Mehregan

Mehregan (pronounced ‘meh-re-gahn’), is an ancient Persian festival, older even than Zoroastrianism, that began as a feast for the sun god/dess, Mehr.

Mehr (also known as Mithra) is responsible for knowledge, love, friendship, promises, and the light. The word "mehr" in Farsi means kindness.

When Zoroastrianism took hold in Persia, in around 1400 BCE, Mehr was reduced from a God to an angel, but the festival of Mehregan remained. Now Iranians celebrate it usually on October 1st or 2nd, as a day of thanksgiving and the start of the second half of the year (Noruz, in March, is the start of the first half). People decorate their houses, put on new clothes, and visit their relatives and friends, wishing each other a good harvest, long life, and happiness.

Agenda Today:

1. Journal queries
2. Make Aash-e-jo (barley soup) with lamb
3. Set the table
4. Fire

1. Journal queries:
Because Mehregan's focus is on friendship and love, today I give attention to how well I honor the promises and commitments of friendship.

In what condition are my friendships? 
How might I be a better friend?

I made a list of the friends that I want to nurture and pay special attention to this month- those I feel distant from or whom I want to understand better and appreciate more.

2. Make aash-e-jo (barley soup) with lamb:
Zoroastrians in Iran and India have a community feast today, and non-Zoroastrians have a family feast. I usually make a large pot of vegetarian noodle stew, called âsh-e-reshte, with my students, but this year I made Persian lamb and barley stew for my family. We celebrated last night, with stew and a beautiful fire.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 large onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 red chili pepper
• 2 lb. lamb leg meat
• 2-3 fresh tomatoes
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 2-1/2 c. chicken stock
• 1 can chickpeas
• 1/2 c. dried pearl barley
• handful of parsley
• 1/2 lemon

1. Chop the onion, and mince the garlic and chili pepper. Cube the lamb meat. Peel the tomatoes, and roughly chop them.





2. Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat, add onion, and cook until soft. Add garlic and chili pepper, and stir for 1 minute. 

3. Add the lamb cubes to brown on all sides for about 5 minutes. Add the powdered spices and stir for 1 more minute. Add the tomatoes.




4. Pour in chicken stock and lower the heat. Partially cover the pot and simmer gently for 60 minutes.

5. Add chickpeas and pearl barley and cook for another 30 minutes, or until lamb is tender and barley is cooked. 

6. Chop the parsley and squeeze the lemon. Add salt and pepper to taste, parsley, and lemon juice. Serve hot with flatbread.

3. Set the table:

Zoroastrians set a very elaborate table display for this celebration, with a copy of Khordeh Avesta (Little Avesta), a mirror, an antimony container, rosewater, sweets, flowers, vegetables and fruits (especially pomegranates and apples), nuts such as almonds or pistachios, silver coins and lotus seeds; also a burner for burning frankincense and rue seeds. The sides of the tablecloth are decorated with dry wild marjoram. 

I don’t even try to duplicate it sometimes I include these Zoroastrian symbols:

• Mirror – symbolizing Sky 
• Apple – symbolizing Earth 
• Candles – symbolizing Fire 
• Rose water – symbolizing Water 
• Seeds (such as peas, beans, and lentils) – symbolizing last year's harvest and next year's plan.

This year I kept it simple with only branches of herbs to decorate the table. We had a moment of silent prayer, with a focus on thankfulness for food, family, and friendship.

After our meal, we had fun tearing up rosemary and lavendar leaves to sprinkle on each other’s heads as a blessing of love.

We put the pot down for Sadie, because Zoroastrians revere dogs and always make sure they get soup on this day.




4. Fire:
Persians sometimes begin this festival with a bonfire and fireworks, but we had our fire after dinner. It was a beautiful, chilly fall evening, and a perfect way to mark the shift to the second half of the year.