Illustrative report
Today is the last day of Meydioramgah chahreh of gahanbar
I love to go to gahanbar

By Aftab Yazdani, Amordad correspondent
TEHRAN (Amordadnews): When the gahanbar chahreh starts, I know that I will get another chance to meet many of my friends and relatives.
When the 5 days of gahanbar arrive, the fire flames and the incense fills the air.
When gahanbar arrives, the flavor of ‘sirog’ and bread makes my mouth water.
With the pleasant sound of Avesta and the hands lifted towards the sky I soar up to the sky, to the blue and clear sky, to seek peace and calm.
In gahanbar I know that I can sit wherever I want to.  In this ceremony everyone is equal, in all ways.
I love to go to gahanbar because since childhood, in those days when I would catch my grandmother’s ‘makna’ and go to gahanbar I would join the joy and the laughter of the children and their parents.  I remember how everyone would help each other in preparing the table, the fruit, sirog, lork, flowers, green leaves, and what not.
I have always loved attending gahanbar, because after a joint effort a public ceremony is held, with group prayers and a sincere and friendly gathering to share the blessings of this ancient, religious, public ceremony.
Gahanbar reminds me of my childhood.  I am sure everyone loves to attend gahanbar because I don’t remember seeing a single gahanbar ceremony in which a large number of hands are not lifted in prayer, together and in unity.
Today is the last day of Meydiaremgah chahreh.


Meydiaremgah gahanbar chahreh in Kasnavieh, Yazd – ‘sirog’ and ‘komaj’ (bun) that the Zoroastrian ladies have prepared together.


Meydiaremgah gahanbar chahreh in Kasnavieh, Yazd – a white table cloth laid with a tray of dried fruit on it (7 types of dried fruit), a metal vase called ‘kalcha (kalacio), in which evergreen leaves with myrtle stalks are put, as a symbol of everlasting joy in life


Meydiaremgah gahanbar chahreh in Kasnavieh, Yazd – the first tray has chasni in it which is, of course, prepared in different ways, in different places, a copper bowl full of water and another bowl with sedab (rue), cooked in a traditional way, another tray has the sirog and komaj and last but not least is the wrapper cloth full of lork.

 
Meydiaremgah gahanbar chahreh in Kasnavieh, Yazd

 
Meydiaremgah gahanbar chahreh in Kasnavieh, Yazd

 
Meydiaremgah gahanbar chahreh in Kasnavieh, Yazd – the afringan with fire and incense is the most import part of gahanbar.  The Dahmobed (mobed’s assistant) takes the afringan, adds incense to the fire and takes it around for all to repeat this sentence “Hamazoor bim” (may we be united)

 
Meydiaremgah gahanbar chahreh in Kasnavieh, Yazd

 
Meydiaremgah gahanbar chahreh in Kasnavieh, Yazd

 
Meydiaremgah gahanbar chahreh in Kasnavieh, Yazd

 
Meydiaremgah gahanbar chahreh in Kasnavieh, Yazd – when the prayers end, all those who have united in prayer will sit at the gahanbar table and benefit from the gahanbar blessings.  The dahmobed ties the wrapper cloth to his waist and distributes the lork among the participants.

 
Meydiaremgah gahanbar chahreh in Kasnavieh, Yazd – some gahanbar ceremonies only distribute lork and some lork with bread and chasni.

photographer: Sarvar Dehmobed
Translation by Rowshan Lohrasbpour