Mehregan

A festival for Mehr

Mehregan honours Mehr — the ancient Mithra — a divine being of friendship, affection and love. It is one of the oldest festivals of the Iranian world. Under the Sasanian kings it ranked second only to Nowruz, kings held public audiences at both, and the two feasts were seen as a pair: Nowruz in spring, the time of sowing, and Mehregan in autumn, when what has grown reaches its fullness.

Legend ties the day to the hero Fereydun, who is said to have defeated the tyrant Zahhak on Mehregan and imprisoned him on Mount Damavand.

The Mehregan table

Today Mehregan is above all a harvest thanksgiving, kept by Zoroastrian and Muslim communities alike. UNESCO describes how both set out a table of goods from the land — pomegranates, watermelons, pears, limes and lemons, grapes, apples, rice and wheat — alongside home-cooked dishes, nuts, sweets and special drinks.

Around it come music, song and dance, theatre and local sports such as wrestling. Communities hold flower shows and sell handicrafts. In the old tradition people gave one another gifts, each according to their means, “even as simple as an apple”.

Shared with Tajikistan

In 2024 the Ceremony of Mehregan was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity for Iran and Tajikistan, as a festival that brings together people of different ages, backgrounds and faiths.