Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion and one of the world's History of religion, oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian peoples, Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a Dualism in cosmology, du ...
has numerous festivals and holy days, all of which are bound to the
Zoroastrian calendar
Adherents of Zoroastrianism use three distinct versions of traditional calendars for liturgical purposes, all derived from medieval Iranian calendars and ultimately based on the Babylonian calendar as used in the Achaemenid empire.
''Qadimi'' ...
. The ''
Shahenshahi
Zoroastrianism has numerous festivals and holy days, all of which are bound to the Zoroastrian calendar. The '' Shahenshahi'' and ''Kadmi'' variants of the calendar do not intercalate leap years and hence the day of the Gregorian calendar year on ...
'' and ''Kadmi'' variants of the calendar do not intercalate leap years and hence the day of the Gregorian calendar year on which these days are celebrated shifts ahead with time. The third variant of the Zoroastrian calendar, known as either ''Fasli'' (in India) or ''Bastani'' (in Iran), intercalates according to Gregorian calendar rules and thus remains synchronous with the seasons. For details on the differences, see
Zoroastrian calendar
Adherents of Zoroastrianism use three distinct versions of traditional calendars for liturgical purposes, all derived from medieval Iranian calendars and ultimately based on the Babylonian calendar as used in the Achaemenid empire.
''Qadimi'' ...
.
Seasonal festivals
Six irregularly-spaced seasonal festivals, called '' gahanbars'' (meaning "proper season"), are celebrated during the religious year. The six festivals are additionally associated with the six "primordial creations" of
Ahura Mazda
Ahura Mazda (; ae, , translit=Ahura Mazdā; ), also known as Oromasdes, Ohrmazd, Ahuramazda, Hoormazd, Hormazd, Hormaz and Hurmuz, is the creator deity in Zoroastrianism. He is the first and most frequently invoked spirit in the ''Yasna''. ...
, otherwise known as the
Amesha Spenta
In Zoroastrianism, the Amesha Spenta ( ae, , Aməša Spəṇta—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 ...
s, and through them with aspects of creation (the sky, the waters, the earth, plant life, animal life, humankind). Due to the peculiarities of the ''Shahenshahi'' and ''Kadmi'' variants of the Zoroastrian calendar, which do not
intercalate
Intercalation may refer to:
*Intercalation (chemistry), insertion of a molecule (or ion) into layered solids such as graphite
* Intercalation (timekeeping), insertion of a leap day, week or month into some calendar years to make the calendar foll ...
and are therefore no longer synchronized with the seasons, the seasonal festivals are actually celebrated many months in advance. The six festivals are:.
* ''Maidyozarem Gahanbar'' (literally: 'midgreening'), originally celebrated as a mid-spring festival.
* ''Maidyoshahem Gahanbar'' ('midsummer'), originally celebrated on the summer solstice.
* ''Paitishahem Gahanbar'' ('bringing in the corn'), originally celebrated as a harvest festival.
* ''Ayathrem Gahanbar'' ('bringing home (the herds)'), originally celebrated at the end of autumn.
* ''Maidyarem Gahanbar'' ('mid-year'), originally celebrated on the winter solstice.
* ''Hamaspathmaidyem Gahanbar'' (for which there is no generally accepted literal meaning), celebrating mankind. This ''gagambar'' is not a seasonal festival in the technical sense, but rather commemorates the souls of the dead at the end of the religious year. It is better known as '' frawardigan''.
In the present day, each of these festivals is celebrated over five days, except Hamaspathmaidyem Gahambar, which is held over ten days (two five-day periods, see "other holy days" below).
Originally, these seasonal festivals were celebrated on one day each, and were synchronous with the seasons. The Zoroastrian calendar was originally a 360-day luni-solar calendar, and also without intercalation, with the result that the seasons and the seasonal festivals gradually drifted apart. A first calendar reform (of uncertain date) introduced five epagomenal days at the end of the year, with the result that each festival then had two dates: one in the old 360-day calendar, and one in the new 365-day calendar. These apparently caused some confusion, and at some point the old and new festival days were joined as six-day-long observations (later reduced to five). Additionally, Hamaspathmaidyem Gahanbar, originally held on the last day of the year, came to be held on the last days of the last month of the year ''and'' on the new five epagomena days at the end of the new 360-day year, for a total of ten days. A second reform, in the 4th or 5th century, introduced a one-month intercalation every 120 years, abruptly realigned the calendar such that the year began again on the spring equinox, and the Gahanbars were again in accord with the seasons. However, following the collapse of the Sassanian state, after which Zoroastrianism had no central authority to govern intercalation, the practice was not maintained. As a result, in living Zoroastrianism, the Gahanbar are again no longer synchronous with the seasons.
