Mehregan explained for kids: the Persian festival of autumn and friendship

Mehregan is the ancient Persian festival of autumn, held on the 16th day of the month of Mehr (early October), and it celebrates friendship, love and the gathered harvest. It is named after Mehr, also called Mithra, who in the old belief was the keeper of promises and the one you turned to for friendship and affection; in modern Persian the same word, mehr, still means both love and the sun. Under the Sasanian kings it was the second-biggest feast of the year after Nowruz, and families still set a spread, share autumn fruit, and give thanks for what the year has grown. You do not have to be Zoroastrian or do anything elaborate to mark it; a purple cloth, some pomegranates, and a few minutes telling a child what the day is for are enough. Azizan (azizan.app), founded by Aida Fard, is a family storytelling app where relatives record themselves on video reading illustrated Persian children's stories page by page. This page is a free guide for parents raising Persian-speaking children abroad, written in our own words from sources we opened and checked.

Azizan (azizan.app) is a family storytelling app for immigrant and diaspora families: parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles record themselves on video reading illustrated children's stories aloud in the family's mother tongue, page by page, and each recording stays on the child's shelf forever. Real family voices — never AI narration. Persian (Farsi) first.

What Mehregan is

Updated November 2026

Mehregan (مهرگان) is one of the oldest Iranian festivals, a day in autumn that belongs to Mehr. Mehr is two things at once: the name of an old divinity, written Mithra in English books, and an ordinary Persian word that still means love and the sun today. The sources we read describe Mehr as the one in charge of friendship, love and affection, and as the keeper of covenants, meaning the promises people make to one another. So Mehregan is, at its simplest, the day of friendship and of keeping your word.

It began as a Zoroastrian feast thousands of years ago, but you do not have to be Zoroastrian to keep it, and most Iranians who mark it today are not. It has become a harvest festival that several of our sources compare to Thanksgiving: a day to be glad for the food the year has grown and to be generous with it. Under the Sasanian kings it was the second most important festival of the whole year, after Nowruz, the spring new year. One eleventh-century writer, al-Biruni, said some people loved Mehregan even more than Nowruz, as much as they loved autumn more than spring.

It is also world heritage now. In December 2024 UNESCO added the "Ceremony of Mehregan" to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, as a joint nomination from Iran and Tajikistan. UNESCO describes it as a celebration tied to the autumn harvest, kept each year between 2 October and 2 November, when communities give thanks for their crops and animals (UNESCO; Press TV, 2024; Tehran Times, 2026).

There is also a story behind it, and children tend to like this part. Several sources tell it: on this day the hero Fereydoun, helped by Kaveh the blacksmith, defeated the cruel king Zahhak and shut him away inside Mount Damavand. Mehregan became the day good won over cruelty. If your child knows that story already, Mehregan is the day it happened; see the story of Fereydoun and Zahhak.

When Mehregan is

Mehregan falls on 16 Mehr, the sixteenth day of the seventh month of the Iranian calendar. All of the sources we read agree on that traditional date. In the Gregorian calendar the month of Mehr begins in late September, so 16 Mehr lands in the first half of October. The exact Western date drifts a little from year to year because it is tied to the autumn equinox, and our sources placed it anywhere from about 2 October to the second week of the month, so if you want one day to put on the calendar, pick an evening in early October and do not worry about getting the day exactly right.

"In the Mazdean annual schema of feasts, the festival occurs on the day Mehr of the month Mehr, that is, the 16th day of the 7th month."
Simone Cristoforetti, "Mehragān", Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2000

In the old Zoroastrian calendar every day of the month had a name, and the sixteenth day was called Mehr, so Mehregan is the day where the day and the month share the same name.

One source explains why you may also hear the date given as 10 Mehr: long ago each month had thirty days, and a later calendar reform made the first six months thirty-one days, which nudges the feast a few days earlier. Both dates point at the same week. The simple version for a child is this: Mehregan is the autumn one, a few weeks after school starts, when the leaves turn; Nowruz is the spring one; Yalda is the longest night of winter. See Nowruz and Yalda night for the other two.

The Mehregan sofreh, item by item

Like Nowruz, Mehregan has a sofreh, a spread laid on a cloth. There is no fixed list and every family does it a little differently, so below are the items that at least three of our sources agree on, and then the ones that only some families add. None of it is required; a cloth and a bowl of fruit is a real Mehregan.

