Sep 12, 2025Mehregan, a festival as highly valued as Nowruz, is an ancient Iranian celebration of love, kindness, and covenant. Rooted in human values, it has endured for millennia, adapting to new beliefs while keeping its essence. Praised by al-Biruni, it also highlights the great role of Mithra in ancient Iranian traditions.
The Mehregan Festival is one of the precious legacies of ancient times and, among Iranians, it held a value comparable to Nowruz.
Like Nowruz, Mehregan has always been embraced by the people, adapting itself in every era to the beliefs and traditions of that time. For this reason, numerous accounts, tales, and interpretations exist regarding it.
What can be said about this festival is its deep connection to affection, loyalty, and covenant.
Just as human nature, with its love of beauty, has refused to forget Nowruz—the festival of nature—Mehregan, which is linked to humanistic values, has also endured among the people for thousands of years. Every human being, regardless of religion or culture, cherishes kindness, and perhaps for this very reason, this festival has been celebrated by Iranians since the earliest times, and with the advent of new faiths, its significance has remained intact.
Abu Rayhan al-Biruni, who carried out extensive anthropological studies in his era and conversed with followers of different religions, including the Zoroastrians, wrote the following about Mehregan:
“This festival, like other festivals, belongs to all the people, and its interpretation is the friendship of souls.” (1)
The deity Mithra is one of the greatest divinities of the ancient Iranian faiths, who held a special place among Iranians even before the rise of Zoroastrianism.
Footnote:
1- Biruni, Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad. Chronology of Ancient Nations (Al-Āthār al-Bāqiya ‘an al-Qurūn al-Khāliya). Translated by Akbar Danaseresht. Tehran: Amir Kabir, 2007, p. 337.
Translated From kheradgan.ir/p/11243