Name-day feasts
There are fifteen name-day feasts in a Zoroastrian religious year. Each of these feasts is held on the day(s) on which the day-of-the-month/month-of-the-year dedications to a ''yazata'' intersect. Eleven of these intersections are dedicated to individual ''yazata''s, and four intersections are dedicated to
Ahura Mazda
Ahura Mazda (; ae, , translit=Ahura Mazdā; ), also known as Oromasdes, Ohrmazd, Ahuramazda, Hoormazd, Hormazd, Hormaz and Hurmuz, is the creator deity in Zoroastrianism. He is the first and most frequently invoked spirit in the ''Yasna''. ...
Dae
DAE or Dae may refer to:
As an acronym
* DAE (chemotherapy), a chemotherapy regimen consisting of Daunorubicin, Ara-C (cytarabine) and Etoposide
* Daporijo Airport, the IATA code for an airport in India
* Daxing Airport Express, the airport trans ...
'' "Creator" (
Ahura Mazda
Ahura Mazda (; ae, , translit=Ahura Mazdā; ), also known as Oromasdes, Ohrmazd, Ahuramazda, Hoormazd, Hormazd, Hormaz and Hurmuz, is the creator deity in Zoroastrianism. He is the first and most frequently invoked spirit in the ''Yasna''. ...
), who has the tenth month of the year plus four days per month dedicated to Him (1st, 8th, 15th, 23rd day of the month). Accordingly, the 1st, 8th, 15th, 23rd day of the tenth month are each feast-days of Ahura Mazda, and each of those four days is called ''Jashan of Dadvah'' ("Creator").
Six of the ''Jashan'' days are dedicated to the six ''Ameshaspand''s (
Amesha Spenta
In Zoroastrianism, the Amesha Spenta ( ae, , Aməša Spəṇta—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 ...
s). These six days are respectively:
* ''Jashan of
Bahman
Bahman ( fa, بهمن, ) is the eleventh and penultimate month of the Solar Hijri calendar, the official calendar of Iran and Afghanistan. Bahman has thirty days. It begins in January and ends in February of the Gregorian calendar. The month ...
'', celebrating animal creation. 2nd day of the 11th month (January 16)
* ''Jashan of Ardavisht'', celebrating
fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...
and all other luminaries. 3rd day of the 2nd month (April 22)
* ''Jashan of
Shahrevar
In Zoroastrianism, the Amesha Spenta ( ae, , Aməša Spəṇta—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 ...
'', celebrating metals and minerals. 4th day of the 6th month (August 21)
* ''Jashan of Spendarmad'', celebrating
the earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surface ...
. 5th day of the 12th month (February 18)
* ''Jashan of (K)Hordad'', celebrating the waters. 6th day of the 3rd month (May 25)
* ''Jashan of Amurdad'', celebrating plant creation. 7th day of the 5th month (July 25)
Dates in parentheses are the ''Fasli''/''Bastani'' calendar dates.
Another five name-day feasts are dedicated to other ''
yazata
Yazata ( ae, 𐬫𐬀𐬰𐬀𐬙𐬀) is the Avestan word for a Zoroastrian concept with a wide range of meanings but generally signifying (or used as an epithet of) a divinity. The term literally means "worthy of worship or veneration",.. and i ...
s'' with a single name/month dedication:
* ''Jashan of
Farvardin
Farvardin ( fa, فروردین, ) is the Iranian Persian name for the first month of the Solar Hijri calendar, the official calendar of Iran, and corresponds with Aries on the Zodiac. Farvardin has thirty-one days. It is the first month of the ...
'' (not to be confused with '' Farwardigan''), celebrates the
Fravashi
Fravashi ( ae, 𐬟𐬭𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬴𐬌, translit=fravaṣ̌i, ) is the Avestan language term for the Zoroastrian concept of a personal spirit of an individual, whether dead, living, or yet-unborn. The ''fravashi'' of an individual sends o ...
s on the 19th day of the 1st month (April 8)
* ''Jashan of Tir'', also known as ''
Tiregan
Tirgan ( fa, تیرگان, ''Tirgān''), is a mid summer ancient Iranian festival, celebrated annually on Tir 13 (July 2, 3, or 4).
It is celebrated by splashing water, dancing, reciting poetry, and serving traditional foods such as spinach s ...
'', celebrates
Tishtrya
Tishtrya ( ave, 𐬙𐬌𐬱𐬙𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀, Tištrya, fa, تیر, Tir) or Roozahang is the Avestan language name of a Zoroastrian benevolent divinity associated with life-bringing rainfall and fertility. Tishtrya is Tir in Middle- and Moder ...
and the rains, on the 13th day of the 4th month (July 1).
* ''Jashan of
Aban
Apas (, ae, āpas) is the Avestan language term for "the waters", which, in its innumerable aggregate states, is represented by the Apas, the hypostases of the waters.
''Āb'' (plural ''Ābān'') is the Middle Persian-language form.
Introduc ...
'', also known as ''Abanegan'', celebrates Apas, the waters, in particular of
Aredvi Sura Anahita
Anahita is the Old Persian form of the name of an Iranian goddess and appears in complete and earlier form as ('), the Avestan name of an Indo-Iranian cosmological figure venerated as the divinity of "the Waters" (Aban) and hence associate ...
