Ancient Persian Celebrations

Harvest celebrations in Iran have been in place for thousands of years. These include the grape harvest, watermelon harvest, wheat harvest and honey harvest. The celebrations, often accompanied by the folklore music of the special region attract many tourists every year.
The grape harvest locally known as “Shandor” dates back to three hundred years. The harvest takes place every year in the Urmiah province of Iran at the end of summer when grapes are completely ripened by the Urmiah sun. The celebrations start with local Turkish music and entertainers bring platters of grapes to the audience as refreshment. There is a grape-juicing contest and poetry recitals in praise of that year’s harvest with often religious undertones, thanking God for their success. There are usually several joyful traditional and folkloric musical performances, sometimes accompanied by traditional dances performed by men.
Wheat harvest celebrations has been very important to farmers for centuries because wheat has such an important place in life, it is almost revered. The younger generation would visit the farms of their elders and joyfully ask for small gifts (similar to trick of treating in a way) and the elders would give them a few pounds of their freshly harvested wheat and set them on their way. The youngsters would sell or trade that wheat and celebrate the harvest with the income. It is traditionally believed that this happy celebration would result in better harvests the next year.
There are many newly founded celebrations now taking place in Iran. The Carrot harvest has been taking place in Lorestan province for a few years now and in Qazvin province people celebrates their big watermelon harvest and in Nahavand town, in Hamedan province, people have started celebrating their honey harvest.
Tirgan celebrations take place every year at the beginning of summer to ensure a good wheat harvest and these celebrations date two thousand years, as it was originally a Zoroastrian custom.
The honey harvest celebrations are performed in the honor of Tishter, a star traditionally thought to bring forth rain and therefore glorious harvests. The celebrations take place every year on the 13th of Tir (which is in fact 4th of July). As the folk stories say, the celebrations also coincide with the celebrations performed in honor of Arash, a mystical Persian hero, who saved Iran by his magical bow and arrows as he climbed the Alborz Mountains in the North of Iran and shot an arrow that landed on the southern-most part of the country and therefore saved Iran.
Tishter, the lucky star, comes to Earth reincarnated as a beautiful white horse with golden ears who fights a frightening dark beast called Eposh and represents famine for three days and nights and it is at first defeated. Then he prays to God and begs for strength and victory and the Lord grants it so this time he wins and rivers flow again and reach the dry fields and rain starts to pour.
The fall (Khazan) celebrations take place in autumn. Shepherds and peasants gather around and sing folk songs in praise of the sun and the Persian pagan God Mithra and they sacrifice sheep and other livestock in his honor to show gratitude for the many gifts bestowed upon them.