Culture
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Iranian Art Supporting Ongoing Protests
There is no way you haven`t heard of Mahsa Amini and the protests in Iran that her death sparkled. It has been on the news and all over social media for a month now. Let me tell you the whole story first to have a full picture of what`s going on in Iran. Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian girl, was visiting Tehran where she was detained by morality police. At the police station she passed out and went into coma, and two days later she died. The official reason for her death, a heart attack, was disputed by some independent doctors and witnesses who say that she was…
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Nowruz: Persian New Year Traditions
Nowruz is the biggest and oldest holiday celebrated in Iran. It takes a month of preparations and two (!) weeks of celebrations. So it might be a good idea to celebrate with Iranians. In this post, you will find out what Nowruz is and get familiar with Persian New Year traditions. Nowruz (Norooz) is as old as Iran itself. Somehow it is a symbol of Persian culture. The tradition of celebrating Nowruz unites Iranians from the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf. Nowruz means a new day. This is the day when a new year starts in Iran and corresponds with spring equinox which marks the start of spring.
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Iranian Cinema: An Overview of Fajr Film Festival
Fajr Film Festival may not be a well-known film festival in the world, but it is definitely a significant event inside Iran. Interestingly, not only people from cinema industry, but ordinary people as well (mostly younger generation) try to attend as many film screenings as possible. Read up to the end to find out why. As in Iranian cinemas you can see only Iranian movies (well, with rare exception), and even Iranian TV channels show a very small percent of foreign movies, Iranian cinema industry has to fulfill these needs and produce a huge number of films, animated films and documentaries. I`ve come up with interesting statistics that will help you imagine the scale of…
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Ashura in Iran: What to Do on Ashura in Tehran
Moharram is a month during which Iranians and other Shia Muslims commemorate the death of Imam Hossein. The mourning reaches its culmination at Ashura, the tenth day of Moharram. I have already written about Ashura in Iran and mourning ceremonies organized on this occasion here and here. During several years I`ve been living in Iran, I have attended quite a number of ceremonies in different parts of Tehran (there are still areas uncovered though). Some attract hundreds of people, while others are attended only by locals. However, many foreigners hesitate to go out on the day of Ashura which is the culmination of Moharram mourning ceremonies. Maybe, they are afraid of Iranians…
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Yalda Night in Iran: 5-Step Guide to Celebrate the Longest Night of the Year
Watermelon, pomegranate and nuts are traditional Yalda night treats Source: hamgardi.com As you might know, December 21st is Winter Solstice which means it`s the longest night in the year. Not many of us would have even noticed! However, for Iranians whose calendar is deeply intertwined with the laws of nature, it`s a big holiday called Yalda Night. Yalda Night awakes nostalgic feelings in most Iranians who had seen a more traditional, thorough and more widely celebrated Yalda night at their grandparents` house with all relatives gathered around korsi (a traditional heating device, if I may call it so) sharing sweet memories of the past, reciting poems of Hafez…
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Ramadan In Iran: How Not To Starve!
Ramadan is almost over. People have adjusted to a new pace of life, waiting for its ending, though. But this year Ramadan is not as it was last year. Iranian society changes so fast that you can see little changes every year. Take a look at how things were here last year and it has changed. I remember meeting a friend from the UK who was travelling around Iran during Ramadan 2-3 years ago. After visiting a museum around lunchtime, I remember, driving around Tehran in search of food, and there was literally no place to get any decent food. Finally, we went to the first supermarket we could find and…
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Ramadan: a month of fasting or a month of pretending
From the media you might have heard that Ramadan (Ramezan in Persian) is a holy month of fasting and like 90 percent of Iranians fast during this period of time. Even if you are inside in Iran, after seeing all the eateries closed during the day and most places like shops and parks getting crowded only after Iftar time (which is the official beginning of the night when Muslims can start eating), you might think that all the gossip that most Iranians follow the rules are true. But after taking a closer look you`ll see that Iranians spend Ramadan differently. If you simply go out and walk on the streets of…
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Moharram. The Time for Mourning: The Day of Ashura
Mourning in moharram reaches its culmination on the 10thday of moharram which is known as Ashura. On this day since morning people either take part or just watch mourning processions in the streets of Tehran. The procession starts with boys carrying flags with writings about Imam Hossein. They are followed by “alams” which are the central part of the whole ceremony and draw all people`s attention. “Alam” is a huge and heavy metal thing covered with feathers, metal figures of birds, lions and deer, every element of which symbolizes something. Although “alam” is extremely heavy, it`s carried by only one person who wears a special belt to help him carry…
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Moharram. The time for mourning: Food
Food is an inseparable part of any Iranian holiday, festival or even the day of mourning! And moharram is no exception. During the first ten days of moharram after the evening prayer (i.e. after sunset) in the streets of Tehran you can see numerous tents where you can get tea with sugar, dates or sweets absolutely for free. Some people, who are patient enough, visit so-called “heyats” where a mullah tells the story of Ashura and then the attendees get free food. When a family gets into trouble, for example, a child gets sick badly, the family prays and promises to God that if the child gets well,…
