HAPPY SIZDEH BEDAR

 

Sizdah Be-dar is the last ceremony on the 13th day of the Iranian new year which begins with charshanbe suri or fire festival.
Sizdah is 13 in Farsi. Leaving the house on the Thirteenth Day of Farvardin (the first month of the Iranian calendar), and joyfully spending the day outdoors is a national tradition in Iran and a holiday. Sizdah Bedar (Getting rid of the Thirteenth) and the belief that 13 as an unlucky number is a common terminology among many cultures.

Sizdah Bedar often coincides with the first day of April, or April Fools' Day here in the West.
Iranians head to parks, gardens or country sides, and enjoy this special day together. At the end of their picnics people throw away the green sprouts they've growned, known as Sabzeh (from the traditional Haft Seen table that they prepared for the first day of the New Year) where possible into a river or stream. The Sabzeh is supposed to have collected the sickness, pain and the ill fate hiding on the path of the family throughout the coming year. Sizdeh Bedar gives Iranians a chance to participate in a ceremony out in the nature singing, dancing, performing many traditional activities, and enjoying the fresh smell of spring.

The Iranian regime which inherently is against happiness, have created a special police force to watch people during Sizdeh Bedar. In case girls and boys dance together or even talk, they are authorized to get involved and separate them or arrest them if necessary. In another words they act as the Mullah's party poopers. This has never prevented the Iranian people from enjoying Sideh Bedar though.

One of the popular traditions of Sizdah Bedar is the knotting of blades of grass by single girls. Knotting or weaving the fresh grass represents love and the bond between man and a woman. They knot the grass in the hope to get marry soon and this way express their wish and hope for good fortune in life and love. Boys play different sports and older people may play the traditional game of backgammon. During the picnic day on Sizdah Bedar, some people also play pranks on each other or tell a white lie, just like April fool's Day.