. It falls on the 9th day of the 8th month (October 26).
* ''Jashan of
Adar
Adar ( he, אֲדָר ; from Akkadian ''adaru'') is the sixth month of the civil year and the twelfth month of the religious year on the Hebrew calendar, roughly corresponding to the month of March in the Gregorian calendar. It is a month of 29 d ...
'', also known as ''Adaregan'', celebration of
Atar
Atar, Atash, or Azar ( ae, 𐬁𐬙𐬀𐬭, translit=ātar) is the Zoroastrian concept of holy fire, sometimes described in abstract terms as "burning and unburning fire" or "visible and invisible fire" (Mirza, 1987:389). It is considered to ...
, fire. ''Adargan'' falls on the 10th day of 9th month (November 24).
* ''Jashan of Mihr'', also known as ''
Mehregan
Mehregan ( fa, ) or Jashn-e Mehr ( ''Mithra Festival'') is a Zoroastrian and Iranian festival celebrated to honor the yazata Mithra ( fa, Mehr), which is responsible for friendship, affection and love.
Name
"Mehregan" is derived from the Middl ...
'', celebrating
Mithra
Mithra ( ae, ''Miθra'', peo, 𐎷𐎰𐎼 ''Miça'') commonly known as Mehr, is the Iranian deity of covenant, light, oath, justice and the sun. In addition to being the divinity of contracts, Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-seeing ...
, New Year's Day. In the ''Fasli''/''Bastani'' variant of the Zoroastrian calendar, this day is always the day of the spring
equinox
A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" and se ...
(nominally falling on March 21). In the ''Shahenshahi'' and ''Kadmi'' calendars, which do not account for leap years, the New Year's Day has drifted ahead by over 200 days. These latter two variants of the calendar, which are only followed by the Zoroastrians of India, celebrate the spring equinox as ''Jamshed-i Nouroz'', with New Year's Day then being celebrated in July/August as ''Pateti'' (see below).
* '' Frawardigan'' (also known as Hamaspathmaidyem Gahambar, or ) is a 10-day period during which the souls of the dead (i.e. the ) are commemorated. The ten days of Frawardigan span the last five days of the last month of the year, plus the five intercalary days ("Gatha" days) between the last month of the year and first month of the next year. Among Indian Zoroastrians, an extended of eighteen days is also observed.
*
Pateti
Zoroastrianism has numerous festivals and holy days, all of which are bound to the Zoroastrian calendar. The '' Shahenshahi'' and ''Kadmi'' variants of the calendar do not intercalate leap years and hence the day of the Gregorian calendar year on ...
, "(day) of penitence" (from ''patet'' "confession," hence also repentance and penitence). This is actually a day of introspection, and originally occurred on the last day (or on the last 5 days) of the calendar year. For reasons related to single day occasions being observed over six days, (the last day of) Pateti came to fall on (the first day of) the New Year's Day celebrations, and in India (Shahenshahi/Kadmi calendars) came to be "celebrated" on New Year's Day itself. Although the name has been retained, Pateti is no longer a day of introspection.
*
, a mid-winter festival traditionally celebrated 100 days (hence ''sadeh'') after the first day of winter, or alternatively, 50 days (100 days and nights) before New Year's Day. Because this festival involves building a bonfire, it is also called ''
Adar
Adar ( he, אֲדָר ; from Akkadian ''adaru'') is the sixth month of the civil year and the twelfth month of the religious year on the Hebrew calendar, roughly corresponding to the month of March in the Gregorian calendar. It is a month of 29 d ...
-Jashan''.
*
Zartosht No-Diso
Zartosht no-diso, or Zarthost no deeso, is an important day of remembrance in the Zoroastrian religion. It is a commemoration of the death anniversary of the prophet Zoroaster. It is observed on the 11th day (Khorshed) of the 10th month ( Dae). I ...
, the death anniversary of
Zarathushtra
Zoroaster,; fa, زرتشت, Zartosht, label=Modern Persian; ku, زەردەشت, Zerdeşt also known as Zarathustra,, . Also known as Zarathushtra Spitama, or Ashu Zarathushtra is regarded as the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism. He is s ...
, which is celebrated on the 11th day (Khorshed) of the 10th month (Dae). In the seasonal calendar, Zoroaster's death anniversary falls on December 26.
* Khordad Sal, which celebrates the birth anniversary of Zoroaster. It falls on the 6th day ( ordad) of the 1st month (Farvardin). In the seasonal calendar, Zoroaster's birth anniversary falls on March 26.
* The festival days in the ''Fasli''/''Bastani'' variants of the Zoroastrian calendar fo 2007
*The festivals in detail:
* (Jashan-e Mihragan)
* (Jashan-e Tiragan)
* (Jashan-e Sadeh)
* * (Zoroaster's birth anniversary)
* (Zoroaster's death anniversary)
* Parsi Calendar (Parsi Calendar)