2022-03-15 19:22:57
What I'm gonna be talking about is called Chahaar shanbeh soori which is a cross between a ritual and a festival, a ceremony or a even a carnival, although there's nothing like a parade or anything , so I would say, it's pretty unique. It's the last Tuesday of the year and on this day, people set off firecrackers, of course, sometimes these fireworks turn out to be tantamount to bombs rather than firecrackers. We gotta admit that we are a nation of people who tend to go overboard with anything. I guess, we always live in either extremes, be it fireworks or drinking or doing drugs for that matter. We usually don't quit until something goes really wrong. Not a Chahaar shanbeh soori goes by without people getting burned, losing an eye or even a limb, which I guess is really dumb. Unfortunately, it always ends in tears for some people.
Some people throw parties, sometimes outdoors. Of course, ever since the revolution, the whole ritual has been somewhat frowned upon by the supporters of the regime, establishment, whatever you call it... It has always been the people versus the powers that be. The Islamic establishment doesn't really approve of any activity that is a reminder of Iranianism. They find these activities to be a threat to what has been the fruition of Islamic aspirations.
There is also another thing that people do or maybe I should have said "used to do" cause it's not as common as it used to be and that is what we call Ghaashog zani. This is actually an equivalent to trick or treat. You knock on a door in the neighborhood while hitting a spoon to a metal bowl of some sort making a rather loud clanking noise and the owner of the house is supposed to put something in the bowl; a candy, nuts or whatever they could spare. The person who is doing the begging-like thing sometimes hangs something like a sheet over their heads so they wouldn't be recognized.
One more thing which is an integral part of the night is jumping over bonfires. People jump over fire while shouting something which translates as "I'm rosy because of you and you're yellow because of me"... or maybe it's the other way around, I'm not really sure. Essentially, it somehow is a way of showing respect to fire which is rather sacred in our culture which is in fact rooted in Zoroastrianism. I guess that's one of the reasons why the regime isn't really thrilled about this ceremony! Actually, they're like downright against the whole thing.
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