Khordad Sal marks the anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Zoroaster, founder of Zoroastrianism (also known as Mazdayasna) which is an ancient Persian religion that is believed to have originated as early as 4,000 years ago. It is perhaps the world's first faith to believe in only one God and is one of the oldest religions still in existence. Its teaching predates Buddhism and arguably it is very likely it was the precursor and influenced the development of Judaism and certainly predates both Christianity and Islam.
Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Empire, was a devout Zoroastrian. Most accounts, tell of Cyrus being a tolerant ruler who allowed his non-Iranian subjects to practice their own religions. He ruled by the Zoroastrian law of asha (truth and righteousness) but didn’t impose Zoroastrianism on the people of Persia’s conquered territories.
Zoroastrianism spread across Asia via, a network of trading routes that spread from China to the Middle East and into Europe known as the silk road.
Zoroastrian concepts, including the idea of a single god, heaven, hell and a day of judgment, may have been first introduced to the Jewish community of Babylonia, where people from the Kingdom of Judea had been living in captivity for decades
Most of what is known about Zoroaster comes from a collection of Zoroastrian religious scriptures called the Avesta. It is unclear exactly when Zoroaster may have lived.
Zoroaster is made up of two words Zara meaning golden and Ushas meaning light. So this is a festival of golden light when believers review their lives and recommit to a life of honesty community, charity and nobility. It is a festival of love relationship, blessings and a positive, abundant life.
How is this celebrated?
Preparations include house cleaning, decorations with symbols and Fragrant flowers. Traditional foods such as kebab, fish and chilo are cooked and tables are decorated with seasonal fruits, flowers nuts and sweets.
Zoroastrian wear new clothes, visit the temple and bless young children to honour Ahura Mazda (God of Zoroastrian) and for the birth anniversary Zoroaster. Solon ceremony’s called Jashan (prayers of thanksgiving) are said.