By: Mahmood Ahmadi

The tradition of “Chahar Shanbeh Souri” (The festival of fire), which is celebrated on the last Wednesday of every Iranian year, has stemmed from a national and popular life experience in the Iranian society, and their preparations to enter spring, its joys, efflorescence and livelihood.
It is the experience of the Iranian people during the course of thousands of years of history, which has been transformed into a symbolic ceremony and celebration. The dynamic message echoed by this ceremony is that Iranians cast away all ugliness, coldness and pain, and burn away all torments, difficulties and disappointments in the fire during the festival, and replace them with all the goodness derived from that same fire: Heat, joyfulness and energy, which also symbolize the beginning of spring. This all signifies harmony with the nature’s livelihood, its growth and innovation.

“Chahar Shanbeh Souri”, a symbolic festival to end the “winter” of the Mullahs’ regime

We may ask ourselves, who symbolizes winter, darkness, oppression, injustice, pain and suffering in the present situation of the Iranian people? What must be burnt in the “Festival of Fire”, and who is the one who must vanish in the burning fire? In order to enter nature’s spring, and achieve spring and livelihood for the society, which fire are we bound to go through and which elements of corruption, theft and suppression must we terminate?
After the December 28 uprising, a deep and unique harmony between tradition and reality has emerged. National and popular traditions are helping the popular uprising, and history is responding to the needs of the Iranian people.

   Fire Festival clebration in Iran

Why are the Mullahs so afraid of the “Festival of Fire”?
The Mullahs’ regime and all its criminal factions, from the supreme leader, Khamenei, to its president Rouhani, are the first to fear the “Festival of Fire” ceremonies, because they see their demise in the “Chahar Shanbe Soori” fireworks. Police and IRGC commanders have announced that participating in “Festival of Fire” celebrations by the youth are a red line, and the supreme leader, Khamenei, himself reminded the threat of overthrow faced by the regime this month.

That is the reason why the regime, its officials and police forces are doing their utmost to portray the “Festival of Fire” as a dangerous and deadly ceremony, that poses serious security threats, and reiterate the risks of death imposed by this ancient ritual. Are they really right? Yes they are, indeed, in a way. The “Festival of Fire” poses both a serious security threat to the regime, and a death threat to the rule of the supreme leader.
The slogan chanted by the people, “Fire will be responded with fire” is equivalent to a similar slogan chanted during the 1980’s where people chanted “King-Sultan-Mullah”, your end is very near. The uprising will flare up again and scorch the roots of Khamenei and Rouhani, and make Iran unsafe for this regime, and pave their way to the trashcan of history.