Azizan
Sadeh for kids: the fire festival in the middle of winter
Sadeh (جشن سده, jashn-e sadeh) is an old Iranian winter festival held on 10 Bahman in the Persian calendar, on or around January 30. In 2027 it falls on Saturday, January 30. Its heart is a big fire lit at dusk, with people gathered around it, in the coldest part of winter, about fifty days before Nowruz. The name comes from sad, "one hundred", though the old books count the hundred in more than one way. The Shahnameh says it began on the night King Hushang found out how to make fire. Today it is kept above all by Zoroastrian communities in Iran, in cities such as Kerman and Yazd, and by rural communities in Tajikistan, and since 2023 it has been on UNESCO's list of intangible heritage. At home, a child can mark it safely with a candle or a lantern and an adult, a story and a warm meal. 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.
When is Sadeh?
Sadeh falls on 10 Bahman, the tenth day of the eleventh month of the Persian solar calendar. On the Gregorian calendar that is on or around January 30. Because the two calendars do not line up exactly, some years it lands on January 29, so it is worth checking the year you want. In 2027 it is Saturday, January 30.
Sadeh comes about forty days after Yalda, the longest night of the year, and about fifty days before Nowruz. Iranians have long thought of it as the turning point of winter: the coldest days are at their height, and from here on the weather was supposed to start getting warmer. For the month names and where Bahman sits in the year, see Persian months and seasons for kids.
Why is it called Sadeh?
Sad (صد) means "one hundred" in Persian, and almost every explanation of the name starts there. What is being counted is less certain, and the old books do not agree. Scholars are not fully sure where the word comes from.
- A hundred days of winter. One old way of counting divided the year into a long, five-month winter and a summer. Counted from the start of that long winter, 10 Bahman is the hundredth day.
- Fifty days and fifty nights. Another old explanation counts forward: from Sadeh to Nowruz there are about fifty days and fifty nights, and fifty and fifty make a hundred.
Both are old. Scholars who have studied the old books see the hundred days of winter as the more likely meaning, while the fifty-and-fifty count is also widely told. For a child, the second one is the easier picture: "From tonight, fifty days and fifty nights until Nowruz." The Sadeh facts story in the app uses that one.
| Persian | Say it like | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| جشن | JASHN | celebration, festival |
| آتش (spoken: آتیش) | aa-TASH (aa-TEESH) | fire |
| زمستون | ze-mes-TOON | winter (written زمستان) |
| هیزم | hee-ZOM | firewood |
| فانوس | faa-NOOS | lantern |
| صد | SAD | one hundred |
The Shahnameh story: how Hushang found fire
The best-known story about Sadeh comes from Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, the Persian Book of Kings. Hushang, one of the first kings in the book, was walking in the mountains with a few companions when something long and dark came towards them: a huge snake, with eyes like two pools of blood and smoke coming from its mouth. Hushang picked up a stone and threw it with all his strength.
The snake got away. But the stone struck a bigger rock, and both broke, and from the two stones came a flash of light:
فروغی پدید آمد از هر دو سنگ
"A light appeared from both stones."
The snake was not killed, but the secret was out: fire can come from stone. Hushang gave thanks for the gift. When night came he lit a fire as big as a mountain, his people gathered around it, and they celebrated that night. The Shahnameh ends the scene with the name:
سده نام آن جشن فرخنده کرد
"He named that happy celebration Sadeh."
It is a good story for small children because it is short and has a clear picture in it: two stones, one spark. Some retellings call the creature a dragon, and some say Hushang struck two flints together, but in Ferdowsi's lines it is a snake, a thrown stone and a rock. For more stories from the same book, see the Shahnameh for kids.
How Sadeh is celebrated today
Today Sadeh is kept above all by Iran's Zoroastrian communities, especially in Kerman and Yazd, and in Tehran too. The best-known gatherings look much the same. People come together outside at the end of the afternoon. A tall pile of firewood, hizom, has been built in an open space. Zoroastrian priests recite prayers, and as the light goes, the pile is lit. The crowd watches the fire grow, and there is music and singing. Many of those watching are not Zoroastrian; neighbours, families and visitors come along too.
