Don’t be too alarmed if tonight you witness Iranians around the world singing and dancing whilst jumping over bonfires. It’s all in good fun for the celebration of Chaharshambe suri, or ‘Red Wednesday’.
Chaharshanbe suri is a celebration dating back to ancient Persia and the Zoroastrian religion. It falls on the very last Wednesday (or Tuesday evening) of the year in the Iranian calendar during the run up to Norooz (Iranian new-year), marking the beginning of Spring. After a very thorough spring-cleaning of the house, friends and family gather together outdoors and make bonfires. The tradition is to leap over the fire whilst shouting the following:
(Sorkhi-e to az man) Give me your beautiful red color!
(Zardi-e man az to) And take back my sickly yellow colour!
It was believed back in the ancient times that doing this would alleviate negative energy and attract warmth, health and good fortune for the future.
Children also take to the streets, dressed in cloacks, running around banging on pots with spoons (gashog-zani), this is thought to scare away spirits and ‘beat out’ any bad luck left over from the year. It all sounds a bit chaotic, but in reality it’s a great excuse for families to gather together around a warm fire and have some fun before the coming of the new year.
Iranians are not alone in celebrating the festival of fire, the tradition is also practiced widely in the regions of Kurdistan, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Tajikestan as well as some parts of Turkey, and has been observed since 1700 BCE.
