INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
TEHRAN-- On Monday night, clusters of Iranian Zoroastrians celebrated the value of light, fire, and energy in a conventional mid-winter
celebration gave from generation to generation for millennia.The festivity, which typically falls on January 30, is nowadays more popular
among Zoroastrians in Tehran, Yazd, Shiraz, and Kerman.The feast, according to legend, honors the fictitious discovery of fire
When the action reaches its peak, they light a large pile of wood on fire.In an effort to maintain the revered celebration, Jashn-e Sadeh
was contributed to Irans National Intangible Cultural Heritage list in May 2020
The event, which is called after the number 100 (Sad in Farsi), occurs 50 days and 50 nights prior to Noruz, the start of the Iranian fiscal
It is emphasized by a popular belief that commemorating the day the earth starts to warm up is a mid-winter ritual.The origins of the
celebration are uncertain, according to specialists, and there is no reference of this event in the Zoroastrian holy texts
The worlds earliest monotheistic faith, Zoroastrianism, is stated to have actually preceded the ceremony, according to some historians.Some
individuals believe that Sadeh is an event to celebrate fire and ward off the forces of coldness, ice, and darkness
The celebration is connected to the beginnings of people in a number of mythological stories
Houshang, the 2nd king of the world in Persian folklore, is said to have found fire while attempting to strike a dragon with a stone
According to reports, he threw a flintstone, which when it struck another flintstone, produced a trigger and started a fire.Some Zoroastrian
priests (Moobeds) recite verses from the Avesta, the Zoroastrian faiths holy book, prior to starting the massive open fire
As a mark of tidiness and orderliness, the priests are always attired in white cotton bathrobes, pants, and hats
In addition, Moobeds and Zoroastrian ladies and young boys, all dressed in white and carrying torches, circle the cluster of shrubs
The cheers of the crowd magnify as they light the fire.AFM
