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Mehregan Celebrations Next Year |
07
October 2005
Mehregan,
an ancient Iranian festival marking the autumn
equinox (October 2), will be held more extensively
from next year, according to a lawmaker Kurosh
Niknam.
The MP’s pledge was good news for Zoroastrians
who come from Shushtar, Arak, Ahvaz and Damavand
to the Markar reception hall in Tehran Pars to
celebrate the ancient festivity this year,
reported CHN.
Niknam said that Markar reception hall is not
large enough to host the large number of audience
who were keen on taking part in the celebrations.
“Mehregan festival belongs to all Iranians and
it is not proper to hold such an important event
in a small hall,“ he said.
He said that the five-day celebrations are held in
rural areas including the villages of Zinabad and
Mobarekeh of Yazd province.
“It is sign of national interest in Iranian
culture,“ he said. He hoped that Mehregan Feast
would be held in a more spacious area to enable
those interested in taking part in the event to do
so.
He said that he wished to hold Mehregan as a
festival by performing traditional music from each
province, treating the participants to Persian
delicacies and holding different exhibits about
art and culture.
“Mehregan, which once used to have the same
status as Norouz, is currently held on a smaller
scale,“ he said.
Mehregan feast was held in Tehran, Kerman, Yazd
and Shiraz. Non-Zoroastrians having special
invitations could also attend the event.
Monk Ardeshir Khorshidban said that Zoroastrians
are keen on holding Mehregan more magnificently,
but, they have reservations about ’taking it as
a propagation for their religion’.
He recalled that Mehregan was celebrated in Iran
even before the advent of Zoroaster.
Sorour Farzaneh of the Zoroastrian Women’s
Association said that Iranian expatriates in
Sweden, US, Canada, Britain, Belgium, Germany,
Austria and Australia celebrate Mehregan each
year.
She noted that Iranian expatriates who want to
come to Iran to see their relatives usually plan
their visits at the time of Mehregan.
She said that the festival can become a major
tourist attraction if it is held more extensively.
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