Today is the first day of autumn in Iran. In very ancient Persia this spectacular season was the beginning of New Year. Why? Because this season is the beginning of agricultural year - regard this day as a kind of harvest festival.
The first month of autumn in Iran is called: Mehr. Today is the first day of Mehr. But who is Mehr?
Mehr or Mitra is the name of a legendary god in ancient Persia. He is the god of brightness, friendship and affection. In order to appreciate this god, Mehr, Persian people celebrate this day and called it Mehregan (1500 years later they celebrated Mehregan in 16th day of this month).
But what did ancient Persian do in this day?
This day had a special color: a dark red color or burgundy. People wore dark red colors dresses or at least dresses with dark red color design.
They spread a kind of cloth called "Sofreh" (Iranian eats their meals on Sofreh). Guess what the color of sofreh was? Yes, dark red!
They put a lot of autumn fruit, especially red ones on Sofreh: Apple, pomegranate, grape, sinjid and etc.
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and also different nuts (such as pistachio, walnut, and almond). They also drank a special drink (an essence of a planet mixed with water or milk) and ate special bread (made of 7 different grains). There were also candles, sweets and rosewater on Sofreh. They spent their time celebrating, listening to music and dancing.
Sounds interesting?
Do you want to see a special place for festivals in old Persia? An old city dates back to 3000 years ago?
The capital City of Achaemenid Empire, also used as a showplace for festivals? From every nationality, you are very welcomed to walk in great Persepolis; a UNESCO world heritage:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/114
Check our tours in incredibleiran.com; almost all of our tours include this unique historical site.
And warmly wish you a Happy Mehregan.
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