The Last Tuesday of the Year in Iran!

Hi every body,
Today is the last Tuesday of the year in Iran. As you know, Iranian calendar is based on the Solar Calendar that is known as the most reliable and inclusive calendar. First, it has been used by Zoroaster and then has become the formal and main calendar in Iran.

There were various traditional ceremonies in Iran that have been forgotten with passing of time, but some of them still remain even though their form has been changed. One of them which is on the last Tuesday evening of each year is called “chahar-shanbe suri”. “Chahar-shanbe” means “Wednesday” in Persian.
Much time ago, there were some customs that women used to do at this night. One of them was “faal-gooshi” or “hearing the fortune”. Women used to go to crossroads and listen to the conversation of people passed by them and they used to interpret those words. It was kind of fortune telling mostly for the marriage of young girls. Another funny custom was “qaashoq-zani”. “Qaashoq” means “spoon” in Persian and women used to go and knock on the door of neighborhood’s houses by spoon for reaching their goals and desires! They used to wear a mask in order to be unknown and the member of that house used to give them some raw dried nuts. The person who used to knock on the door shouldn’t speak at all!
Beside these customs, people used to do fireworks which still are done in Iran. People do fireworks and jump over the fire. I remember my childhood that when we wanted to jump over the fire, we told something like an aphorism. The meaning of that aphorism is: “Fire! Your burning red face is from me, thus I am joyful rather than you. And my yellow face is from you, thus you are pale rather than me”! Elder people said that it will bring joy and happiness to the person.
Unfortunately, there have been a lot of dangerous fireworks in recent years and lots of people got injured at this night. I think the beauty of this ancient ceremony has been forgotten and the dangerous noisy fireworks have been replaced. But still I love this night as a traditional rite in the dear antique history of Iran. There are “Nowrooz” holidays, the official holidays of the New Year in Iran, a week later on Wednesday at three o’clock in the early morning. I will write for you about “Nowrooz” later! Happy “chahar-shanbe suri”! :-)