Chaharshanbe Suri: Ancient Persian Festival Turning into a Battlefield of Casualties

Описание: Chaharshanbe Suri is an Iranian festival celebrated on the eve of the last Wednesday of the year. It is the first festivity of the Nowruz Celebrations festival.

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The Persian name of the festival consists of čahāršanbe (چهارشنبه), the name of Wednesday in the Iranian calendars, and suri (سوری), which has two meanings; it may mean "festive" and it may also mean "scarlet" (in traditional persian and some current local dialects in Iran), which stems from the reddish theme of fire. In specific, since the fire has a basic role in this event, the latter meaning (i.e. the scarlet) makes more sense. Local varieties of the name of the festival include Azerbaijani Gūl Čāršamba (in Ardabil and Tabriz), Kurdish Kola Čowāršamba and Čowāršama Koli (in Kurdistan), and Isfahani Persian Čāršambe Sorxi (in Isfahan).To the Yezidi Kurds, it is known as Çarşema Sor.

Historical background:
The festival has its origin in ancient Iranian rituals. The ancient Iranians celebrated the festival of Hamaspathmaedaya (Hamaspaθmaēdaya), the last five days of the year in honor of the spirits of the dead, which is today referred to as Farvardinegan. They believed that the spirits of the dead would come for reunion. The seven holy immortals (Aməša Spənta) were honored, and were bidden a formal ritual farewell at the dawn of the New Year. The festival also coincided with festivals celebrating the creation of fire and humans. By the time of the Sasanian Empire, the festival was divided into two distinct pentads, known as the lesser and the greater panje. The belief had gradually developed that the "lesser panje" belonged to the souls of children and those who died without sin, while the "greater panje" was for all souls.

Jumping over the fire:
Before the start of the festival, people gather brushwood in an open, free exterior space. At sunset, after making one or more bonfires, they jump over the flames, singing sorkhi-ye to az man, zardi-ye man az to, literally meaning "[let] your redness [be] mine, my paleness yours", or a local equivalent of it. This is considered a purification practice.

Spoon-banging:
Charshanbe Suri includes a custom similar to trick-or-treating that is called qāšoq-zani (قاشق‌زنی‎), literally translated as "spoon-banging". It is observed by people wearing disguises and going door-to-door to hit spoons against plates or bowls and receive packaged snacks.

Smashing the pot:
In most towns pots are smashed after the jumping over fire; this custom is evidently rooted in the superstitious belief that smashing a pot transfers misfortune from the people of the house to the pot. There are slight variations in different regions. In Tehran one or more coins are put into a new jug, which is then dropped from the roof to the street below. Until the early years of the Pahlavi period many Tehranis liked to go to the gallery of the Naqqāra-ḵāna, where drummers used to perform at certain hours, and drop their jugs from there. In Khorasan a lump of charcoal symbolizing bad luck, salt to ward off the evil eye, and coins for charity are put into the pot before it is smashed; then each member of the family swings the pot around his or her head so that any misfortune due in the coming year may be transferred to the pot. Finally, the pot is thrown from the roof into the street. In eastern and southeastern Iran a useless old pot is usually chosen, rather than a new one. In Arāk and the Āštīān district grains of barley are put into the pot.