Sīzdah be-dar or
Sēzdah ba-dar (
Persian سیزده بدر, lit. "getting rid of thirteen") is the
Iranian Festival of "Joy and Solidarity" celebrated on the 13th day of the new year and the month of
Farvardin (corresponding to April 1 or 2, depending on leap or non-leap year), the last day of the
Nowruz (
Iranian New Year)festival. This is the last phase of the New Year's celebrations which begins with the fire festival of
Chaharshanbe Suri of the Persian New Year. The custom is to spend the day outdoors e.g., in the parks or the countryside. It is believed that "Joy" and "Laughter" clean the mind from all evil thoughts, and the picnic is usually a festive or happy event. In 2008, Sizdah-bedar coincided with April 1
[1].
In modern times people go to parks, have a picnic and throw their sabzeh – the sprouts they grow near the beginning of Nowruz - into a river, symbolizing the cycle of life. Some girls also tie the sprouts of sabzeh on this day, symbolizing their wish for good fortune in life and love. Some people also pull practical jokes and tell white lies on this day, calling it the thirteenth lie (this is very similar to April Fools). People will also release goldfish into a pond.
Usually in big cities it would be hard to find a place to sit at the park as you can see in the pictures, there is a huge traffic going on ...
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