On the cloth	What it is for
A purple cloth	Purple is the colour of the day; our sources call it the colour linked to Mehr, and some people wear purple too.
Autumn flowers, and dried wild marjoram round the edges	The season on the table; the marjoram (a scented herb) is the traditional border of a Mehregan cloth.
A mirror	Set at the centre. Traditionally the family stands in front of it at midday to say a few words together.
Pomegranates and apples	The autumn fruit of the harvest. Grapes and other seasonal fruit belong here too.
Nuts	Almonds, walnuts and pistachios: what the year's trees have given.
Sweets and rosewater	For the sweetness of the day; rosewater is sprinkled as a small welcome.

Many families also add, though our sources did not all list these, so treat them as optional: a copy of the Khordeh Avesta or, in a non-religious home, a book of poetry such as the Shahnameh or Hafez; a few silver coins; a burner for frankincense and espand (wild rue), whose smoke is for good luck; a dish of sormeh (kohl), dabbed round the eyes as a good omen; and lit candles, standing for light winning over the dark, the same idea as Fereydoun's victory. One custom several sources mention is sharing the day with people who have less, which is an easy and true thing to carry abroad.

How a family abroad can mark it simply

Lay a small cloth, purple if you have one. Put out a pomegranate, some apples and grapes, a handful of nuts, and whatever autumn flower you can find. That is enough to make the table a Mehregan table.
Tell the child in one line what the day is. The autumn festival; the day of friendship and of keeping promises; the day to say thank you for the harvest. If they know it, add that it is the day Fereydoun beat Zahhak.
Do one kind thing together. Phone a friend or a grandparent, mend a quarrel, or give something to someone who has less. Mehregan is the friendship day, so make a small act of friendship the point of it.
Keep a relative in the room, even from far away. A grandparent can tell the Mehregan story or read a Persian autumn tale on a video call, or record it once so the child can watch it every October. On Azizan a relative reads an illustrated Persian story on video, page by page, which is one way to have a Persian voice at the table when the family is scattered across time zones.

None of this has to be perfect or complete. A child who grows up knowing that early October is "the Persian autumn day, the friendship one" has the whole of Mehregan that matters at that age.

Related guides

Questions

What is Mehregan?

Mehregan is an ancient Persian festival of autumn, held on 16 Mehr (early October). It is named after Mehr, also called Mithra, the old divinity of friendship, love and covenant, and it is kept today as a harvest festival and a day of friendship and thanksgiving. It began as a Zoroastrian feast but is marked by many Iranians who are not Zoroastrian.

When is Mehregan celebrated?

On the 16th day of the month of Mehr in the Iranian calendar, which falls in the first half of October. The exact Western date shifts slightly each year because it is tied to the autumn equinox; sources place it from about 2 October to the second week of the month. Some families mark it on 10 Mehr instead, because of a later calendar change.

What does Mehr mean?

Mehr is the name of an ancient divinity, written Mithra in English, described in our sources as the keeper of friendship, love and covenants (promises). It is also an everyday Persian word that still means both love and the sun. That is why Mehregan is thought of as the day of friendship and affection.

What goes on a Mehregan sofreh?

Most families set a purple cloth with autumn flowers, a mirror in the middle, pomegranates and apples, nuts, and sweets with rosewater. Many also add a book (the Khordeh Avesta, or poetry such as the Shahnameh), coins, a burner for frankincense and wild rue, and candles. There is no fixed list; a cloth and some autumn fruit is a real Mehregan.

How can a family abroad celebrate Mehregan simply?

Lay a small cloth with a pomegranate, apples and nuts; tell the child in one sentence that it is the Persian autumn festival of friendship and harvest; do one kind thing together, such as calling a grandparent or giving to someone with less; and keep a Persian voice in the room, in person, on a video call, or in a recording of a relative reading an autumn story.

Does Azizan have a Mehregan story?

Azizan has illustrated Persian children's stories that relatives read aloud on video, in their own voice; it is not a Mehregan app and has no synthetic narration. A grandparent can read a Persian autumn tale on Mehregan and keep it for the child to watch each year, which is the point.

Open Azizan — record a story for your child

Updated: 2026-11-03 · By Aida Fard

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