Customs and Traditions

Golestan province in northern Iran recently hosted the 12th edition of an international festival on ethnic cultures with the aim of giving ethnic communities a chance to introduce their cultures and lifestyles.  

The joint wedding ceremony of eight young Turkmen couples was recently held in Dashli Borun District of Gonbad-e Qabus County in Iran’s Golestan Province.

International horseback combat competitions have kicked off in the city of Shiraz in Fars province, southern Iran, bringing together sportspeople from 19 countries.

A festival of local games was recently held in Bojnord, the capital of Iran’s North Khorasan province.

“Majma’eh Gozari” is one of the oldest mourning rituals in the northern Iranian province of Mazandaran.

A pomegranate festival was recently held in tourist resorts in Kurdish-majority provinces of western Iran along with other performances and programs.

Mehregan or Mehr is one of the most glorious Iranian festivals annually held from October 8 to 14. It is the biggest Iranian festival after the Persian New Year or Nowruz.

The weekly markets of Gilan province in northern Iran have a long history as the first cities and towns of the province in the south of the Caspian Sea were formed based on weekly markets.

The “Rawda Khani” or public lamentation is among historical ceremonies annually held in the old part of the city of Abarkuh in Yazd Province, central Iran, during the lunar month of Muharram when Imam Hussein was martyred some 14 centuries ago.

At the end of the harvest season, palm farmers in Iran’s southern province of Hormozgan cook the surplus of the dates and use them to make “Doushab” or date syrup.

Shah Hussein Gouyan is one of the most important religious ceremonies held in Iran’s Azarbaijan province during the holy month of Muharram.

Tents have been set up in almost all Iranian cities, particularly those in southern Iran, commemorating the advent of the lunar month of Muharram, when the third Shiite Imam, Hussein ibn Ali, was martyred.

The Persian House is a model that has been developed in recent years and drawn many visitors, but its high price has put off the enthusiasts.

Holding wedding ceremonies in the traditional style has been around for thousands of years in Lorestan Province, west of Iran.

The city of Minab in southern Iran recently hosted the second edition of the Mogh and Moshta Festival, which is held in thanksgiving for the blessing of date harvest.

People in Hormozgan province in southern Iran have for centuries been practicing special ceremonies and rituals in their marriages and weddings.

The Iranian village of Khoshkrud in Kermanshah province, western Iran, is home to a historical cemetery which dates back to about four hundred years ago.

The Rural Heritage Museum in northern Iranian Gilan province is the country's only open-air museum set up to preserve rural culture and architecture.

Kurdish people of Iran’s Khorasan, who are known as Kurmanji Kurds, have managed to preserve their centuries-old wedding customs, and are still practicing many of them in their ceremonies.

Dances are usually a celebration of life and its happy events, but apparently a version of Kurdish dance called Halparke has its roots in military affairs.

The 17th edition of a festival of local games was recently held in Javaher Dasht village in Gilan province, northern Iran.

The big ceremony of giving gifts of Eid to newlywed women is an old tradition that has been practiced by Iranians since ancient times. The ceremony is mostly held on auspicious days and Eids, including Nowruz (Persian New Year), Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, etc., to give gifts to brides.

Nowruz-e Sayyad, meaning the Fishermen’s New Year, is one of the oldest traditions of people in Qeshm Island, southern Iran, which dates back to more than six hundred years ago.

One of the oldest and strangest traditions in Iran was to hold wedding ceremonies between widows and underground water tunnels called qanats.

The Coppersmiths’ Bazaar in the city of Yazd in central Iran has remained the hub of copperware trade and services after half a dozen centuries.