Chaharshanbeh-Suri; fire festivity in Iran

Iranians welcome the arrival of spring with a centuries-old custom called Chaharshanbeh-Suri, which is celebrated on the eve of the last Wednesday before the Iranian New Year holidays.

News ID: ۸۳۰۴۰۹

12 March 2024

EghtesadOnline: A week before Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, family members, and friends gather by bunches of open fires and keep them lit till dawn.

The annual festival dates back 2,500 years and has its roots in pre-Islamic Persia.

Ancient Iranians marked Chaharshanbeh-Suri in a bid to ward off all the misfortunes and bad omens with hopes that their wishes would come true.

The street festival is the symbol of good health, cultivation, light, and purity for Iranians

Literally means ‘Wednesday Festivity’, Chaharshanbeh-Suri has its roots in ancient Persia traditions.

'Fire' is the defining element of Chaharshanbe Suri, and the practice mainly involves setting up bonfires in the streets and jumping over them.

In ancient Persia, fire was deemed as a sacred element, a belief that Zoroastrians still adhere to.

The fire has been supposed to give people warmth and energy and take away their paleness, sickness, and problems in return.

Many different traditions are followed on this night in different cities of Iran.

Jumping over the fire and buying a special mix of sweet and sour nuts is done in almost every city in Iran.

Eating these nuts on this occasion is believed to make your wishes come true.

Due to the growing advancement in modern life, the festivity has been over the years transforming or deforming from jumping over bonfires into a night of setting off firecrackers.

Traditions are having a hard time surviving among all the glitter and sparkle and dust and pollution of modern life.

You have a better chance of catching local people on the streets, singing traditional songs, and observing centuries-old customs in smaller cities, and rural areas, where the air is cleaner, the sky is clear, and time seems to move even slower, sometimes even standing still.

After three thousand years, Chaharshanbeh Suri is still marked as part of rituals to ring in the Persian New Year. The three-millennia-old tradition is believed to shake off the darkness of winter and welcome the vibrance of spring.

However, the traditional festival could be dangerous as well. Every year, authorities launch public awareness campaigns about the dangers of fireworks.

Some 26 people have been killed and more than 4,360 injured in Iran during the year-end festival. / Mehr