Cultural Traditions

Cultural Traditions in Persian

In this chapter you learn how to talk in Persian about cultural traditions, special days, and customs. We will not go into grammatical details that are treated in other chapters. The focus here is on useful words, fixed expressions, and typical phrases that help you describe Persian cultural life at an intermediate level.

Talking about “Tradition” and “Culture”

When you talk about cultural traditions in Persian, a few key words appear again and again. The most important are:

“Culture” is فرهنگ /farhang/.
“Tradition” is سنت /sonnat/ or رسم /rasm/.
“Custom” or “habit” is آداب /ādāb/ or عادت /ʿādat/.
“Ceremony” or “ritual” is مراسم /marāsem/ or آیین /āyin/.

You can combine these words with “Persian” or “Iranian” to talk about culture in general.

For example:

فرهنگِ ایرانی
/farhang‑e irāni/
Iranian culture

سنت‌هایِ ایرانی
/sonnat‑hā‑ye irāni/
Iranian traditions

آداب و رسومِ ما
/ādāb o rosūm‑e mā/
our customs and traditions

Observe that Persian usually uses a plural form when you speak about traditions in general.

You can make simple descriptive sentences with the verb “to be” that you already know:

فرهنگِ ایرانی خیلی قدیمی است.
/farhang‑e irāni kheyli ghadimi ast./
Iranian culture is very old.

سنت‌هایِ ما برایِ خانواده مهم است.
/sonnat‑hā‑ye mā barāye khānevāde mohem ast./
Our traditions are important for the family.

Expressing “Tradition of doing something”

To speak about a “tradition of doing X,” Persian often uses a noun like سنت or رسم plus a phrase with “that” or a verbal noun.

You already know که /ke/ “that.” At this level it is enough to recognize a very common pattern:

این یک سنت است که …
/in yek sonnat ast ke …/
It is a tradition that …

For example:

این یک سنت است که بزرگترها عیدی می‌دهند.
/in yek sonnat ast ke bozorgtar‑hā eydi midahand./
It is a tradition that older people give New Year money.

Another frequent phrase is رسم داشتن /rasm dāštan/ “to have as a custom”:

در ایران رسم داریم که مهمان را خیلی احترام کنیم.
/dar irān rasm dārim ke mehmān rā kheyli ehterām konim./
In Iran we have the custom to respect the guest very much.

You can change the subject and the place to adapt it to other situations.

The Idea of “Celebration” and “Holiday”

A “holiday,” “festival,” or “feast” in Persian is usually عید /eyd/ or جشن /jashn/.
The general word for “holiday” (day off) is تعطیل /taʿtil/ or روزِ تعطیل /ruz‑e taʿtil/.

The most common verbs that go with them are:

جشن گرفتن /jashn gereftan/ to celebrate (literally “to take a celebration”)
عید گرفتن /eyd gereftan/ to celebrate a feast
جشن گرفتن برایِ … /jashn gereftan barāye …/ to celebrate for …

You can say:

نوروز را جشن می‌گیریم.
/nowruz rā jashn migirim./
We celebrate Nowruz.

امروز روزِ تعطیل است.
/emruz ruz‑e taʿtil ast./
Today is a holiday.

You also need the verb جشن گرفتن to talk about personal events such as birthdays.

Key Concepts of Persian Cultural Life

Persian speaking societies have many traditional concepts that appear in daily conversation. It is useful to know their names and what type of thing they are, even without long cultural explanations.

“New Year (spring festival)” is نوروز /nowruz/.
“The last Wednesday before Nowruz” is چهارشنبه‌سوری /čahāršanbe‑suri/.
“The fire festival” is also چهارشنبه‌سوری.
“The table set for Nowruz” is سفره‌یِ هفت‌سین /sofreh‑ye haft‑sin/.
“The festival at the end of Ramadan” is عیدِ فطر /eyd‑e fetr/.
“The festival of sacrifice” is عیدِ قربان /eyd‑e ghorbān/.
“Yalda night (winter solstice)” is شبِ یلدا /šab‑e yaldā/.
“Religious mourning month of Muharram” is محرم /moharram/.
“The day of Ashura” is عاشورا /āšurā/.

You can also meet:

جشنِ تولد /jashn‑e tavallod/ birthday party
عروسی /arusi/ wedding celebration
عزا /azā/ or مراسمِ عزاداری /marāsem‑e azādāri/ mourning ceremony

It is not necessary to know all cultural details now. At this level you should be able to identify that these are names of special days or types of ceremonies and use simple sentences like “We celebrate X,” “X is in spring,” or “X is a family celebration.”

Describing When and How Traditions Happen

You already know time expressions and basic present and past tenses from other chapters. Here you combine them with cultural vocabulary to talk about when and how a tradition happens.

Useful adverbs and phrases include:

معمولاً /maʿmūlan/ usually
هر سال /har sāl/ every year
امسال /emsāl/ this year
هر بهار /har bahār/ every spring
هر زمستان /har zemestān/ every winter
در پاییز /dar pāyiz/ in autumn
شب /šab/ night
روز /ruz/ day

You can say:

ما هر سال نوروز را با خانواده جشن می‌گیریم.
/mā har sāl nowruz rā bā khānevāde jashn migirim./
Every year we celebrate Nowruz with the family.

شبِ یلدا را تا نصفِ شب بیدار می‌مانیم.
/šab‑e yaldā rā tā nesf‑e šab bidār mimānim./
On Yalda night we stay awake until midnight.

To describe the way something is celebrated, you need the verbs that describe typical actions.

