Welcome to Iran

Whatever your purpose is for traveling to Iran, one thing is for sure: you will never get bored. Several festivals take place in Iran every year:

The most well-reputed of all festivals in Iran is Nowrouz holiday which literally means "new day" and is the name of the Iranian or Persian New Year which is celebrated worldwide by the Iranians. It is on the 1st of Farvardin on Iranian calendar. Therefore, it will be on 21st of March or the previous or following day of the same date depending on solar observations. Nowrouz is, to some extent, rooted in the previous Iranian religions such as Mitraism or Zoroastrianism. Almost all festivals or rituals in these religions have had a close interrelation with the sun and its movements and of course its effects on harvesting or sowing the seeds. Regardless of this crucial element, Zoroastrianism is the primary monotheistic religion with a strong belief on the good and evil and the necessity of a connection between human and nature. Families gather together at the exact time that the sun crosses the celestial equator and celebrate the New Year. “Haft Seen”‎is one of the main traditions of Nowrouz. It is the arrangement of seven symbolic stuffs on a table linen. These stuffs all start with the letter “S” or “س“ in Persian alphabets and imply significant concepts:

Sabzeh (سبزه) - seed sprouts grown in advance which represents rebirth.
Senjed (سنجد) - dried Persian olive which shows love.
Somaq (سماق) - or sumac which signifies sunrise.
Seeb (سیب) - or apple which is a symbol of beauty and vitality.
Samanu (سمنو) - wheat pudding which is a sign of abundance.
Sekkeh (سکه) - or coin which indicates wealth.
Seer (سیر) - or garlic which demonstrates health.

Other supplementary additions to Haft-seen may vary from different traditions or religions. However, there may appear a holy book (Quran or Avesta), a mirror, candles, goldfish, painted eggs, hyacinth flower, a poetry book (Divan-e Hafez or Shahnameh), and Persian pastries (Shirini Nokhodchi or Nan-e Berenji).

Another festival that is worth attending is Golab Giri (Rose Water Distillation) that is held in May and June after picking the Mohammadi Rose’s bloom in rose gardens. There are so many cities which do this ceremony but the most famous one among them are Qamsar and Niasar in Kashan. So many tourists from all over the world go to Kashan to watch this festival. Golab Giri is the process of distilling fragrant roses (Called Mohammadi) into rose water which is used for medical and culinary purposes. They also use the decoction of the rose as a perfume. Additionally, they use it in Iranian religious ceremonies. The rose water is called “Golab” in Persian. Rose Water is classified depending on their purity degree. Rich Golab (first-class) comes from 30 kilograms Mohammadi rose distilling in 40 liters of water. Light Golab is the product of distilling 15 kilograms Mohammadi rose in 40 liters of water.

If you are visiting Iran on the last days of Persian year, you really have to make sure that you will take part in one of the oldest festivals of Iranians on the sunset of the last Tuesday of the year. The festival is called Chaharshanbe Soori in which people gather bushes or wood logs are gathered in piles and set into fire, and people jump over the fire in turns while singing traditional songs. They also eat nuts and candies together with their loved ones.

Yalda (or “birth”) Night, another important Persian festival, is held on the last evening of autumn that is on Azar 30 or December 20 or 21 to celebrate the longest night of the year. As ancient Persians used to be the followers of Zoroastrianism, there was a common belief that evil forces were dominant on the longest night of the year and that the next day belonged to the Lord of Wisdom, Ahura Mazda. Iranians gather together with their families and enjoy eating fruits like watermelon and pomegranate that are the symbols of this night. They also read some poetry from Hafez and make an ever-lasting memory.

Whatever your purpose is for traveling to Iran, one thing is for sure: you will never get bored. Several festivals take place in Iran every year:

The most well-reputed of all festivals in Iran is Nowrouz holiday which literally means "new day" and is the name of the Iranian or Persian New Year which is celebrated worldwide by the Iranians. It is on the 1st of Farvardin on Iranian calendar. Therefore, it will be on 21st of March or the previous or following day of the same date depending on solar observations. Nowrouz is, to some extent, rooted in the previous Iranian religions such as Mitraism or Zoroastrianism. Almost all festivals or rituals in these religions have had a close interrelation with the sun and its movements and of course its effects on harvesting or sowing the seeds. Regardless of this crucial element, Zoroastrianism is the primary monotheistic religion with a strong belief on the good and evil and the necessity of a connection between human and nature. Families gather together at the exact time that the sun crosses the celestial equator and celebrate the New Year. “Haft Seen”‎is one of the main traditions of Nowrouz. It is the arrangement of seven symbolic stuffs on a table linen. These stuffs all start with the letter “S” or “س“ in Persian alphabets and imply significant concepts:

Sabzeh (سبزه) - seed sprouts grown in advance which represents rebirth.
Senjed (سنجد) - dried Persian olive which shows love.
Somaq (سماق) - or sumac which signifies sunrise.
Seeb (سیب) - or apple which is a symbol of beauty and vitality.
Samanu (سمنو) - wheat pudding which is a sign of abundance.
Sekkeh (سکه) - or coin which indicates wealth.
Seer (سیر) - or garlic which demonstrates health.

Other supplementary additions to Haft-seen may vary from different traditions or religions. However, there may appear a holy book (Quran or Avesta), a mirror, candles, goldfish, painted eggs, hyacinth flower, a poetry book (Divan-e Hafez or Shahnameh), and Persian pastries (Shirini Nokhodchi or Nan-e Berenji).

Another festival that is worth attending is Golab Giri (Rose Water Distillation) that is held in May and June after picking the Mohammadi Rose’s bloom in rose gardens. There are so many cities which do this ceremony but the most famous one among them are Qamsar and Niasar in Kashan. So many tourists from all over the world go to Kashan to watch this festival. Golab Giri is the process of distilling fragrant roses (Called Mohammadi) into rose water which is used for medical and culinary purposes. They also use the decoction of the rose as a perfume. Additionally, they use it in Iranian religious ceremonies. The rose water is called “Golab” in Persian. Rose Water is classified depending on their purity degree. Rich Golab (first-class) comes from 30 kilograms Mohammadi rose distilling in 40 liters of water. Light Golab is the product of distilling 15 kilograms Mohammadi rose in 40 liters of water.

If you are visiting Iran on the last days of Persian year, you really have to make sure that you will take part in one of the oldest festivals of Iranians on the sunset of the last Tuesday of the year. The festival is called Chaharshanbe Soori in which people gather bushes or wood logs are gathered in piles and set into fire, and people jump over the fire in turns while singing traditional songs. They also eat nuts and candies together with their loved ones.

Yalda (or “birth”) Night, another important Persian festival, is held on the last evening of autumn that is on Azar 30 or December 20 or 21 to celebrate the longest night of the year. As ancient Persians used to be the followers of Zoroastrianism, there was a common belief that evil forces were dominant on the longest night of the year and that the next day belonged to the Lord of Wisdom, Ahura Mazda. Iranians gather together with their families and enjoy eating fruits like watermelon and pomegranate that are the symbols of this night. They also read some poetry from Hafez and make an ever-lasting memory.