Iran Chamber Society
March 2009
Chaharshanbe Suri is an ancient Iranian festival dat-ing back to at least 1700 B.C., during the early Zo-roastrian era. It is the festival of fire and a prelude to the Norooz celebration, which marks the arrival of spring, or Persian New Year. There is no religious significance attached to Chaharshanbeh Suri, and it serves as a cultural festival for all Iranian Zoroastrians, Muslims, Jews, Armenians, Kurds, and Turks alike. On the eve of the last Wednesday of the year, bonfires are lit in the hopes of enlightenment and happiness in the coming year.
