The confusion between religious beliefs & the sense of patriotism…
Iranians have a great culture & there are lots of different customs, like religious customs that have become parts of our culture. But sometime it’s not very nice when a native & ancient celebration becomes in a same time as a religious mourning, just like this year & last year. let me explain more; Actually we have a Persian calendar & our own Iranian months, but as we live in ISLAMIC republic of Iran & have to do our Islamic precepts, sometimes we should rely on ghamari (lunar) calendar of Arabs & dates that some events had happened; These dates each year are different days in our calendar …just like death & birth of Islam Imams or prophets, or some important months like Ramadan of Moharram…
Moharram is one of Arab months that Imam Hossein had a fatal journey in Kerbela & became martyred; So Moslems mourn & cry for Imam Hossein this month. So From old days Iranians mourn in Moharram & as I said this month has become a part of Iranians’ culture & has special customs in Iran…. But this year & also previous year has been in a same time as Persian first month & Norooz, so this makes confusion; confusion between religious beliefs & the sense of patriotism, and it’s not good at all.
Government wants to use this opportunity to remove people’s love & fondness to the homeland & Persian culture and replace dray, colorless & always sad religious customs.
For example there is a Persian custom that we Iranians celebrate the last Wednesday of the year, we call this last Wednesday “Charshanbe Soory” (that I will write more about it later), & this year is on Moharram; so they are trying to take the importance of it & avoid people specially young girls & boys to celebrate it with enthusiasm & happiness, But that’s impossible; I bet that people will celebrate Charshanbe Soory in the right time & will even use to show their dissatisfaction…