Chaharshanbe-Soori OR Festival of Fire:

Well Chaharshanbe-Soori means Wednesday party in Persian; but actually it is being held on last Tuesday-night of the year. This night, unlike Yalda, is not a family gathering... it’s more like an outdoor night with friends if you know what I mean.
Tonight is Chaharshanbe-Soori… & believe me it’s the coldest one I have seen over years. Actually the weather changes had been rather unexpected here. We had some really warm days & most people turned off the heat providers & put aside the winter clothes. Then suddenly it started to get cold again & the rain started on Saturday…. Well it was ok but Sunday it got colder & Monday morning I got up & the whole city was covered with snow! Hopefully it stopped snowing this very afternoon yet it is VERY cold outside for this time of the year (about -1`C; while the average for this time is around 12`C)
What we do on Chaharshanbe-Soori? Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you…. The festival begins almost after then sunset… teenagers & young boys & girls make large fires outdoors. We, as me & my sister along with our next-door pals, usually have small fire in the yard. Then everybody jumps over the fire & sings the Fire poem, wishing to for all the pain to burn with the fire & happiness warm us up like the fire. We usually perform dance moves while we are jumping…. It’s so much fun. Then we would have potatoes & sausages roast in the fire & all kind of snack foods….
This part is the main part of Chaharshanbe-Soori but over the years, another part had been developed that is not originally a custom of Chaharshanbe-Soori but it is so common that nowadays you can not avoid it. & that is the firework part as I may call it. There would be all kinds of firecrackers with loud sounds & also fireworks which are really beautiful. The sound of firecrackers however is not very pleasant yet most young people love to set them off! & if you are walking or riding in the street you must be prepared for some to set off right under your foot!
Chaharshanbe-Soori had been banded over the past 25 years & it is the first year that it is officially held by government. Still like pervious years the anti-riot police arrest some young men in the neighborhood…. I don’t know much but I guess this festival had become a mean to show our protest against limits & boundaries. You know we go hang out in the neighborhood with more freedom than usual & you can see people dancing by fires & the music blasting & all. Tehran turns to a club in this night. & that is not inside the frame we are supposed to live in.
I like the feeling of freedom in the air… (Although you have to watch for this police forces); still there is so much fun just cruising around. You see we get out & everybody is into a party mood. It almost never happens that you play dare-devil or truth or dare in the street. & more you never find this kind of unity in folks. It doesn’t matter where you are from, what you are wearing or what you do for living, the only thing that matters is you & the fact that you want to enjoy the night.
Personally I am not much into the whole going-out part… because first of all I hate loud noises & second some dare-devil games really bother me, you know the way some pathetic guys try to draw attention by taking really stupid dares…. But I have no chance of staying home, having an out-going sister along with my twin cousins. However this time I managed to stay in the doorway while they were playing tow doors away. :D
There was this large fire on the corner of the street & almost everybody in the block was there. & there was tow imaginary rival groups fighting with firecrackers & all…. I had been too tired (from Khoonetekooni) to join in but then this old friend of mine came over & almost dragged me in the battle-field! I stayed a few minutes & as soon as he let go of me I went back home. Then the police forces rushed in & folks went to the yard of the building. Beside that everything went fine.
I wanted to show you how we really celebrate the end of the winter. Sure there are more customs for Chaharshanbe-Soori like Ghashogh-zani (in which somebody mostly kids hidden under chador knock on every door & ask for sweets & Ajil & wishes happiness & fortune for the folks in the house) & Falgoosh (which means eavesdropping to find hints about your future or hear you future partner’s name), although they are not really practiced these days. Last time I’d seen ghashogh-zani was over 15 years ago. & as for Falgoosh I myself did it once when I was 14! Me & my cousin stood in a dark corner of our street & my cousin’s boyfriends passed by & shout his own name for my cousin! He said Aatish (my cousin’s nickname) you are going to be my spouse one day! How embarrassed we both were.
Alright! Gotta go catch some sleep now! It is like 3am over here!