Sepandārmazgān () or Espandegān (), is an ancient

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ian day of women with

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...

roots.M. Boyce,
Textual sources for the study of Zoroastrianism
, University of Chicago Press, 1990. pp. 19–20 This day is dedicated to '' Spənta Ārmaiti'' (

Avestan Avestan ( ) is the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism. It belongs to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family and was First language, originally spoken during the Avestan period, Old ...

for "Holy Devotion", ' in

Middle Persian Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...

, ' or '), the

Amesha Spenta In Zoroastrianism, the Amesha Spenta (—literally "Immortal (which is) holy/bounteous/furthering") are a class of seven divine entities emanating from Ahura Mazda, the highest divinity of the religion. Later Middle Persian variations of the ter ...

who is given the domain of "

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

". The date of the festival as observed in the Sassanid era was on the 5th day of the month Spandarmad. When the name of the day and the month of the day were the same, a "name-feast" celebration was always done. According to the testimony of

al-Biruni Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (; ; 973after 1050), known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously "Father of Comparative Religion", "Father of modern ...

, in the 11th century CE there was a festival when the names of the day and the month were the same. The deity Spandarmad protected the Earth and the "good, chaste and beneficent wife who loves her husband". According to him, the festival used to be dedicated to women, and men would make them "liberal presents", and the custom was still flourishing in some districts of

Pahla ''Pahla'' ( Persian: پهله, arabized as ''Fahla'' فهله) or ''Pahlaw'' (پهلو) refers to the late antique and post-Islamic region of the Parthians in central and western Iran, which corresponds to the early ancient regions of Atropatene ...

Barzegaran Festival

The jashn-e barzegarán (Festival of Agriculturists), is celebrated in Iran also on the 5th day of Spandarmad month (the Spandarmad day). People pray for good harvest, honor the deity of Earth Spandārmad, and put signs on doors to destroy evil spirits. The observation of this festival has been revived in modern Iran, where it is mostly set on the 5th day of

Esfand Esfand (, ) is the twelfth and final month of the Solar Hijri calendar, the official calendar of Iran and Afghanistan. Esfand has twenty-nine days normally, and thirty during leap years. It begins in February and ends in March of the Gregorian c ...

in the Solar Hejri calendar introduced in 1925, corresponding to

24 February Events Pre-1600 * 484 – King Huneric of the Vandals replaces Nicene Christianity, Nicene bishops with Arianism, Arian ones, and banishes some to Corsica. *1303 – The English are defeated at the Battle of Roslin, in the First War of ...

. The modern festival is a celebration day of love towards mothers and wives.

Historical festival

Descriptions of this festival are given in medieval historiographical sources such as

Gardizi Abū Saʿīd ʿAbd-al-Ḥayy ibn Żaḥḥāk ibn Maḥmūd Gardīzī (), better known as Gardizi (), was an 11th-century Persian historian and official, who is notable for having written the ''Zayn al-akhbar'', one of the earliest history books ...

Biruni Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (; ; 973after 1050), known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously "Father of Comparative Religion", "Father of modern ...

and Abu al-Hasan al-Mas'udi. According to Biruni, it was a day where women rested and men had to bring them gifts. In the section about Persian calendar,

writes in ''

The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' that:The Chronology Of Ancient Nations, trans.Edward Sachau. London: Elibron Classics, 2005 Furthermore,

notes that on this day, commoners ate raisins and

pomegranate The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punica, Punicoideae, that grows between tall. Rich in symbolic and mythological associations in many cultures, it is thought to have o ...

seeds. According to

, this celebration was special for women, and they called this day also ' (Persian: , literally "possessing of men").

Modern revival

The revival of the festival dates to the

Pahlavi dynasty The Pahlavi dynasty () is an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian royal dynasty that was the Pahlavi Iran, last to rule Iran before the country's monarchy was abolished by the Iranian Revolution in 1979. It was founded in 1925 by Reza Shah, Reza S ...

, advocated by Ebrahim Pourdavoud as "Nurses' Day" () in 1962. مجموعه مقالات آناهیتا (''Anahita'' Proceedings), Tehran University Publications, 1962 (1342), p 165. The date of the modern festival is on the 5th of

in the Iranian calendar (24 February) due to the reorganization of the calendar, once by

Omar Khayyam Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīshābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131) (Persian language, Persian: غیاث الدین ابوالفتح عمر بن ابراهیم خیام نیشابورﻯ), commonly known as Omar ...

in the 11th century.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sepandarmazgan

Culture of Iran Festivals in Iran Persian words and phrases February observances Zoroastrian festivals Observances set by the Solar Hijri calendar Winter in Iran Days celebrating love

Barzegaran Festival

Historical festival

Modern revival

See also

Notes