Mehregan
Encyclopedia
Mehrgân or Jashn-e Mehregân is a Zoroastrian
and Persian (Iranian
) festival celebrated since the pre-Islamic era to honor the Yazata
of "Mehr" , which is responsible for friendship, affection and love. It is also widely referred to as Persian Festival of Autumn.
name-day feasts, a form it retains even today, even in (predominantly) Islamic Persia where it is of the few pre-Islamic festivals that continue to be celebrated by the public at large.
As mentioned above, Mehrgān is a name-day feast. These name-day feasts are festivals celebrated on the day of the year when the day-name and month-name dedicated to a particular angel or virtue intersect. The pre-Islamic Persians (Iranians) had 30-day months, which means that each day in each month had a different name. 12 of the days are also names of the 12 months. The day whose name corresponded to the name of the month was celebrated. It was a celebration of life, the season, God, and joy.
Concerning Mehrgan, the Mehr day in the Mehr month also corresponded to the day farmers collected their crops. They thus also celebrated the fact God had given them food to survive the coming cold months. Today, only two of these name-day continue to have a wide following in (predominantly) Islamic Iran. These are Mehrgan, dedicated to Mehr, and Tirgan, dedicated to Tishtrya/Tir.
Irrespective of which calendar is observed, Mehrgān falls on the 196th day of the calendar year. For details on how this date is calculated, see basis for the date, below. For calendars that have March 21 as Nowruz
or New Year's Day (i.e. in the Fasili and Bastani variants of the Zoroastrian calendar
as well as in the Iranian civil calendar
), Mehrgān falls on October 2. For the Shahanshahi variant of the Zoroastrian calendar, which in 2006–2007 has New Year's Day on August 20, Mehrgān fell on March 3 of the following Gregorian year. For the Kadmi variant, which has New Year's Day 30 days earlier, Mehrgān falls on February 1.
In Biruni's 11th century Book of Instructions in the Elements of the Art of Astrology (233), the astronomer observed that "some people have given the preference to Mihragān [over Nowruz
, i.e. New Year's day/Spring Equinox] by as much as they prefer autumn to spring."
As Biruni also does for the other festival days he mentions, he reiterates a local anecdotal association for his description of Mehrgan (ha al-mirjan in the author's Arabic parlance) with a fragment of a tale from Iranian folklore: On this day, Fereydun
vanquished the evil Dahak and confined him to Mount Damavand
. This fragment of the legend is part of a greater cycle that ties Mehrgan with Nowruz; Dahak vanquished Jamshid
(who the legends have as the one establishing Nowruz or New Year's Day), and Fereydun vanquishes Dahak, so restoring the balance. The association of Mehrgan with the polarity of spring/autumn, sowing/harvest and the birth/rebirth cycle did not escape Biruni either, for as he noted, "they consider Mihragān as a sign of resurrection and the end of the world, because at Mihragān that which grows reaches perfection."
. Not only was it the time for harvest, but it was also the time when the taxes were collected. Visitors from different parts of the Persian Empire brought gifts for the king all contributing to a lively festival.
During pre-Islamic and early Islamic Iran, Mehrgān was celebrated with the same magnificence and pageantry as Nowruz
. It was customary for people to send or give their king, and each other, gifts. Rich people usually gave gold and silver coins, heroes and warriors gave horses while others gave gifts according to their financial power and ability, even as simple as an apple. Those fortunate enough would help the poor with gifts.
Gifts to the royal court of over ten thousand gold coins were registered. If the gift-giver needed money at a later time, the court would then return twice the gift amount. Kings gave two audiences a year: one audience at Nowruz
and other at Mehregān. During the Mehregān celebrations, the king wore a fur robe and gave away all his summer clothes.
After the Mongol invasion of Iran
, the feast celebration of Mehrgān lost its popularity. Zoroastrians of Yazd
and Kermān
continued to celebrate Mehrgān in an extravagant way.
("little Avesta"), a mirror and a sormeh-dan (a traditional eyeliner or kohl
) are placed on the table together with rosewater, sweets, flowers, vegetables and fruits, especially pomegranates and apples, and nuts such as almonds or pistachios. A few silver coins and lotus seeds are placed in a dish of water scented with marjoram extract.
A burner is also part of the table setting for kondor/loban (frankincense
) and espand (Syrian Rue
seeds) to be thrown on the flames.
