Hamedan hosts several thanksgiving festivals in summer
Sacrifice of sheep and making vows, as practices of worship and thanksgiving, are among rituals held in Iran since ancient times.
The Harvest Thanksgiving Festival is held by the residents of Sonqorabad village in the western province of Hamedan every year at the end of the harvest season.
Fariba Nemati, an expert from Hamedan Province’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization, said that it is one of several thanksgiving ceremonies held in the province that coincides with the wheat harvest.
“Early in the morning, villagers gather around a hill at the foot of a mountain, have breakfast together, sacrifice a sheep and cook abgoosht [a traditional Iranian stew].”
She continued that at the end of the day, they go to the shrine of an Imamzadeh in the village to pray and thank God for the blessings they have received, and then return to their homes.
Nemati said that due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country, the festival was not held for two years, pointing out that efforts are underway to register the festival on Iran’s National Heritage List.
The expert said that another thanksgiving ceremony, named ‘Dar-Imam,’ is being held in Hamedan Province, which was registered nationally in June.
It is a ceremony held several times a year in Heydareh Qazikhan village, on a hill with several springs and trees. In May, when the springs are full of water, the rural people go to the hill, gather around a tree known as Dar-Imam, sacrifice sheep and cook abgoosht for lunch.
Another thanksgiving festival associated with the harvest season is held on the hill next to the tree on a day in July or August, when the villagers sacrifice a sheep, spend time together until the afternoon and then pray to God.
Mount Alvand, with a height of 3,574 meters above sea level, is to the south and southwest of the city of Hamedan.
The altitude of this province and its location at the foothills of the Zagros and Alvand mountains results in heavy rain and snowfall. This has created many springs to flow through this land.
These features have made this land green and have made it an ideal place for nomad life and cattle breeding.
The economy in this province is primarily based on farming and husbandry, and then on mining activities.