Iranian families celebrate Sizdah Bedar in green areas, parks and gardens. (ISNA Photo)

Sizdah Bedar is the last day of spring equinox celebrations which begins with Chahar-Shanbe Suri, the last Wednesday of the old year and reaches its climax with Norouz, the first day of Iranian month of Farvardin (on March 20-21). Iranians decorate the Haft-Seen tablecloth with wheat, barley and lentil sprouts (Sabzeh) which they keep at home until Sizdah Bedar when they dispose them in green areas, parks and gardens.
Ancient Iranians believed that the star of rain shone in the sky to herald another day of blessing along with the rain in the early days of spring. The people observe Sizdah Bedar with joy setting a pattern for a pleasant life in the new year.
Young girls willing to marrying the new year tie knots on the Sabzeh (green sprout) before throwing it into the river in the belief that it will bring happiness to their marriage.
Researchers believe that the ceremonies observed in Sizdah Bedar have a logical link with the real life of Iranians.
Academic Mohammad Panahi Semnani pointed out that the essence of the Sizdah Bedar ceremonies is the enthusiasm to set up a family, lead a happy life and form friendship.
He said that the first twelve days of the year symbolize the birth of the human race in the course of the past twelve millennia while Sizdah Bedar represents the past thirteen millennia of life on the Earth.
ÒBy growing sprouts, ancient Iranians expressed their spirit for green environment and seek further divine blessings in the form of rain for their farmlands.
ÒIranians believed that the demon of drought was defeated at midday of Sizdah Bedar. They used to sacrifice sheep and cook Kebab in the open areas to celebrate victory of the angel of rain against the demon of drought,Ó he added.
Teachings in the Avesta, the holy scripture of the Zoroastrians, recall that all those who love purity were responsible for celebrating Sizdah Bedar to help the angel of goodness prevail over the Earth in the struggle against the evil.

TEHRAN, April 2--Renowned Iranian film director Rakhshan Bani-Etemad said that the characters in her films portray real people who have either been forgotten by the society or their situation is being ignored due to conservative considerations.
She said that she has spoken to many people not just to develop a plot for her films but to gain an insight into their lives, reported ISNA.
ÒI sometime gain a deep understanding about their lives even though I cannot introduce the character I am talking about. There are always common grounds in life or situations of the characters in my films,Ó she said.
Explaining one such experience, she said, ÒI met a 70-year old woman at Qasr prison in 1983. I asked her why she was in prison, she replied that she was jailed for cutting off the ear of one man. I thought she meant she swindled him, but, she said she had actually cut off the ear of the man. The man used to come to a brothel several years ago. She had fallen in love with him and asked him to (temporarily) marry her, but, he never accepted. The Islamic Revolution took place in 1979 and the brothel was shut down and she became homeless. In desperation she found a place to rent a room. He came to see her as usual only to satiate his own desire not for her sake. One night they sat together in the courtyard. She repeated her request for marriage. He said he would not do so because of his self-esteem. She asked him whether he was concerned about his self-esteem under the current situation when she no longer goes to a brothel. He said yes it was a disgrace for him to marry her. She became angry and took out a knife and cut of her loverÕs ear and threw it to a cat. The cat ate it. Then, he went to the court to file a complaint and she was sentenced to jail. After a while, he came to prison and asked her to marry him, but, she did not accept. It is too late.Ó

TEHRAN, April 2--The 10th Sacred Defense Film Festival will be held here in May.
Announcing this, the festivalÕs secretary, Mohammad Alavi, said that keeping the memory of the eight-year Sacred Defense Era (1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war) alive with the help of cinema is the main goal of the event, according to Mehr news agency.
The festival will include a competition section, a special section, a special screening section, and a sideline section, he added.
Feature movies, documentaries, short films, and music videos which were produced since 2002 will compete in the festival, he said, adding that ÔPanorama of Resistance CinemaÕ, ÔA Quarter of a Century of Sacred Defense FilmsÕ, and ÔPathology of War CinemaÕ are among the programs of the special section.
He noted that the special screening section would also feature screenings of documentaries and music videos on the liberation of Khorramshahr and important feature films on the Sacred Defense Era.
Alavi noted that Sacred Defense cinema can play a major role in promoting spiritual cinema, but some wrong policies have led to a decline in the production of Sacred Defense genre films.
He complained that some organizations which were expected to cooperate in organizing the festival might not participate this year, but said that the festival would nevertheless be held as in previous years.

