Throughout the centuries, Iran has faced many invaders from Assyrians to Arabs to Mongols. While each forced their way of life and beliefs on the Iranian people, time and time again, the Iranian culture has refused to succumb and has re-emerged as a phoenix in new forms, assimilating the new systems while maintaining her identity. However, as time has gone by, some of Old Iran’s customs have not survived the cutting edge of time, while others like Norouz and Mehregan have endured changing form over time.
The festivities of Norouz have, for over 2500 years, been a staple of Iranian culture; something that any Iranian today, in any part of the world still remember and celebrate. However Norouz, was not always the primary celebration. Rather, it was one of two grand celebrations positioned diametrically on the solar calendar of our people. The other being Mehregan.
The Mehregan festivities – which ended a few days ago – always began on the 16th day of the Month of Mehr known as Mehr-rooz and ended six days later on the 21st of the month, known as Raam-rooz. In its height and heyday, Mehregan was celebrated with similar fest, zest and pageantry as the Norouz.
The history of this ancient festival predates the first Persian Empire and finds its roots in the Aryan (Indo-Iranian) tribes which are believed to have migrated from the Russian Steppes down to the Iranian plateau and then further east, to where India lies now.
The name of the festival comes from the word Mehr. The word in modern Persian means, kindness, contract or oath, and also the Sun. The word in its ancient form was ‘Mitra’ in Sanskrit, ‘Mitr’ in Pahlavi (also known as Middle Persian), and ‘Mithra’ in Avestan (the language of the holy book of the Zoroastrianism) and also in Old Persian.
This Mehr/Mitra was one of the biggest gods of the Aryans before their migration, and during the years, it waxed and waned in prominence amongst the Persians before, during and after the advent of Zoroastrianism. The word ‘mehr’ has been the name of a God, an angel (in Avesta), and a symbol for the Sun.
Thus, keeping in mind the various roots of the name and history of the name, the main reasons reason that Mehregan was such an important festival was due to several beliefs, other than the status of Mehr as a deity:
- It was the coincidence of the day of Mehr with the month of Mehr.
- The ancient Persian calendar was divided into two seasons: The Great Summer, and The Great Winter. The festival of Norouz was the celebration of the summer season, and the festival of Mehregan was the celebration of the beginning of the winter season.
- The ancient Persians believed that this was the day that God blew life into Mashya and Mashyaneh which were the first man (named Kiumars in the mythology and in the Shahnameh) and woman.
- It was the day that God blew life (‘Ravan’) into all living creatures.
- It was the day that Kaveh the Blacksmith, rallied the Persians to rebel against the oppressive rule of Azhy-Dehak (Zahak) and with the help of Fereydoon who fought him for six days. They were able to chain and imprison him in Damavand; and crown Fereydoon as the king.
- Believed to be the day that the Sun was born, and also the day that light first was reflected off the body of the Moon.
Should we decided to peel back the layers of mythology that have grown over this ancient festival over the years, what we will be faced with will perhaps be no more than a grand thanksgiving and harvest festival. It is very likely that the festival began originally as a thanksgiving to the fertility of the land and their new home, and was repeated each year as a celebration of the harvest of the summer season.
Although Mehregan is no longer celebrated by most Iranians, it is interesting to note that the Arabic/Islamic invasion did not at first deter Iranians from continuing to celebrate this ancient holiday. In fact, during the reign of the Ghaznavi Dynasty in the fourth century after Islam (around 1000 years ago), Mehregan was celebrated with such grandeur and glory as to rival its celebration in Per-Islamic times.
The Ceremony of Mehregan
The preparation for the Mehregan was very similar to that of Norouz. The members of the household would participate in a complete cleaning of the domicile. Much like during the new years festival, all members of the family would wear brand-new clothing, and would wash thoroughly. The festivities would include large bonfires, much like the Charshanbeh-souri festival during new years (the element of fire, was a constant theme in Zoroastrian-derived festivals). And finally, much like Norouz, Mehregan featured a special ‘sofreh’ (a special cloth spread).
The Mehregan sofreh was a piece of white cloth, upon which would be placed a circular piece of red cloth. A twelve-sided symbol would be placed at the centre to symbolize Mehr (which was also the Sun). Around this symbol there would be twelve lit candles, and a fire-holder would also be placed for kondor (frankincense) and espand (rue seeds) to be thrown on the flames. The sides of the tablecloth would be decorated with dry wild marjoram. The holy book Avesta, a mirror and Sormeh Dan (antimony cellar) were placed on the table together with rose water, sweets, flowers, vegetables and fruits. A few silver coins and senjed seeds (fruit of the lotus tree) are placed in a dish of pleasant smelling wild marjoram water. Almonds and pistachio are also used.
At lunch time when the ceremony begins, everyone in the family stands in front of the mirror to pray. Sherbet is drunk and then as a good omen, antimony is rubbed around the eyes. Handfuls of wild marjoram, senjed seeds and noghl (sugar plum) are thrown over each others heads while the family embrace one another.
(Originally published in Shahrvand English (N° 3) – October 19, 2004)