At lunch time when the ceremony begins, everyone in the family stands in front of the mirror to pray. Sherbet is drunk and then—as a good omen—sormeh is applied around the eyes. Handfuls of wild marjoram, lotus and sugar plum seeds are thrown over one another's heads while they embrace one another.
In 1960s the Postal Service in Tehran
issued a series of stamps to commemorate Mehrgan Festival.
What that day corresponds to in another calendar is subject to which variant of the Zoroastrian calendar is followed:
The Bastani calendar is used primarily in Greater Persia
and by Persians of the diaspora, while Zoroastrians of India (subject to calendrical faction) use one of the other three variants.
Non-Zoroastrian Iranians do not of course observe any variant of the Zoroastrian calendar, but instead use the Iranian civil calendar
. When introduced in 1925, the Zoroastrian festival days were pegged to the Bastani variant of the Zoroastrian calendar. Because the first six months of the civil calendar have 31 days each, while all Zoroastrian calendar months have 30 days each, by the 7th month (Mehr) there is a difference of 6 days between the two. Thus, October 2, which in the Bastani/Fasili calendar is the 16th day of Mehr month, is in the Persian civil calendar the 10th day (Aban
) of the same month.
The relationship between Mehrgān and the various calendars is perhaps better understood relative to New Year's Day (Nowruz
). When (relative to another calendar) the 1st day of the year occurs is subject to interpretation, but independent of when it occurs, Mehrgān is celebrated 195 days after that, that is on the 196th day of the year.
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
and Persian (Iranian
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
) festival celebrated since the pre-Islamic era to honor the Yazata
Yazata
Yazata is the Avestan language word for a Zoroastrian concept. The word has a wide range of meanings but generally signifies a divinity...
of "Mehr" , which is responsible for friendship, affection and love. It is also widely referred to as Persian Festival of Autumn.
Introduction
Mehrgan was once a Persian festival, and possibly even older, but what forms it then remains in the realm of speculation. By the 4th century BC, it was observed as one of the ZoroastrianZoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
name-day feasts, a form it retains even today, even in (predominantly) Islamic Persia where it is of the few pre-Islamic festivals that continue to be celebrated by the public at large.
As mentioned above, Mehrgān is a name-day feast. These name-day feasts are festivals celebrated on the day of the year when the day-name and month-name dedicated to a particular angel or virtue intersect. The pre-Islamic Persians (Iranians) had 30-day months, which means that each day in each month had a different name. 12 of the days are also names of the 12 months. The day whose name corresponded to the name of the month was celebrated. It was a celebration of life, the season, God, and joy.
Concerning Mehrgan, the Mehr day in the Mehr month also corresponded to the day farmers collected their crops. They thus also celebrated the fact God had given them food to survive the coming cold months. Today, only two of these name-day continue to have a wide following in (predominantly) Islamic Iran. These are Mehrgan, dedicated to Mehr, and Tirgan, dedicated to Tishtrya/Tir.
Irrespective of which calendar is observed, Mehrgān falls on the 196th day of the calendar year. For details on how this date is calculated, see basis for the date, below. For calendars that have March 21 as Nowruz
Nowruz
Nowrūz is the name of the Iranian New Year in Iranian calendars and the corresponding traditional celebrations. Nowruz is also widely referred to as the Persian New Year....
or New Year's Day (i.e. in the Fasili and Bastani variants of the Zoroastrian calendar
Zoroastrian calendar
This article treats of the reckoning of days, months and years in the calendar used by adherents of the Zoroastrian faith. Zoroastrian religious festivals are discussed elsewhere, but have a fixed relationship to Nawruz, the New Year festival, whose timing is discussed below...
as well as in the Iranian civil calendar
Iranian calendar
The Iranian calendars or sometimes called Persian calendars are a succession of calendars invented or used for over two millennia in Greater Iran...
), Mehrgān falls on October 2. For the Shahanshahi variant of the Zoroastrian calendar, which in 2006–2007 has New Year's Day on August 20, Mehrgān fell on March 3 of the following Gregorian year. For the Kadmi variant, which has New Year's Day 30 days earlier, Mehrgān falls on February 1.
In Biruni's 11th century Book of Instructions in the Elements of the Art of Astrology (233), the astronomer observed that "some people have given the preference to Mihragān [over Nowruz
Nowruz
Nowrūz is the name of the Iranian New Year in Iranian calendars and the corresponding traditional celebrations. Nowruz is also widely referred to as the Persian New Year....
, i.e. New Year's day/Spring Equinox] by as much as they prefer autumn to spring."