TEHRAN, April 2--A prominent Iranian music band called The Kamkars performed a Persian music concert in Rome on March 24 in which they released CDs and DVDs of Kurdish Music at a conference on Kurdish culture in Italy.
According ISNA, The Kamkars organized a concert at Niavaran Palace last September to mark the 25th anniversary of the founding of the group.
At the concert, they presented their works which ranged from the early performances which began simple songs to their most recent latest releases which are advanced Persian songs. Head of the group, Hushang Kamkar complained that the band had not received any financial support from cultural institutions.
Elaborating on the high expense of the music group, he said that The Kamkars paid nine million rials in rent to hold a concert in Kermanshah and 20 million rials rent to hold a concert at Niavaran palace in the open air compound.
The group decided not to hold concert in Iran because of exorbitant charges demanded by the halls, he said.
Kamkar criticized cultural institutions for their failure to support music groups in Iran.
He said that The Kamkars survived the high cost of maintenance, because the musicians in the group are members of a family.

A statue of Danish author Hans Christian Andersen in the center of Copenhagen. (AFP File Photo)

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, April 2--Fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersen, whose tales including "The Ugly Duckling" and "The Little Mermaid" have fascinated generations of children, was feted in royal style in his native Denmark on Saturday as the country marks the 200th anniversary of his birth.
According to AFP, the Danish royal family and a number of other royals from Europe and Thailand joined celebrities from around the world for a day of events in Odense, the hometown of the man who started out the son of a poor cobbler and went on to became a world-famous writer with works translated into 100 languages.
Among those attending the festivities were some of the 200 celebrities appointed "Hans Christian Andersen ambassadors" including British actor Roger Moore, Chilean author Isabel Allende, US singer Harry Belafonte and Australian Olympic champion Cathy Freeman.
Saturday's events kick off a slew of festivities to be held in 43 countries throughout the rest of the year, aimed at broadening awareness about Andersen and his works beyond the "idealistic and narrow image of this fairytale writer for children of all ages", according to the H.C. Andersen Foundation 2005.
"What there really is a need for is a veritable rebirth of Andersen," Foundation secretary general Lars Seeberg told AFP.
"Two centuries after his birth, he is still not widely recognised as being the world-class writer he doubtless was, just as important a representative of the transition from Romanticism to early Realism as his--incidentally well-known--contemporaries Honore de Balzac or Victor Hugo."

TEHRAN, April 2--The copyright for some 40 titles of Persian books for children and young adults were ceded at the international exhibit held in Taiwan, the director of the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA) said.
Meanwhile, an IIDCYA official in charge of Iranian pavilion at Bologna Book Exhibit Hamid Reza Shahabadi said that the institute is focusing on the European and US markets.
He pointed out that Persian books for children and young adults are on high demand in Asia, particularly Central Asia, and the IIDCYA will pay more attention to secure this vital market.

TEHRAN, April 2--Vivacity provides a good basis for success and satisfaction with life, observed a professor of Islamic art.
Hassan Bolkhari told ISNA that people who are vivacious in their lives have stronger social interactions, have more pleasant personalities and are more industrious.
He added that since vivacity is an important incentive for group activities and social efforts, the society needs vivacity.
ÒVivacity has both individual and social dimensions. The individual aspect of vivacity is having strong ideology and a firm personality. This aspect can remove many problems and bring about a feeling of satisfaction,Ó Bolkhari added.
He noted that the social aspect of vivacity deals with peopleÕs interaction and governmentÕs efforts to improve conditions and quality of social life.
ÒNorouz in Iranian culture and its concurrence with rejuvenation of nature is harbinger of a joyful spring. Norouz is an important parameter for improving social vivacity,Ó he pointed out.
The university teacher asserted that Norouz means a new day and noted that the joy of laymen should be distinguished from mystical joy. In Iranian Gnosticism, joy is neither a consequence of ignorance nor is it a result of earthly joy.