Sizdah Be-dar (lit. Thirteenth Day Outdoor)

On this day, according to a long-standing cultural tradition, people go out of their homes and into nature and spend time picnicking outdoors in the plains and gardens, marrying next to nature’s greenery and running waters of springs, streams, and rivers and under the green trees. The custom of celebrating this day in this particular way has been among the Iranians for centuries and in the mythological and historical narratives and ancient literary texts of Iran, it has also been referred to as being in the companionship of nature. The thirteenth day of Nowruz is celebrated by people away from any social constraints playing and enjoying various games, especially swinging. On this day the greens grown for Nowruz are thrown into the water, and young and unmarried girls make knots on the green strings of wild grass as a sign of wishing a fruitful and happy life in the future.