Customs and traditions of the month of Ramadan
Ramadan, the month of fasting and devotion, from ancient times until today, has always had a dominant place in popular culture and from the middle of the month of Sha'bān there is already a movement and a particular trepidation to welcome this month with gestures such as spiritual retreat and the preparation of particular foods; precisely because in this month all work activities almost stop and people more than anything are dedicated to devotion, reading the Koran and organizing religious gatherings. With the beginning of the month of Ramadan, which is distinguished by the vision of the new moon by groups specially formed for this important activity and with people climbing the rooftops to observe the sky at sunset on the last day of the month of Sha 'bān, particular and various customs and rites take place throughout Iran. Here we present some traditional ceremonies.
Khane-tekāni
Before the start of this month, people from various areas of Iran are dedicated to cleaning their homes and neighborhoods, all mosques, tekyehs, religious places, and washing carpets, dishes and accessories in the area. 'ābdārkhāne (tea room). Some people even before the start of the month of Ramadan prepare for it with spiritual retreat and fasting.
-An invitation from a mullah
One of the customs this month is to invite a mullah from the big cities from the council of administrators of the village mosques. The inhabitants of these at first reserve a house for him and this month he is a guest of the people of the village. Its task is to organize community prayers, deliver religious speeches, arrange Quran recitation meetings, celebrate this month's religious rites and answer people's questions in the religious field.
Consuming the "sahari" and carrying out the fulfillments of the dawn
Those who fast to fulfill the dawn fulfillment and eat the meal that precedes it usually get up an hour or a while before the call to morning prayer, perform ablutions, recite the dawn prayers, and consume hot food called "sahari" with the intention of starting fasting already. Eating and drinking until almost the moment of the call to morning prayer can last, but with the arrival of the call, one does not eat or drink anything. In many families, children are also awakened so that they slowly get used to getting up early and fasting, gifts are also given to children who have reached the age to fast and who are fasting for the first time. Generally the gifts for the daughters consist of a prayer chādor and gold jewelry and for the sons money and a silver ring. In ancient times, various tools and methods were used to wake up at the dawn of the month of Ramadan and to identify the exact moment of dawn and carry out the related tasks. Some of these are still used today while others have become obsolete. Among these we mention the following: knowing the stars and their position in the sky, listening to the crowing of the cock, lighting candles in the high points of the city and on the top of the minarets, the sound of the tympanum, the drum and the trumpet , of the cannon at dawn, the sound of litanies from the top of the minarets of mosques, the shouting in the alleys, the sound of the megaphone from public toilets, the banging of the neighbor's wall and so on; nowadays people use alarm clocks, radio and television to pinpoint the exact moment of dawn (call to morning prayer). In the same way today the sound of prayer and litanies coming from the megaphone of mosques from the points of a city and a village, announce this moment with the spread of the call to morning prayer.
The Eftāri
Those who fast, after the call to sunset prayer, prepare to break the fast and eat; the name of this meal is “eftāri”. Generally the first thing you eat after hours without having eaten or drunk is hot water and dates. Among the foods most consumed in the month of Ramadan and in almost all places we can mention the following: halim (dish based on wheat, barley, lentils and meat), āshe reshte (soup based on tagliolini, legumes and aromatic herbs), zulbiā e bāmie (sweets with sugar syrup), gush-e fil (another type of dessert), halvā (thick dough with flour, butter, sugar and rose water), fereni (sweet made from rice flour), shole zard, (a kind of rice pudding with saffron and rose water) cheese, vegetables, nuts, hot milk and so on. However, each city and each village has its own particular foods for this month such as: "Khaskhkār" (sweet made from rice flour, sugar and chopped nuts) in the Gilān region, various types of special soups such as: "Iran āshi", "āsh-e shir" (milk-based soup), "āsh-e gouje farhangi" , (tomato soup) āsh-e mast (yogurt-based soup), "āsh-e sholie adas", (lentil soup) "āsh-e umāj va yāparāgh dulmāsi" (soup with noodles, vegetables and legu mi typical of Tabriz), "kuku-ye lubiā sabz (green bean omelette)," ghāyeghānāgh "(typical dessert of eastern Azerbaijan)," kufte-ye tabrizi "(typical meatballs of the city of Tabriz)," fatir "(sort of sweet bread) and sweets called "nazieh", "khatāi" (sweets filled with coconut, chopped hazelnuts and sugar), "zanjfili kuke" in western Azerbaijan, "dimāj" in Qazvin, "larzān" in Dāmghān and Shāhrud, "Sambuse", (triangles of phyllo dough filled with meat, vegetables and spices) "tashribeh" (typical of the Arabs of Khuzestan), "māghvade" (based on starch), "haris", "mahallebi" (similar to fereni ) and "laghimāt" (similar to zulbiā and bāmie) in Khuzestān, "kulireh" (traditional bread) in Kurdistān, "āsh-e shole" (soup with meat, vegetables, legumes and rice) in Mashhad, "tabāhag" (meat dried lamb flavored with crushed pomegranate grains) and "chāngāl" (sweet made with dates, oil and flour) in Baluchistān, "āsh-e jo" (barley soup) and "sharbat-e khākshir" (syrup based of water, seeds of the plant called khāhshir, sugar and rose water) in Kāshān. Tea is an inevitable element in all tables of the eftāri! Offering fast-breaking food and inviting relatives to every meal is an ancient Iranian custom that is characterized by a particular impulse and enthusiasm and continues despite the changes in the way of life of many citizens. In recent years we have witnessed the preparation of very sumptuous tables for thousands of participants in the fasting of mausoleums such as that of Imam Rezā (A) in Mashhad and similar places. The preparation and distribution of various types of food offered to charity, helping the poor, the needy, the orphans of the city, women without protection, the payment of zakāt-e māl (alms) to these people, providing for the expenses of religious institutes and helping to release some inmates for unintentional crimes, all of which are part of the other customs of the month of Ramadan. This month all restaurants and grocery stores are closed during the day.
