Sadeh · Jashn-e Sadeh

/sæ.ˈde/

Culture of origin: Iranian · Ancient festival

Holiday sources: Iran · Zoroastrianism

Sadeh, from sad, "hundred", is the great midwinter fire festival: the hundredth day of the five-month "great winter" counted from 1 Aban, fifty days before Nowruz. Legend credits its founding to the mythical king Hushang, who discovered fire when he threw a stone at a dragon. Rulers from Bukhara and Ghazni to Isfahan and Baghdad feasted it with huge bonfires; Iranian Zoroastrians still light its fire, traditionally beside running water.