UNESCO joins celebration of Mehragan

The Regional Research Center for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in West and Central Asia, under the Auspices of UNESCO (“Tehran ICH Center”) organized a cultural evening on the occasion of Mehragan, on Sunday 4 October, AVA Diplomatic reports.

According to some of the ancient Asian calendars that are known to Zoroastrians in the region, Mehragan –the autumn festival of harvest- is celebrated on 2 October. It is celebrated in honor of Mithra, the divinity of covenant, and hence of interpersonal relationships of friendship, affection and love. It is an important celebration of life, the season, God and joy, which is still marked every year by Zoroastrian communities in Iran and other countries.

The cultural evening consisted of chanting parts of “Mehr Yasht” by Zoroastrian priest, Mr. Firouzgari, and several speeches and lectures by culture experts, and members of the Zoroastrian community, including

Dr. Isfandiar Ekhtiari, Chairman of the Yadegare Bastan Research Center and Zoroastrian Representative in the Islamic Parliament of Iran.

Ms. Kuisch Laroche, Director and Representative of the UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office talked about the importance of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage and respecting cultural diversity.

She also spoke of the relevance of Zoroastrian teachings, which promote “good thoughts, good words and good deeds” in the context of UNESCO’s mission to build peace in the minds of men.“In today’s world, marked by armed conflicts, xenophobia, intolerance and extremism, we need to return to these basic, universal teachings, which are the foundation of all major world religions”, she said.

The Indian Ambassador in Iran, Mr. Shri D.P. Srivastava spoke about the Zoroastrian community in his country, consisting of some 69,000 people.

The speeches were followed by an introduction of the Mehregan ceremony and its history.