Codex of FaithsAn illustrated atlas of belief

Zoroastrianism

Mehregan

When is Mehregan in 2027, the ancient Iranian festival of Mithra in the autumn: the day of Mehr in the month of Mehr, harvest tables of pomegranates and apples, prayers, and one of the two great feasts of the Persian year with Nowruz.

Next date

Friday, 8 October 2027

16 Mehr in Iran’s official calendar. Zoroastrians who follow the Fasli calendar keep it on 2 October; Parsi dates differ.

In brief

  1. I.Mehregan honours Mithra, Mehr in Persian, the divine being of the covenant, of friendship and of light.
  2. II.It falls on the day of Mehr in the month of Mehr, in early October, and was once the great autumn feast of Iran, as Nowruz is the feast of spring.
  3. III.Families and communities set a table with the fruits of the season, above all pomegranates and apples, with candles, sweets and a mirror.
  4. IV.Zoroastrians gather for prayers of thanksgiving, the jashan, and wear new clothes.

Chapter I

What it celebrates

In the Zoroastrian calendar each day of the month is dedicated to a divine being, and when a day’s name matches its month’s name a feast is kept. The 16th day, Mehr, falls in the seventh month, also Mehr, and honours Mithra, guardian of oaths and contracts, of friendship and of the light that sees all things. The Greek geographer Strabo records that the satrap of Armenia sent the Persian king 20,000 foals each year for the feast of Mithra, and under the Sasanians the king received gifts and gave audiences on Mehregan.

As Nowruz opens the year at the spring equinox, Mehregan marked the autumn and the gathering of the harvest.

Chapter II

How it is kept

Zoroastrian families set a table covered with a cloth, with the Avesta or a book of prayers, a mirror, candles or a lamp, fruits of the season such as pomegranates, apples, quinces and grapes, sweets, wheat and a dish of water with flowers. Wild rue, esfand, and sweet woods are burned. Priests recite the jashan, a service of blessing and thanksgiving, in fire temples and community halls, and the day ends with a shared meal, music and visits to friends.

Chapter III

Around the world

The largest gatherings are in Tehran, Yazd and Kerman, where Zoroastrian associations hold public celebrations, and in Zoroastrian communities in North America and Europe. Parsis in India keep the day of Meher in the month of Meher in their own calendars as Meherangan, with a jashan at the fire temple.

Questions people ask

Is Mehregan only a Zoroastrian festival?

Its roots are Zoroastrian, but like Nowruz it was kept by Iranians of every faith for centuries after the Islamic conquest; the scholar al-Biruni describes it in the 11th century. Today it is kept mainly by Zoroastrians in Iran and the diaspora, while many other Iranians mark it as a cultural celebration.

What story is told of Mehregan?

In the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi, the hero Fereydun overthrows the tyrant Zahhak, from whose shoulders grew serpents, and his coronation is linked with the day of Mehregan, celebrated as the victory of justice over oppression.

Sources and further reading

  1. Encyclopaedia Iranica, “Mehragān”
  2. Mary Boyce, Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1979)

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