By Jashn-e Tirgan is an ancient summer festival for those of the Zoroastrian faith.
Zoroastrianism is one of the world’s oldest religions that is still practiced today. It is not widely spread in the UK but there are adherents here wherever there is an Iranian community. Like many ancient faiths, its festivals follow the solar calendar.
Celebrated some three months after the spring NoRuz. Tirgan is devoted to the divinity Tir and is associated with the dog-star Sirius, the coming of the rains in Iran, and the fertility the rains bring. On this day it is customary to participate in a jashan or thanksgiving ceremony, hence the name of the festival.
A few days before the Tirgan festival, followers will wear a brightly coloured thread round their wrists, made of seven threads of silk. The day before the festival, everyone cleans their homes.
On the Tirgan day, they visit parks and pastures to celebrate, and listen to stories of their faith. Water is often splashed on each other, and the multi-coloured threads are thrown into the water as an offering to wash past sufferings away.