As Biruni also does for the other festival days he mentions, he reiterates a local anecdotal association for his description of Mehrgan (ha al-mirjan in the author's Arabic parlance) with a fragment of a tale from Iranian folklore: On this day, Fereydun
Fereydun
Fereydūn also pronounced Farīdūn or Afrīdūn , also called Apam Napat, "Son of the Waters", is the name of an Iranian mythical king and hero who is an emblem of victory, justice and generosity in the Persian literature.-Etymology:All of the forms of...
vanquished the evil Dahak and confined him to Mount Damavand
Mount Damavand
Mount Damāvand also known as Donbavand, a potentially active volcano and the highest peak in Iran, has a special place in Persian mythology and folklore...
. This fragment of the legend is part of a greater cycle that ties Mehrgan with Nowruz; Dahak vanquished Jamshid
Jamshid
Jamshid is a mythological figure of Greater Iranian culture and tradition.In tradition and folklore, Jamshid is described as having been the fourth and greatest king of the epigraphically unattested Pishdadian dynasty . This role is already alluded to in Zoroastrian scripture Jamshid (Middle-...
(who the legends have as the one establishing Nowruz or New Year's Day), and Fereydun vanquishes Dahak, so restoring the balance. The association of Mehrgan with the polarity of spring/autumn, sowing/harvest and the birth/rebirth cycle did not escape Biruni either, for as he noted, "they consider Mihragān as a sign of resurrection and the end of the world, because at Mihragān that which grows reaches perfection."
In ancient times
Mehrgān was celebrated in an extravagant style at PersepolisPersepolis
Perspolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire . Persepolis is situated northeast of the modern city of Shiraz in the Fars Province of modern Iran. In contemporary Persian, the site is known as Takht-e Jamshid...
. Not only was it the time for harvest, but it was also the time when the taxes were collected. Visitors from different parts of the Persian Empire brought gifts for the king all contributing to a lively festival.
During pre-Islamic and early Islamic Iran, Mehrgān was celebrated with the same magnificence and pageantry as Nowruz
Nowruz
Nowrūz is the name of the Iranian New Year in Iranian calendars and the corresponding traditional celebrations. Nowruz is also widely referred to as the Persian New Year....
. It was customary for people to send or give their king, and each other, gifts. Rich people usually gave gold and silver coins, heroes and warriors gave horses while others gave gifts according to their financial power and ability, even as simple as an apple. Those fortunate enough would help the poor with gifts.
Gifts to the royal court of over ten thousand gold coins were registered. If the gift-giver needed money at a later time, the court would then return twice the gift amount. Kings gave two audiences a year: one audience at Nowruz
Nowruz
Nowrūz is the name of the Iranian New Year in Iranian calendars and the corresponding traditional celebrations. Nowruz is also widely referred to as the Persian New Year....
and other at Mehregān. During the Mehregān celebrations, the king wore a fur robe and gave away all his summer clothes.
After the Mongol invasion of Iran
Ilkhanate
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate , was a Mongol khanate established in Azerbaijan and Persia in the 13th century, considered a part of the Mongol Empire...
, the feast celebration of Mehrgān lost its popularity. Zoroastrians of Yazd
Yazd
Yazd is the capital of Yazd Province in Iran, and a centre of Zoroastrian culture. The city is located some 175 miles southeast of Isfahan. At the 2006 census, the population was 423,006, in 114,716 families....
and Kermān
Kerman
- Geological characteristics :For the Iranian paleontologists, Kerman has always been considered a fossil paradise. Finding new dinosaur footprints in 2005 has now revealed new hopes for paleontologists to better understand the history of this area.- Economy :...
continued to celebrate Mehrgān in an extravagant way.
In the present-day
For this celebration, the participants wear new clothes and set a decorative, colorful table. The sides of the tablecloth are decorated with dry wild marjoram. A copy of the Khordeh AvestaAvesta
The Avesta is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language.-Early transmission:The texts of the Avesta — which are all in the Avestan language — were composed over the course of several hundred years. The most important portion, the Gathas,...
("little Avesta"), a mirror and a sormeh-dan (a traditional eyeliner or kohl
Kohl
Kohl is a German word meaning cabbage.Kohl may stand for*Kohl , a traditional Middle Eastern cosmetic*Kohl's, a company that operates department stores located in the United States*KOHL, a radio station in Fremont, California...