Useful Verbs for Customs and Ceremonies

Many different activities appear around cultural traditions. Some of the most important verbs are:

شدن /šodan/ to become, to be held (event)
برگزار شدن /bargozār šodan/ to be held (formal for ceremonies)
جمع شدن /jamʿ šodan/ to gather
دورِ هم جمع شدن /dur‑e ham jamʿ šodan/ to get together
دید و بازدید کردن /did o bāzdid kardan/ to visit each other (especially for holidays)
تبریک گفتن /tabrik goftan/ to congratulate
هدیه دادن /hedye dādan/ to give a gift
عیدی دادن /eydi dādan/ to give New Year money/gift
دعا کردن /doʿā kardan/ to pray
روزه گرفتن /roze gereftan/ to fast

At this level, you mostly use the simple present to describe general customs:

در عیدِ نوروز همه‌یِ خانواده دورِ هم جمع می‌شوند.
/dar eyd‑e nowruz hame‑ye khānevāde dur‑e ham jamʿ mišavand./
At Nowruz the whole family gathers together.

در ماهِ رمضان بعضی‌ها روزه می‌گیرند.
/dar māh‑e ramazān baʿzi‑hā roze migirand./
In the month of Ramadan some people fast.

In more formal contexts you may see برگزار شدن:

مراسمِ عروسی در تالار برگزار می‌شود.
/marāsem‑e arusi dar talār bargozār mišavad./
The wedding ceremony is held in a hall.

You do not need to master all forms of these verbs now, but you should recognize them when reading or listening about traditions.

Social Values in Traditions: Respect and Hospitality

Persian cultural traditions often express values such as respect for elders, family unity, and hospitality. To talk about these aspects you need certain words and simple sentence patterns.

“Respect” is احترام /ehterām/.
“To respect” is احترام گذاشتن /ehterām gozāštan/.
“Hospitality” is مهمان‌نوازی /mehmān‑navāzi/.
“Guest” is مهمان /mehmān/.
“Host” is میزبان /mizbān/.
“Family” is خانواده /khānevāde/.
“Relative” is فامیل /fāmil/.

You can connect them with traditions:

در فرهنگِ ایرانی احترام به بزرگترها خیلی مهم است.
/dar farhang‑e irāni ehterām be bozorgtar‑hā kheyli mohem ast./
In Iranian culture respect for elders is very important.

مهمان‌نوازی یکی از سنت‌هایِ معروفِ ما است.
/mehmān‑navāzi yeki az sonnat‑hā‑ye maʿruf‑e mā ast./
Hospitality is one of our famous traditions.

During holidays, hospitality and visiting family are central. There is a special traditional practice called دید و بازدید /did o bāzdid/ that refers to mutual visiting during festive days.

دید و بازدید در عیدِ نوروز خیلی معمول است.
/did o bāzdid dar eyd‑e nowruz kheyli maʿmūl ast./
Mutual visiting is very common at Nowruz.

Comparing Traditions

At B1 level you can briefly compare your own traditions with Persian ones by using simple patterns. You already met comparative structures in another chapter. Here you just see how they look in a cultural context.

Useful patterns include:

در کشورِ من هم … داریم.
/dar kešvar‑e man ham … dārim./
We also have … in my country.

در کشورِ من … کمی فرق دارد.
/dar kešvar‑e man … kami farq dārad./
In my country … is a bit different.

مثلاً /masalan/ for example
شبیهِ … است /šabihe … ast/ is similar to …

For instance:

در کشورِ من هم جشنِ سالِ نو داریم، ولی تاریخش فرق دارد.
/dar kešvar‑e man ham jashn‑e sāl‑e no dārim, vali tārikh‑aš farq dārad./
In my country we also have a New Year celebration, but its date is different.

چهارشنبه‌سوری کمی شبیهِ جشنِ آتش در کشورِ من است.
/čahāršanbe‑suri kami šabihe jashn‑e ātaš dar kešvar‑e man ast./
Čahāršanbe‑suri is a bit similar to the fire festival in my country.

These patterns are enough to make simple but meaningful comparisons without extra grammar.

Talking about Changes in Traditions

In modern life, many traditions change. At this level you can use the simple present to express general trends. Some useful words are:

کم‌کم /kam‑kam/ little by little
امروزه /emruze/ nowadays
بیشترِ مردم /bištar‑e mardom/ most people
بعضی‌ها /baʿzi‑hā/ some people
کمتر /kamtar/ less

You can say:

امروزه بعضی سنت‌ها کم‌کم عوض می‌شود.
/emruze baʿzi sonnat‑hā kam‑kam avaz mišavad./
Nowadays some traditions are slowly changing.

بیشترِ مردم نوروز را با سفر جشن می‌گیرند.
/bištar‑e mardom nowruz rā bā safar jashn migirand./
Most people celebrate Nowruz with a trip.

در شهرها دید و بازدید کمتر شده است.
/dar šahrhā did o bāzdid kamtar šode ast./
In cities mutual visiting has become less.

You can adjust these sentences to talk about specific traditions in your own country or in the Persian speaking world.

Typical Expressions for Special Days

Many fixed phrases are used during festivals and important days. The most common structure is:

… مبارک
… mobārak
“Happy …”

Some very frequent expressions are:

نوروز مبارک
/nowruz mobārak/
Happy Nowruz

عیدِ شما مبارک
/eyd‑e šomā mobārak/
Happy feast to you

سالِ نو مبارک
/sāl‑e no mobārak/
Happy New Year

شبِ یلدا مبارک
/šab‑e yaldā mobārak/
Happy Yalda night

You can also extend it:

عیدِ نوروز را به شما تبریک می‌گویم.
/eyd‑e nowruz rā be šomā tabrik miguyam./
I congratulate you on Nowruz.

You already know the verb گفتن /goftan/. Here it appears in the semi fixed combination تبریک گفتن /tabrik goftan/ “to congratulate.”

These formulas are very useful in real life, in messages, and in social media.

Vocabulary Table