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Aydenlou S. The Historical Background and reason of celebrating "Sizdah- Bedar" in Iranian traditions. CFL 2018; 6 (20) :136-168
URL: http://cfl.modares.ac.ir/article-11-15501-en.html

In Iran and the countries influenced by Iranian culture, on the thirteenth day of Farvardin, every year, people leave the house and go on excursion outdoor from morning to night. This day, called Sizdah Bedar, is one of the most important rituals. Nowruz's famous ritual that has no history in ancient literary and historical sources, and the first related documents belong to the time of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar. The memories and travel guides of the Qajar era show that the Shah and the royal court as well as the public have officially and widely celebrated the thirteenth day of Farvardin, and that in the ancient Iranian beliefs, the "thirteenth day of July was sinister. According to the words, the thirteenth day of all the Iranian months were sinister. Regarding this historical background on the sinister nature of 13^th, Iranian at Qajar era had believed in this day their homes might be destroyed and also the New Year calamities have been destined on this day. To this end, they were going to the plains and gardens to relax and save themselves from the losses of that day. Contemporary scholars have also brought up various guesses and views (at least 14 opinions) about the cause of the “Sizdah Bedar” ceremony among which symbolism of the thirteenth day for the thirteenth millenary in Iranian beliefs –which shows the end of the twelve thousand-year-old universe and the beginning of the final disturbance and destruction- sounds more likely. To do the present research, the authors benefited from a review of many literary and historical references, writings and research of contemporaries with specific precision (in print, language corpora and soft wares) and then on the basis of the evidence obtained from the history of the Sizdah Be Badr discussion and conclusion have been presented.