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Persian Culture In Iran By Ella Stout

"Good thoughts of the mind, good deeds of the hand, and good words of the tongue." This is a Zoroastrian saying that the "Wise Lord" Ahura-Mazda speaks to his followers. Zoroastrian was the original Persian religion that was founded by Zoroaster in Persia about 3500 years ago. Followers of Zoroastrianism believe in dualism, meaning they believe in both good and evil forces. Each person must choose which force they will be a helper of. Zoroastrianism has a small following, but is still in practice today. Now many Persians practice the religion of Islam because of the Islamic Revolution in Iran (Formerly Persia). Like Marji in Persepolis, she used to be Zoroastrian, "I wanted us to celebrate all the traditional Zarathustrian holidays" (Satrapi 7), but over time, Marjane loses all the faith she once had.  The Persian language of Farsi is the main language of Iran. Farsi is also spoken in other areas including Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and other countries once under Persian influence. By keeping their language after the Islamic Revolution, Persians expanded Islam from a religion with Arabic origins to a more well rounded world religion. Farsi has over 110 million speakers and now it is used for many islamic religious works and poetry.

Persian Zoroastrian holidays are celebrated in Iran as well as Islamic holidays. The Persian new year is Norouz, also the first day of spring, is celebrated on March 21. Other Zoroastrian holidays are dedicated to spirits or mark historical events, like the death of the founder, Zoroaster. Other Islamic events Muharram, the Islamic new year, Ramadan, the month of fasting, and the Prophet Muhammad's birthday. All islamic holidays follow the lunar calender, meaning they move each year relative to the solar calender.

Persian Culture is rich with art and poetry, Persian poetry is said to be some of the most beautiful poetry in the world and filled with passion. The most notable form of Persian artwork are the woven carpets. Traditionally, every part of the carpet was hand made from natural ingredients over the course of many months including the yarn fiber and the colors. Carpet weaving dates back to ancient Persia. There is about 1.2 million carpet weavers in Iran and Iran exports to more than 100 countries. The materials used to make the carpets are usually wool, silk and cotton. The carpets are priced very highly because the carpets are so complex and take so long to make. The most skilled Persian weaver can tie only 12,000 knots per day and with a carpet consisting of over a million knots, they can take over a year to make. Persian carpets are many times used for prayer, and contain a sort of central medallion. Other times they resemble beautiful Persian gardens.

Sources:

Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. New York, United States: Pantheon Books, 2003. (Translation Copyright)

"Culture." Culture of Iran. Web. 6 May 2012. .

Persian Carpet History. Web. 7 May 2012. .