Santa Claus
Haji Firuz
*کریسمس و سال نو میلادی مبارک همه ایرانیان مسیحی*
در این زمینه مقاله ای را تقدیمتان می کنم به نگارش خودم به زبان انگلیسی بر اساس تحقیقات دکتر غیاث آبادی که به ارتباط
:کریسمس و شب چله می پردازد
*MeRrY ChRisTMaS and HapPY NeW YEaR*
*To all Christians all over the world, specially to Iranian Christians*.
NOTE: This is a research on the history of the Christmas celebration and it’s relation to a Perasian celebration, “Chelleh Night”, it’s not reservered and completely right. It can be discussed without any nationalistic emotions.
“Chelleh Night” or “Yalda” festival, midwinter (winter inversion) and the sun birth festival. Iranian, providing different edibles, have been stayed awake till morning waiting for first sun rays visit in this night. Abu Reyhan Biruni (born 5 September 973 in Kath, Khwarezm (now in Uzbekistan, historically a part of Greater Iran), died 13 December 1048 in Ghazni (now in Afghanistan), Persian Muslim scholar and polymath of the 11th century) named this night as “Great Birth” in one of his books and described that it meant “sun Birth”. Christian calendar also is the continuation of this birth with a little changes which later it was allied to Christ birth. Date 30th Azar (Ninth month of Solar Hijri Calendar, Iranian calendar)”
This is the translation of a part of an Iranian astrology archeologist book, “The hand book of Persian Celebrations”1 (see Persian Festivals google Calendar for more Persian celebrations).
The commence of winter, the last night of autumn (in Jalali Calendar), and the longest night of the year is a so nice night to celebrate and vigil till morning and waiting for glow, for the first ray of sun after a long night, “Chelleh Night”, 21st Dec.
At This night the sun takes the most down point of the southeast horizon with a angle of 23 degree of east from equinox and makes the light of the day less and the night longer and by tommorow the sun starts it’s way up to summer inversion. The commence of returning of sun toward northeast and the increase of day duration was known the procreation time or renaissance of sun in the ancient traditions which ancient peoples happy.
In Iranian traditions sun is the symbol of affection, in Mithraism religion2 the sun is the goddess of kindness and is one of the most honorable deify of it’s followers, so at the longest night of the year Iranians vigil to fight gloom and light the night and wait for glow. In my opinion the philosophy of the celebration of this night is so nice.
Iranians go to adults and eldries which are the symbol of eldry of the sun of the end of autumn, and celebrate the night and vigil till morning to see the first ray of the winter sun, the new born sun. The edibles should be red, the color of sun. Some of traditional edibles of this long overnight celebration are pomegranate, water melon, sea-buckthorn and nuts.
In Mithraism the first day of the winter (22nd Dec) has been named “Khur Ruz” (“Sun Day”), the birthday of the sun, or Mithra, “Mehr” (kindness) and is the first day of new yaer of Mithraea Calendar which has been continued to Georgian Calendar and was created 400 years after BC. The Birthday of Jesus is supposed to be a day near midwinter and also the celebration of new year, Christmas too, as in Sistani ancient calendar. As Biruni3 wrote, the beginning of ancient Sistani Calendar was the commence of winter and it’s interesting that the name of the first month of this calendar was “Christ”. Alliance of Birth to Jesus Birth was related to more post centuries since before, the Birth meant the Sun Birth or Mithra Birth as Biruni mentioned.
By the spread of Mithraism thorough europe by the time of Roman empire and the first centuries after bc, the traditions of this religion, which had a Persian origin, had been prevailed through europe and as the exact day of Jesus birth was unknown, by the time of Christian government, the Birthday of sun or Mithra Birthday was accepted as the Jesus Birthday. The difference of Jesus Birthday (24th Dec) in Georgian Calendar with the birthday of sun (22nd Dec) in Mithraism is because of the changes in Solar Persian Calendar by the time of Sassanid Dynasty4.
One of the traditions of “Chelleh Night”, which is disappeared in Iran these days was the decoration of pine tree which entered Christmas Celebration. Pine tree was one of the honorable and holy plants among ancient Persians which was one of the rare herbal lithograph of Persepolis5. It is assumed that Santa Claus is a deconstructed form of Haji Firuz6 which are so close to each other in clothing, behaving and character (note to their both red clothes).
Totally ancient cultures have so many transitions and exchanges, it is difficult to say certainly that which one is the older one.
A discussion based on researches of an Iranian astrology archeologist, Reza Moradi Ghiasabadi :
1: translation of “The hand book of Persian Celebrations” (“Ghiasabadi, Reza M.”, “Navid Shiraz” Publication, Tehran 2008)
translation of an article of Ghiasabadi, Reza M. : “Chelleh Night, the night of sun birth and the beginning of Mithraea new year”
Photos from wikipedia : Haji Firuz and Santa Claus
2: The Mithraic mysteries or mysteries of Mithras (also Mithraism) was a mystery religion centered on the god Mithras, which originated in Persia and later became popular among the military in the Roman Empire, from the 1st to 4th centuries CE, from wikipedia
3: (born 5 September 973 in Kath, Khwarezm [now in Uzbekistan, historically a part of Greater Iran], died 13 December 1048 in Ghazni [now in Afghanistan]), known as Alberonius in Latin, was a Persian Muslim scholar and polymath of the 11th century, from wikipedia
4: (also spelled Sasanid Empire, Sassanian Empire, or Sasanian Empire), known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān, was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651 BCE. The Sassanid Empire, which succeeded the Parthian Empire, was recognized as one of the two main powers in Western Asia and Europe, alongside the Roman Empire and later the Byzantine Empire, for a period of more than 400 years, from wikipedia
5: (Old Persian : Pārsa, Takht-e Jamshid or Chehel Minar) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (ca. 550-330 BCE). Persepolis is situated 70 km northeast of the modern city of Shiraz in the Fars Province of modern Iran. In contemporary Persian, the site is known as Takht-e Jamshid (Throne of Jamshid) and Parseh. The earliest remains of Persepolis date from around 515 BCE. To the ancient Persians, the city was known as Pārsa, which means “The City of Persians”. Persepolis is a transliteration of the Greek Πέρσης πόλις (Persēs polis: “Persian city”), from wikipedia
6: Hâjji Fîrûz or Hajji Piruz, (Persian: حاجی فیروز) is the traditional herald of Nowruz. He is a black-faced character clad in bright red clothes and a felt hat. While ushering in Nowruz, Hajji Firuz plays a tambourine and sings “Haji Firuz eh, sali ye ruz eh” (It is Haji Firuz time, It happens one day in a year. People of all ages gather around him and his troupe of musicians and listen to them play the drum, saz or kamancheh, and dance through the streets with tambourines and trumpets spreading good cheer and the news of the coming New Year, from wikipedia