Reading meetings of the Koran
Interested people, in all mosques and in many private homes, are preparing to read one of the thirty parts of the Koran as a group. These meetings in the houses take place mostly in the exclusive presence of women and with particular rites. The organization of the ceremony of the shabhā-ye qadr, or Nights of Destiny (nights of the nineteenth, twenty-first and twenty-third days of the month of Ramadan), the night of the vigil, the reading of the Koran and prayers such as jushān kabir, mojir, eftetāh, putting the Koran on the head, remembering the tragedy of the martyrdom of the "Prince of Believers", Imam Ali (A), are among the very important initiatives of this month that has many observant faithful. The arrangement of the “tarāwih” (set of long night prayers) in groups and directed by an Imam who knows the Koran by heart, together with the evening prayer, in traditional areas is among the customs of the month of Ramadan.
Some traditional feasts and customs
The organization of the “garghi'ān” festival, typical of children, usually takes place in the southern cities of the Khuzestān region in the middle of the month of fasting and on the night of the birth of Imam Hassan Mojtabā (A); sew the "bag of blessing" or "bag of desire" by the women of Hamedān, Eastern Azerbaijan, Western Azerbaijan, Kermān, Ardebil and so on and again sew "the dress of Fātemeh", "the dress of desire" to obtain the blessing in life, send the eftāri by the bridegroom to the bride's house in the betrothal period in Hamedān, Sāveh and some other areas, preparing and sending the complete eftāri called "ruz-e vālun" together in flowers, on the first day of Ramadan after the wedding by the groom's family at the bride's house in Shiraz, recite "Allah ramzuni" by the boys and "kelidzani" by the girls in the Nights of Destiny in some areas of the region of Kerman, the "Kalukh andāzi" ceremony which is usually held on the last Friday of the month of Sha'bān in Shirāz, Yazd to observe which people go to places of entertainment and consume different foods such as various types of soups: “Shuli” (typical soup of Yaz from beetroot, pomegranate paste, herbs and lentils) "āsh-e reshte," āsh-e khamir ", (based on noodles, legumes, meat and herbs, pomegranate juice)" āsh-e kashk ", ( sour cheese soup called kaskh) ”halvā-ye berenj” (halvā with rice flour). The custom called "āshti kanān" (lit: make peace ") among the torkmeni held before the beginning of the month in which on the initiative of the authoritative people of each neighborhood who call" yāsh oula ", they are invited home to drink the tea of people who have a disagreement between them without warning them of the presence of the other and make them reconcile; the "dust dust" rite in the Yazd region on the night of the twenty-seventh day of Ramadan, the "ghābākhlāmā" custom to welcome the month of Ramadan in eastern Azerbaijan, can be cited among the traditions and many customs of this month .
The end of the month of Ramadan
In the last nights of this month, the preachers and religious promoters in the mosques and the tekyeh recite poems and beautiful local chants to greet the end of Ramadan and people are preparing to enter the month of Shawwal and for the biggest Islamic festival or Eid -and Fetr. (fasting break party).
The preparation of the "Alam tarāni" ceremony in the city of Sāveh which is carried out by the young people and adolescents of the neighborhood, the sewing of the "blessing bag" by women and girls in the regions of eastern Azerbaijan, Kermān, the preparation of the “bi bi seshanbe” soup in Jahrom, in the Fārs region, the farewell rite in the city of Birjand and the lament of Kāzerun in the Fārs region after the litanies of dawn, are part of the customs of the Iranian people in the last days of Ramadan.
The Eid-e Fetr and related prayer
On the last day of this month, the inhabitants of different areas prepare for the great celebration of the end of Ramadan. For this reason, after having done the ablutions and wearing clean or new clothes they go to the Eid-e Fetr and as soon as they see the new moon of which the people have been warned, in conjunction with the rising of the sun and according to particular formalities, they organize the Eid-e Fetr prayer on the first day of the month of Shawwal in the mosques of all cities and villages. Before doing all this, it is necessary that all wealthy people pay the Zahāt al-Fitr, which is a set amount of money that must be used only by the needy.