Sadeh
Driving out demons of winter
By Massoume Price
January 28, 2000
The Iranian
Sadeh, which means hundred, is a mid-winter feast that was celebrated
with grandeur and magnificence in ancient Iran. It was a festivity to honor
fire and defeat the forces of darkness -- frost and cold. Two different
days were observed for its veneration. One celebration marked the hundredth
day before the religious Noruz on the first day of the Farvardin, or March
21. (religious Noruz is different from the seasonal spring Noruz). The
other one was the hundredth day after Ayathrima (one of the six feasts
of obligation) held to be the beginning of winter. This day coincides with
10th of Bahman (January 30) in the present calendar. It is not clear why
there are two Sadeh festivals and why different regions have had different
dates. Many Zoroastrian holy days were and are celebrated twice; this is
caused by the calendar reform in the 3rd century AD.
From Achaemenid times the Iranian calendar had 360 days instead of 365.
Ardeshir the first Sassanid king reformed the calendar and five days were
added. The new calendar receded slowly against the solar year, and the
holy days, with their symbolism closely linked with the seasons, became
gradually divorced from them. The months moved and so did the holy days,
to make sure festivals were observed correctly both the old and the new
dates were celebrated. The festival celebrated in Yazd is according to
seasonal calendar and in a few villages it is called Hiromba. While the
other Zoroastrians celebrated the Sadeh in Bahman. There was confusion
earlier in the century as to when it should be celebrated, but most Zoroastrians
have adopted the 10th of Bahman as the main event.
In Sassaniad times huge bon fires were set up. Priests led the Atash
Niyayesh prayers specific to fire and performed rituals before it was lit
at sunset. People would dance around the fires. Wine, a luxury in those
days, would be served communally and like all other Zoroastrian religious
ceremonies, the occasion would end with merriment and feasts. The most
elaborate report of the celebration comes from the 10th century during
the reign of Mardavij Zeyari, the ruler of Isfahan. With its Iranian origins,
the Zeyari family did their best to keep the old traditions alive. Bon
fires were set up on both sides of the Zayandeh-Rood river , the main river
dividing the city. The fires were contained in specially build metal holders
to maintain control. Hundreds of birds were released while carrying little
fireballs to light the sky. There were fireworks, clowns, dancing and music
with lavish feasts of roasted lamb, beef, chicken and other delicacies.
The tradition was virtually lost even amongst the Zoroastrians. In the
Pahlavi era it was revived and adopted as a major celebration by the whole
Zoroastrian community and it is becoming known and increasingly popular
with non-Zoroastrian Iranians as well. With Zoroastrians, the chief preparation
for Sadeh is the gathering of wood on the day before the festival. Teenage
boys accompanied by a few adult males gather camel's thorn, a common desert
shrub in Iran. For most it will be the first time they are away from their
families. Wood is a scarce commodity in Iran and the occasion resembles
a rite of passage, a noteworthy step for boys on their way to manhood.
The boys would take the wood to the shrine and on their return home
-- if it is their first time -- there will be a celebration at home with
friends and relatives. However this practice is becoming more difficult
these days, although attempts are made to preserve it. Gathering wood,
a scarce commodity, is increasingly difficult. In addition massive emigration
into the cities or outside the country has significantly reduced the practice
of this ritual.
Traditionally young boys (before the revolution girls had started joining
the boys as well, but the practice stopped after 1979) would go door to
door and ask for wood and collect whatever they could get, from a broken
spade-handle to logs and broken branches. While knocking on doors they
would chant simple verses like "if you give a branch, God will grant
your wish, if you don't, God won't favor your wish" and similar verses.
Before sunset all would gather outside the temple to torch the wood with
prayers and chants remembering leaders of the faith and the deceased.
In ancient times the fires were always set near water and temples. The
great fire originally meant (like winter fires lit at other occasions)
to help revive the declining sun, and bring back the warmth and light of
summer. It was also designed to drive off the demons of frost and cold,
which turned water to ice, and thus could kill the roots of plants. For
these reasons the fire was lit near and even over water and by the shrine
of Mihr, who was lord both of fire and the sun. In AD 1000, Biruni described
the philosophy behind the Sadeh festival very accurately.
The fire is kept burning all night. The day after, first thing in the
morning, women would go to the fire and each one will carry a small portion
back to their homes and new glowing fires are made from the ritually blessed
fire. This is to spread the blessing of the Sadeh fire to every household
in the neighborhood. Whatever that is left of the fire will be taken back
to the shrine to be pilled in one container and kept at the temple. The
festivities would normally go on for three days. Evenings are spent eating
and giving away khairat (sharing food). Food prepared from slaughtered
lamb and ash-e khairat soup are distributed amongst the less fortunate.
Today, Sadeh is mainly celebrated on 10th of Bahman. The fires are not
lit outside and all activities take place inside the shrines. However many
Iranians are becoming more familiar with the occasion and there are gatherings
and celebrations outside Iran. Fires are lit and people surround themselves
with music and dancing. The occasion for the majority of Iranians has no
religious significance and no specific rituals are involved other than
torching bon fires at sunset and having a merry time.
