Chaharshanbeh-Suri registered on Iran's intangible heritage list
TEHRAN, March 16 (Mehr News Agency) -- The old tradition of
Chaharshanbeh-Suri (Fireworks Wednesday) was recently registered on Iran's
intangible heritage list.
Chaharshanbeh-Suri is an old tradition of Iranians practiced every last Tuesday
of Iranian calendar year. Iranian nation celebrate this evening tomorrow night
by making fire and jumping over the fire, just a few days before the arrival of
Noruz (March 21).
This tradition was registered on the national list in the presence of cultural
heritage experts, helping to insure that this tradition not to be forgotten over
the passage of time.
The historical documents indicate that people hold a ceremony on this day to
ward off all the misfortunes and bad omens, hoping that their wishes will come
true.
This ancient tradition like all the other ceremonies has its own special
customs. Each family used to collect piles of bushes on the roof, in the yard or
in alleys. At sunset, family members, old and young jumped over the fire singing
several rhymes whose words asked the fire to take away all their pain, bad luck
and illness, and bestow happiness and health upon them.
They believed that the ash of fire is ominous since people gave all their
problems and illness to the fire and this had to be removed from their house. So
the women used to take the ashes out of home and pour them into running water
outside. On the way back home, they knocked on the door and say they are back
from a wedding ceremony and are bringing health and happiness for the family.
There was this belief that making a fire in the house would help kill all the
harmful beings inside and would clear the house of evil spirits. Afterwards,
they threw the ashes in water so that it took all misfortunes away.
Afterwards, each family picked one pot and put coal as in it as a sign of bad
luck, a little salt symbolizing the evil eye, and one coin symbolizing poverty.
Then the pot was moved around the head of all family members and the last one
would take the pot on the roof and throw it into the alley saying, "I throw away
the misfortune and all bad luck to the alley."
Women and young girls used to go out of the home and stand by roads and pathways
and secretly listen to what the passers by said. If they heard good and sweet
words they felt their wishes would come true, if not, they would be
disappointed.
Also at nights, girls used to pick up a bowl and one spoon and covering their
faces, would go to the doors of neighboring houses and strike their bowls with
their spoons as a gesture for home owners to put something in their bowls such
as candies, sweets or some money.
Families who had a sick person in their homes also cooked a special soup called
patient soup and gave some to the patient himself and also distributed the
remainder among the poor, believing the soup would improve their health in the
coming year.
Dried nuts were also distributed among passers by on this night by women who had
made a wish, hoping it would come true. Of course, these days dried nuts are
only one of the item served at home on this night.
The historical research works prove that all these ceremonies were mingled with
good behaviors and morality and in all of them, a strong belief in God, hope for
life, and struggle with the devil were observed.
None of the violent rituals of today like setting off firecrackers and throwing
dangerous things into the air were seen in those days.
