Sadeh

Sadeh (Persian: سده also transliterated as Sade), is an Iranian festival that dates back to the Achaemenid Empire.

Teenage boys accompanied by a few adult males would go to local mountains to gather camel thorns, a common desert shrub in Iran.

The occasion resembles a ritual of passage to adulthood, a notable step for the boys enroute to manhood.

The fire originally meant to assist the revival of sun and bring back the warmth and light of summer.

It was also meant to drive off the demons of frost and cold, which turned water to ice, and thus could kill the roots of plants.

There were fireworks, dancing and music with lavish feasts of roasted lamb, beef, chicken and other delicacies.

Jashn e Sadeh is also celebrated every year in the Kushke Varjavand gardens in Karaj with the presence of Iranian Zoroastrians and others interested in traditional Persian ceremonies.

However, the bulk of Iranians are becoming more familiar with the occasion and there are gatherings and celebrations even outside the country on 30 January[clarification needed] each year.

Every year, on 30 January[clarification needed], thousands of Zoroastrians in Iran and other countries celebrate the religious feast of Jashn-e Sadeh by burning firewood in an open space to signify the coming of spring and as a symbolic token of the eternal fight with mischief.

Although for the majority of Iranians Sadeh has no religious significance and no specific rituals are involved other than lighting fires at sunset and having a cheerful time, Iranians of all faiths make a collective effort at this day to keep up with their ancient traditions and to celebrate the preciousness of creation.

[6][7] In Tehran, the districts of Amanieh, Shahr-Ara, Andisheh, Shahriyar, Haft-howz, Ekbatan, Beheshti, and Sohrevardi were some of the neighborhoods in which Sadeh was celebrated by preparing fire.

Sadeh in Varjavand Kushk, 2003
Sadeh in Tehranpars Markar, 2011