) are placed on the table together with rosewater, sweets, flowers, vegetables and fruits, especially pomegranates and apples, and nuts such as almonds or pistachios. A few silver coins and lotus seeds are placed in a dish of water scented with marjoram extract.
A burner is also part of the table setting for kondor/loban (frankincense
Frankincense
Frankincense, also called olibanum , is an aromatic resin obtained from trees of the genus Boswellia, particularly Boswellia sacra, B. carteri, B. thurifera, B. frereana, and B. bhaw-dajiana...
) and espand (Syrian Rue
Harmal
Harmal is a plant of the family Nitrariaceae, native from the eastern Mediterranean region east to India. It is also known as Wild Rue or Syrian Rue because of its resemblance to plants of the rue family....
seeds) to be thrown on the flames.
At lunch time when the ceremony begins, everyone in the family stands in front of the mirror to pray. Sherbet is drunk and then—as a good omen—sormeh is applied around the eyes. Handfuls of wild marjoram, lotus and sugar plum seeds are thrown over one another's heads while they embrace one another.
In 1960s the Postal Service in Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
issued a series of stamps to commemorate Mehrgan Festival.
Basis for the date
As noted above, Mehrgān is a name-day feast. These name-day feasts are festivals celebrated on the day of the year when the day-name and month-name dedicated to a particular angel or virtue intersect. Indeed, Zoroastrian Persians before Islam had 30-days months, which means that each day in a month had a different name. 12 of the days are also names of the 12 months. The day whose name corresponded to the name of the month was celebrated. It was a celebration of life, climate changing, God, joy. In Zoroastrianism, happiness is really important and is considered as holy and must be attracted. Thus, this religion has always had many feasts and celebrations.What that day corresponds to in another calendar is subject to which variant of the Zoroastrian calendar is followed:
- The Fasili and Bastani variants of the religious calendar adhere to GregorianGregorian calendarThe Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
intercalation (leap-day) rules, and therefore Mehregān is celebrated on a day that is fixed in relation to the Gregorian calendar. Mehrgān is then always on October 2nd.
- The Shahanshahi and Kadmi variants of the religious calendar do not intercalate at all, with the result that over the last 14 centuries, Mehrgān has fallen behind and is presently either 7th (Shahenshahi) or 8th (Kadmi) months before the same date in the Fasili and Bastani variants.
The Bastani calendar is used primarily in Greater Persia
Greater Iran
Greater Iran refers to the regions that have significant Iranian cultural influence. It roughly corresponds to the territory on the Iranian plateau and its bordering plains, stretching from Iraq, the Caucasus, and Turkey in the west to the Indus River in the east...
and by Persians of the diaspora, while Zoroastrians of India (subject to calendrical faction) use one of the other three variants.
Non-Zoroastrian Iranians do not of course observe any variant of the Zoroastrian calendar, but instead use the Iranian civil calendar
Iranian calendar
The Iranian calendars or sometimes called Persian calendars are a succession of calendars invented or used for over two millennia in Greater Iran...
. When introduced in 1925, the Zoroastrian festival days were pegged to the Bastani variant of the Zoroastrian calendar. Because the first six months of the civil calendar have 31 days each, while all Zoroastrian calendar months have 30 days each, by the 7th month (Mehr) there is a difference of 6 days between the two. Thus, October 2, which in the Bastani/Fasili calendar is the 16th day of Mehr month, is in the Persian civil calendar the 10th day (Aban
Aban
Apas is the Avestan language term for "the waters", which—in its innumerable aggregate states—is represented by the Apas, the hypostases of the waters....
) of the same month.
The relationship between Mehrgān and the various calendars is perhaps better understood relative to New Year's Day (Nowruz
Nowruz
Nowrūz is the name of the Iranian New Year in Iranian calendars and the corresponding traditional celebrations. Nowruz is also widely referred to as the Persian New Year....
). When (relative to another calendar) the 1st day of the year occurs is subject to interpretation, but independent of when it occurs, Mehrgān is celebrated 195 days after that, that is on the 196th day of the year.
External links
- Video: Mehregan Festival of Persians in Holland, 2011
- MubadMobadA mobed or mobad is a Zoroastrian cleric of a particular rank. Unlike a herbad , a mobed is qualified to serve as celebrant priest at the Yasna ceremony. A mobed is also qualified to train other priests....
Kamran Jamshidi, The Festival of Kind-heartedness [Mehr] and Covenant, in Persian, Jadid Online, 7 October 2009.