Last night was Chaharshanbe Suri or the Festival of Fire. For all you non-Persians, it's a pretty special night. Chaharshanbe Suri is the night before the last Wednesday of the New Year (the Iranian New Year is the First Day of Spring). On Chaharshanbeh Suri, people burn bonfires to celebrate good overcoming evil. Traditionally, one is supposed to jump over a flame saying Zardî-ye man az to, sorkhî-ye to az man (literally: "My yellowness for you, your redness for me; ", but figuratively: My paleness (pain, sickness) from you, your strength (health) from me. Essentially, one is supposed to burn off all the old things from the previous year in preparation for the new, clean year.
While it's true that Iran is an Islamic Republic, Chaharshanbeh Suri and really the entire Iranian New Year is rooted heavily in Zoroastrianism. Plenty of people over the years have tried to beat these rituals out of the Iranians but no one has ever succeeded.
Anyway, last night I jumped over a candle to burn off my old year and usher in a new year.
So, happy belated Chaharshanbeh Suri to you!
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1 comment:
Happy New Year to you!
If I had known, I would have jumped over a candle, too. Does it work for Portuguese/British/German Catholic-agnostics, too? I could stand for some burning off of old things. Sounds like a great tradition!
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