50 cultural organizations demand the registration of ancient rituals with their correct names in the calendar
The full text of the names prepared by these NGOs, with the efforts of the Afraz Association, and submitted to the Presidential Office on the morning of Wednesday, December 1st, is as follows:
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Honorable President and Head of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, Mr. Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi
Greetings and regards. Based on what has recently been approved by the Public Culture Council of Iran, which is a subsidiary of the Supreme Council, from the year 1403, two ancient Iranian ceremonies, Shab-e Cheleh or Yalda on the last night of Azar month as the Day of Promoting the Culture of Hospitality and Bonding with Relatives, and the last Tuesday night of the year, when the Chaharshanbe Suri ceremony is held, as the Day of Honoring Neighbors, will be registered in the official calendar of the country. As you are aware, these namings are perceived as a removal of those ancient rituals, creating a wave of dissatisfaction on social networks—where people can freely express their opinions or share like-minded views—so much so that the secretariat of the mentioned council was forced to issue a statement that Shab-e Yalda has not been removed from the calendar and that title will be placed alongside it, and the last Tuesday of the year will also be included in the calendar with that name, as it was not previously in the calendar at all. However, in our opinion, questions remain, and we request that you officially express your views on this matter because
1. Now that forty-five years have passed since the Islamic Revolution, and people have shown by holding these rituals and also the beautiful tradition of Sizdah Be-dar—despite all the negative government propaganda and sometimes harsh suppression during the Chaharshanbe Suri celebration—that they honor their national matters and civilizational identity alongside observing and implementing religious traditions, isn’t it time to officially include these traditions with their correct and historical names in the official calendar?
2. Is the effort to distort these traditions a new policy adopted after failing to abolish them?
3. Are you not aware that researchers, when exploring the history of these traditions, realize that there have been numerous events in our medieval and Islamic history that are linked to these ancient rituals, and fundamentally these rituals are not tied to any religious ideology, even though they may have had a religious connection in the very distant past?
4. Hasn’t it been experienced over the years how confronting a tradition like Chaharshanbe Suri resulted in, for example, fireworks reaching our children in an uncontrolled and unsafe manner, causing some Iranian families to mourn or suffer injuries, while for events aligned with government policies, the same fireworks are easily and heavily supported, or government and state centers themselves organize them?
5. Do you not clearly see how traditions originating from distant cultures, sometimes with very weak content and meanings, spread in Iran and Iranian-influenced lands, and how losing this rich cultural source of ancient festivals and traditions, most of which have adopted Islamic aspects like Nowruz and are thoroughly intertwined with our culture, deprives us of a cultural tool to defend our historical assets and identity?
6. What necessity have the officials gathered in the Public Culture Council of Iran seen to prepare titles for traditions so clear and familiar to the people, which also seem not very precise? Alongside Shab-e Yalda, they have added the Day of Promoting the Culture of Hospitality and Bonding with Relatives, while the goal of this night is to gather in the home of the family elder, not to visit and socialize like Nowruz, and the Day of Honoring Neighbors for Chaharshanbe Suri, which is meaningless even if they have a nod to the spoon-banging tradition, which certainly was not considered by those officials.
7. But the main question is, from what research and through discussions with which professors of Iranian history and culture or anthropologists have these titles emerged, and how have some individuals, sometimes unrelated to national literature and art history, allowed themselves to make decisions about something they are not aware of and, unfortunately, sometimes even hostile towards? For example, even the active cultural NGOs that proposed registering Shab-e Cheleh in the calendar were not consulted.
Mr. President, now that your colleagues have inadvertently opened an opportunity to draw attention to this issue, we ask you to instruct that these national rituals be considered for next year’s calendar with their correct and historical names and without any additional titles—not one word more, not one word less—and also require government bodies to fully cooperate with the people in holding these rituals.
With thanks and respect,
On behalf of the following NGOs:
1. Union of Iranian Student Scientific Associations of Architecture, Restoration, and Urban Planning 2. Afraz Cultural Association 3. Tehran Province Tourist Guides Association 4. Iranian Collectors Association 5. Green Sustainable Circle Association of Tehran Province 6. Third Line Association of Hormozgan Province 7. New Thought Association of Tehran Province 8. Tehran Province Citizens’ Rights Development Association 9. Parsigan Mehrboom Association of Tehran Province 10. New Coffeehouse Painting Association of Tehran Province 11. Nojan Karun Cultural Heritage Association of Khuzestan Province 12. Timreh Enthusiasts Association of Isfahan Province 13. Mehrgan Partow Research Association of Tehran Province 14. Green Village Association of Tehran Province 15. Isatis Cultural Association of Tehran Province 16. Zendehrud Heritage Guardians Association of Isfahan Province 17. Enthusiasts of the Land of Sand and Sun Association of South Khorasan Province 18. Brown Deer Association of Dena, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province 19. Fars Cultural Heritage Enthusiasts Association of Fars Province 20. Pars Museum of Siraf Association of Bushehr Province 21. Shahnameh Reading Association of Ganzkanameh, West Azerbaijan Province 22. Zagros Ecosystem Association of Lorestan Province 23. Shady Cypress Association of Tehran Province 24. Tehran Animal and Environment Protection Association 25. Old Shahroud Heritage Enthusiasts Association of Qazvin Province 26. Old Shahrud Heritage Enthusiasts Association of Semnan Province 27. Water Peace Association of Semnan Province 28. Shabahang Literary-Cultural Association of Mazandaran Province 29. Iran Cave and Speleology Association 30. Sepid Pars Youth Association of Mazandaran 31. Tirgan and Karon County Cultural Heritage Enthusiasts Association of Isfahan Province 32. Iranian History and Cultural Heritage Association of Alborz Province 33. Nooshabad Historical Monuments and Celebrities Enthusiasts Association of Isfahan Province 34. Damab Enthusiasts Association of Isfahan Province 35. Mahroosa Buildings Association of Iran, Tehran Province 36. Tariyana Cultural Heritage Enthusiasts Association of Khuzestan Province 37. Qazvin Afagh Culture Association 38. Ali Qapu Historical-Cultural Association of Qazvin Province 39. Shush Enthusiasts Association of Khuzestan Province 40. Growth and Development Support Institute of Tehran Province 41. Young Artists Institute of Ganzak, West Azerbaijan Province 42. Sustainable Green Field Development Institute of Semnan Province 43. International Institute of Human Nature Wildlife, Tehran Province 44. Mehrazan Future Civilization of Pars Institute of Qom Province 45. Pars Youth Center of Fars Province 46. Tasnim House of Damghan, Semnan Province 47. Iran Processors House of Tehran Province 48. People’s Documents and Cultural Identity Center of Shahrud, Semnan Province 49. Estehban Cultural and Natural Heritage Watch Group of Fars Province 50. Iran Cultural and Natural Heritage Watch