Jashn-e Tirgan, also known as Tir Jashan, is an ancient Iranian festival rooted in Zoroastrian tradition and celebrated in midsummer, typically around the 13th day of the month of Tir in the Persian calendar (early July). Deeply symbolic and rich in poetic and mythological meaning, Tirgan is a festival of water, rain, archery, and divine promise. It honours the element of water not only as a source of physical life but as a sacred and moral force, associated with truth, justice, and spiritual renewal.
The festival is traditionally dedicated to Tishtrya, the Yazata or divine being associated with rain and fertility. Tishtrya, often imagined in the form of a white horse, is seen as a celestial champion who battles the demon of drought in the cosmic struggle to bring water and life to the earth. This mythic contest, recorded in the Avesta (Zoroastrian scripture), echoes themes of balance, righteousness (asha), and the enduring link between the natural and moral worlds.
One of the most well-known legends tied to Tirgan is that of Arash the Archer, a noble figure from Iranian mythology. According to the story, following a prolonged war between the ancient kingdoms of Iran and Turan, a truce was made that required the two sides to define their borders based on how far an arrow could be shot. Arash, chosen to perform this task, climbed a mountain and released an arrow with all his strength and spirit. The arrow flew for days, finally landing at the distant Oxus River, establishing peace—but Arash’s body dissolved from the effort. His act became a symbol of sacrifice, selflessness, and national integrity.
Spiritually and metaphysically, Tirgan is a celebration of purity through offering, of the interconnectedness of human will and divine blessing. Water, in this tradition, is not merely a natural element but a sacred medium of renewal and truth. Zoroastrian ethics sees purity—not just of body, but of thought, speech, and action—as intimately tied to the harmony of the world. Festivals like Tirgan remind the community of their role in maintaining cosmic order through both ritual and righteousness.
The rituals of Tirgan are joyful and communal. Splashing water on one another, tying colourful threads around the wrists (which are later cast into flowing water), reciting poetry, dancing, and feasting are all traditional aspects of the festival. The threads, often tied with wishes or prayers, symbolise hopes carried by the current, and the release of burdens into the sacred flow. These customs blend light-heartedness with spiritual depth, embodying Zoroastrian values of joy, gratitude, and cosmic participation.
Artistically, Tirgan is celebrated with storytelling, traditional music, and recitations of the tale of Arash. The aesthetic is one of summer brightness—rivers, gardens, laughter, and the movement of colour and water. It is a festival where myth becomes lived experience, and nature is not just admired but engaged with reverently.
Jashn-e Tirgan is ultimately a celebration of the balance between will and grace, between human action and divine gift. It affirms the possibility of peace through sacrifice, of joy through justice, and of renewal through alignment with truth. In its rituals, stories, and waters, it offers a vision of a world where nature and spirit flow together in harmony.
