Zorastrian Khordad Sal: March 28
Zorastrian Khordad Sal is a holiday in India.
Zorastrian Khordad Sal is a holiday that celebrates that birthday of Zarathushtra or Zoroaster, the founder of Zoroastrianism. The celebration of the holiday changes from year to year and may either fall between August and September because a different calendar is used to mark the date of the celebration. However, the Gregorian calendar either point to the anniversary celebration as either on March 26 or 28.
Zoroastrianism is a monotheistic religion, that is, a religion that believes in one God called Ahura Mazda (‘Ahura’, meaning Lord; ‘Mazda’, wisdom). The evil spirit Angra Mainyu opposes the will of the righteous but in the end, Ahura Mazda, the one God; ultimately emerge as triumphant over the battle between good and evil.
Just like the Roman Catholic religion, Zoroastrians believe in the concept of heaven and hell. The sacred writings among Zoroastrians are accounted for on the holy book called Avesta.
History of Zorastrian Khordad Sal
In the Parsi calendar, the date of Zoroaster’s birthday falls on the 6th day of the calendar. The calendar consists of 12 months having the same number of days per month and five festive days. The word ‘Parsis’ refers to people comprising the Zoroastrian communities in India. The term was used to refer to Iranians.
The exact date as to which Zoroaster was born was not known. However, various literatures point out and many believe that the founder of the religion was born on the first millennium before the birth of the Christ Jesus. The celebration of Khordad Sal is treated much like of a new year’s day. In fact, the celebration of this holiday is set on the 6th day of Farvardin, the first month of the Parsi calendar.
Many people mark this day as a symbolical representation of Zoroaster’s date of birth considering it as a symbol of hope, goodness, and love.
Zorastrian Khordad Sal: Traditions, Customs and Activities
Members of the Zoroastrian community feast during this day. As part of the tradition, they wear new clothes and the house is cleaned much like that of Iran’s Nowrūz, or the traditional Iran New Year’s Day. The faithful also gathers around the traditional Fire temples to say a prayer before they celebrate the birthday of their religion’s founder with a lavish feast.
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