National Teachers’ Day is observed across Iran, especially at schools and educational institutions where students hold special ceremonies.
Annually on May 1 or 2, you may see many school students clutching bunches of flowers in their hands as they hurry off to school, hoping to be the first to surprise their teacher on his or her special day.
Teaching is a profession considered sacred in Iran, as it is in many parts of the world, and young and old sustain an undying respect for those who strove so hard to increase their knowledge, honouring them with a small gift or flowers on this day.
Iranian people mark the day in memory of Ayatollah Morteza Motahari, one of the architects of the Islamic Republic and a man who devoted his life to opening up and writing about Islamic teachings. He was martyred on the same day in 1980.