Sadeh is also kept in Tajikistan, where it is a festival of rural communities and of the farming year: after Sadeh, villagers clean water channels, mend bridges and start getting the fields and orchards ready for spring. In December 2023, UNESCO added Sadeh/Sada celebration to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, as a shared heritage of Iran and Tajikistan.
Sadeh is one of Iran's two best-known fire festivals. The other, Chaharshanbe Suri, comes in March, on the last Tuesday evening before Nowruz, and is the one where people jump over small fires. The Sadeh fire is one to watch, not to jump over: children stay with an adult, at the distance the adults choose. See Chaharshanbe Suri for kids for the March festival.
How to mark Sadeh with a child abroad
Most families abroad will not have a bonfire nearby, and they do not need one. The point of Sadeh for a child is simple: in the coldest, darkest part of winter, people make light and warmth and gather around it. That can happen at a kitchen table. A few ideas, from the smallest child to the oldest:
- Light a candle, with an adult. At dusk, an adult lights one candle on a steady plate, away from curtains and paper, and stays with it the whole time. The child watches, says âtish, and helps blow it out at the end, with the adult. For toddlers, a battery candle works just as well; choose one whose battery cover screws shut.
- Make a lantern. A jar with a battery tea light inside, or a paper lantern, becomes the family's fânus for the evening. Older children can decorate the jar first.
- Tell the Hushang story. Two stones, one spark, a fire as big as a mountain. Give the child two smooth stones to hold (not to strike) while you tell it, big enough that they cannot go in the mouth.
- Take a winter walk. Go out at dusk, wrapped up, and look for lights: windows, street lamps, the moon. Talk about how cold it is and how many days are left until Nowruz.
- Have a warm meal together. A bowl of soup or âsh, some dried fruit and nuts on a plate, and a phone or video call with grandparents if they are far away.
Grandparents can be part of it from anywhere. A grandmother can record the Sadeh facts story on Azizan, reading it page by page in her own voice, and the child can watch it by candlelight on the night itself. The story is Did you know? Sadeh. If you are planning the whole winter, the same idea works for Yalda forty days earlier and for Nowruz fifty days later.
Related guides
Questions
What is Sadeh?
Sadeh, or Jashn-e Sadeh, is an old Iranian winter festival held on 10 Bahman, on or around January 30. People light a big fire at dusk and gather around it in the coldest part of winter. The Shahnameh links it to the night King Hushang discovered fire.
When is Sadeh in 2027?
Sadeh is on 10 Bahman in the Persian calendar. In 2027 that is Saturday, January 30. Depending on the year it can fall on January 29 or 30.
What does Sadeh mean?
Sadeh comes from sad, the Persian word for one hundred. One explanation is that it is the hundredth day of an old five-month winter. The other is that fifty days and fifty nights are left until Nowruz, which makes a hundred. Both are old; scholars see the hundred days of winter as the more likely meaning, though the word's origin is not fully certain.
Is Sadeh a Zoroastrian festival?
It has old Iranian and Zoroastrian roots, and today Iran's Zoroastrian communities, especially in Kerman and Yazd, keep it most fully. But many people who are not Zoroastrian come to the celebrations, and in Tajikistan it is kept by rural communities as part of the farming year. Many families treat it as a cultural winter festival.
Is Sadeh on the UNESCO list?
Yes. In December 2023 UNESCO inscribed Sadeh/Sada celebration on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, as a shared heritage of Iran and Tajikistan.
How can children celebrate Sadeh safely at home?
Keep the fire small and in adult hands. An adult can light one candle at dusk and stay with it, or use a battery candle or lantern for younger children. Add the Hushang story, a short winter walk and a warm meal, and call the grandparents.
Open Azizan — record a story for your childUpdated: 2026-11-03 · By Aida Fard
Hear when azizan is ready
azizan works now in your browser. If you like, leave your email and we will tell you when the full app and the app-store version are ready. Giving your email is optional. Privacy