Although the 21st of March marks the first day of spring, the first day of Farvardin the first month on the Iranian calendar, Nowruz and its celebrations are not the first celebrations of their kind to welcome the New Year.
Chaharshanbeh Soori is the first ceremony Iranians hold for welcoming the New Year and getting ready for Nowruz. The last Wednesday of the last month of the year according to the Persian calendar is called Charshanbeh Soori. The preparation for Charshanbeh Soori starts a day before, and on the night of the last Wednesday of the year, friends and family members and neighbors would gather together outside their homes, set fire to bushes, firewood, dead grass and stuff like that and arrange them in a line of 3, 5 or 7 bushes.
Charshanbeh Soori is a traditional ceremony targeting both physical and mental health, welcoming the New Year seeing it as a chance of starting over. Many rituals are held during Charshanbeh Soori which I am going to tell you more about them.
People celebrate Charshanbeh Soori in Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and also the Kurdish people of Turkey annually.
Charshanbeh Soori is known for the glowing light and warmth of the fire. As it is a celebration to be held mainly outside the houses, people would gather together and put some firewood, bushes or dead leaves on fire and arrange them in a line of either three, five or seven small bushes of fire. The fire would keep them warm and also keep the night bright. As people gather around these small bushes of fire and chat, dance and have fun, they would line up and jump from one bush to the other while singing to the fire “You get your red glow from me and I get my yellow glow from you”.
Because the fire would go stronger and stronger as more bushes would be added to it and also people would run around them and jump from them and the wind would make the fire go red and strong, and the light of the fire on people’s faces would create a yellow glow.
You must be wondering why people do that. It is believed that it is either because of the long-held belief that if they do so they will be immune from the bad fortune and diseases in the upcoming year, or more strongly it is believed that fire was recognized as one of the purifying elements by ancient Iranians and when they were getting ready to welcome the New Year they would clean up their houses and wear new clothes, and in Charshanbeh Soori they would set fire to old things they had to get rid of them and purify everything. Thus with the passage of time, although different ways of cleaning and purifying are at hand today, people still see it as a chance to purify everything, get rid of the old and rusty things and start the new year fresh and healthy mentally and physically.
In some cities like Naeen, Khor-e-Bianak, and Urmia they fires would be set on rooftops or on hills. It is widely believed that this was to take care of the ground as the people would be farmers and they respected the ground that gave them life. In Tabriz, the bazaars would be decorated with candles and beautiful lamps, and people will go to the bazaars and buy new jugs and a mirror as a sign to double happiness and joy in the upcoming New Year.
Nowruz and Ancient Myths of Persia
