Sizdah Be-dar

Sizdah Bedar (lit. Thirteen Outdoor) also known as Nature’s Day is an Iranian festival held annually on the thirteenth day of Farvardin (the first month of the Iranian calendar), during which people spend time picnicking outdoors. It marks the end of the Nowruz holidays in Iran.

Sizdah Be-dar is celebrated on the thirteenth day of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year. It is celebrated by leaving houses to join nature, and spending the day outdoors.

Releasing sprouting greens back into nature

A ritual performed at the end of the picnic is to throw away the greenery (Sabze) collected for Haft-Seen, the customary setting of Nowruz in Iran. Touching someone else’s greenery on this day or bringing it back home is considered a bad omen.

Knotting the greenery

Knotting the greenery Sabzeh gereh zadan) is customary for young single people, especially young girls. They tie the leaves of the greenery before discarding it, expressing a wish to find a partner or a husband.

Lie of the Thirteen

Lie of the Thirteen (Dorugh-e Sizdah) is the Iranian version of the prank-playing April Fools’ Day which is observed on the first or second day of April in Iran, on the day of Sizdah Bedar. Pranks have reportedly been played on this holiday since 536 BC in the Achaemenid Empire.