Sizdah Be-dar

Sizdah Bedar (Persian: سیزده‌بدر‎ – Sizdabedar),[1][2] (lit. Thirteen Outdoor) also known as Nature's Day (روز طبیعت‎ – Ruz e Tabi'at),[3] is an Iranian festival held annually on the thirteenth day of Farvardin (same as Aries), the first month of the Iranian calendar, during which people spend time picnicking outdoors.[1] It marks the end of the Nowruz holidays in Iran.[4]

Sizdah Bedar
Iranians in the Netherlands celebrating Sizdah Bedar, April 2011
Observed by Iran
CelebrationsPicnicking outdoors
DateApril 1
Frequencyannual
Related toNowruz, Charshanbe Suri

Observances

Sizdah Be-dar is celebrated on the thirteenth day[5] of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year. It is celebrated by going outside to be in nature and spend the day outdoors.

Releasing sprouted greens back into nature
Greenery (Sabze) for Haft-Seen
Special lunch 13 Be-dar

A ritual performed at the end of the picnic is to throw the sprouted greens (سبزه – Sabze) that were part of the traditional Haft-Seen Nowruz display into moving water. Touching someone else's greens on this day or bringing the plants back home is considered bad luck.

Knotting the greens

Knotting the stems of the greens (سبزه گره زدن - Sabzeh gereh zadan) before tossing them into the water is a customary ritual for young single people, especially for young women. This indicates a wish to find a partner or a husband.

Lie of the Thirteen

Lie of the Thirteenth (دروغ سیزده – Dorugh-e Sizdah) is the Iranian version of the prank-playing April Fools' Day which is observed on the first or second day of April in Iran, on the day of Sizdah Bedar. Pranks have reportedly been played on this holiday since 536 BC in the Achaemenid Empire.[6][7][8]

Chahardah Be-dar

Chahardah Be-dar (Persian: Čahārda' be Dar – چهارده به در‎) is the fourteenth day of Nowruz, which is celebrated only in Lorestan Province. Lurs stay home on the thirteenth day of Nowruz, referred to as the Strange Thirteen (سیزده غریب – Sizdah e Qarib) by them. Instead, they picnic outdoors a day after Sizdah Be-dar.

See also

References
  1. Shahbazi, A. Shapur. "NOWRUZ ii. In the Islamic Period". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  2. Mosaheb, Gholamhossein, ed. (2002) [1966]. "سیزده‌بدر" [Sizde be.dar]. The Persian Encyclopedia (in Persian). 1 (2nd ed.). Tehran: Amirkabir. p. 1404. ISBN 964303044X.
  3. "Iranians mark Sizdah Bedar in nature". Press TV. 1 April 2016.
  4. "Iranians mark Sizdah Bedar in nature". mypersiankitchen. 2 April 2010.
  5. https://theotheriran.com/2016/04/03/photos-sizdah-bedar-nature-day-in-iran/ Sizdah Be-dar, literally “thirteenth in outdoors”, is an Iranian festival, and part of the Nowruz celebration rituals, held annually on the thirteenth day of the first month of the Iranian calendar (Farvardin).
  6. April 1st Traditions from Around the World. Taylor Mahaffey. 3 April 2014.
  7. April Fools’ Day in Iran
  8. April Fools' Day 2016: how did the tradition originate and what are the best pranks?. Emily Allen and Juliet Eysenck. 17 March 2016.
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