Wisdom) has endowed human beings with a life that can be lived with joy and happiness. The idea is that if human beings lead a life that is guided by wisdom, truthfulness, compassion and creativity, they can obtain a state of peace and happiness. Various times in the year provide human beings with an opportunity to celebrate their achievements.

Ancient festivals in Iran are marked by five national festivities which have survived through the centuries to the present day. These festivities are: Norouz, Tirgan, Mehrgan, Yalda and Sadeh. Of these, Norouz is the most popular. It coincides with the first day of the Iranian calendar and marks the beginning of the Iranian New Year on the vernal equinox, March 21. Like the other four national festivities, Norouz can be defined by three characteristics: (1) it has an astronomical basis; (2) it has a historical and mythical basis and (3) it reflects an optimistic socio-religious philosophy.

The festivals, interestingly, have a historical or mythical aspect to them that reveals the culture or national consciousness of our ancestors. Again, the philosophy is rooted in a religious ideology which is optimistic: the festivities celebrate the triumph of good over evil, lightness over darkness and justice over despotism.

According to Iranian mythology, Jamshid Shah coined Norouz as a “new day” after he eliminated ignorance, disease, poverty and injustice. Norouz celebrates his achievements – the promotion of happiness, progress and plentitude.

Mehrgan, the autumnal equinox, is the day when an ironsmith, known as Kaveh Ahangar, overthrew an unjust despotic king by the name Azhidahak (also known as “Zahak”) who had ordered the death of all five of Kaveh Ahangar’s sons. Mehrgan also coincides with the overthrow of another despotic usurper of power, Gaumata, by the great king of the Achamenid Dynasty, Darius the Great.

Tirgan, the summer solstice celebrated the life of Arash Kamangir, an Iranian national hero who sacrificed his life to preserve the territorial integrity of Iran.

Yalda, the winter solstice, celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, right over wrong, good over evil and the birth of the “Sun-God”, Mithra.

Finally Sadeh commemorated the discovery of fire which is not only a source of energy but one of the elements such as the air, the water and the earth that Zoroastrians must preserve and not pollute.

The socio-religious aspects of these five national celebrations are aimed at strengthening social bonds by bringing together the community, promoting charity and ensuring that the more needy members of the community are not forgotten. It is important to keep these values in mind as examine the Norouz ritual.

Today, the festival of Norouz is celebrated in many countries that were territories of, or influenced by, the Persian Empire: Persia (Iran), Iraq, Afghanistan, parts of the Middle East, as well as in the former Soviet republics of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. It is also celebrated by the Zoroastrian Parsis and Iranis in India, as well as by the inhabitants of northern areas of Pakistan, mainly in Chitral. The celebration is called Nevruz in Turkey, Sultan Nevruz in Albanian and Newroz in Kurdish.

In most countries, the greeting that accompanies the festival is Eid-e Norouz Mobarak (mobarak: felicitations) in Persian. In Turkey, the greeting is either Bayraminiz Mubarek/kutlu olsun (in Turkish) or Cejna te piroz be (in Kurdish).