Sizdah-Bedar is termed as Nature Day in Iranian calendars as in this day all parks and local plains are absolutely packed with people. Children and adults are warned not to cause any danger for nature and to try to preserve it.
Sizdah-Bedar literally means to stay outdoors on the 13th. Some say it is to ward off the bad omen of the unlucky day.
There is a belief that one year on the 13th of Farvardin (the first month of the Iranian solar year) a huge earthquake hit the country killing a great number of people. Since then, every year on the 13th of Farvardin people leave their homes to spend as much time as possible outdoors in order to keep away from danger and to get rid of the day’s bad omen.
Green is the color of the day; meals that are prepared for the picnic usually include green herbs, people bring along their Sabzeh (green shoots or sprouts grown especially for the New Year celebrations and kept throughout the festivities) and throw it mainly in running waters and small rivers at the end of the day.
Goldfish which are placed alongside the other traditional emblems of the new year are also brought out and released in rivers and lakes.
Another tradition is the act of knotting green shoots. It is believed that unwed girls can wish for a husband by going into the fields and tying a knot between two green shoots, symbolizing a marriage knot.
As the sun descends on one of the year’s most enjoyable days, one by one and group by group, the children, the young, and the old head homewards ready to embark on a year of hard work and prosperity.
HL/MS
End
MNA
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