The Zoroastrian calendar is rich in holidays. September 23 is Sede Day, the day of the autumnal equinox. This is one of the three most important religious holidays along with Mihrgan and Nourouz. Zoroastrians especially honor the beginning of the year (Nouruz) and its middle (Sede).
It is sad to part with the warmth of the Sun and meet the cold winter. Zoroastrians love and deify the Sun, so they perceive its diminishing light as a temporary triumph of evil. It is time to fight the forces of darkness and cold, six months of endurance tests.
The autumnal equinox is perceived by the Zoroastrians as the era of the separation of Good and Evil (Vizarishn). At this time, a person must make a choice in favor of one of these concepts. The end of summer - the era of the mixture of Good and Evil in the Zoroastrian cosmogony - means the announcement of Hormazdom Frashegird (The Last Judgment). On the day of the autumnal equinox, all human actions by the judges of the afterlife Rashnu and Mitra will be weighed on the scales.
Cede holiday in the light of all these ideas of the Zoroastrians about the world seems ambiguous and frightening. At this time, a person needs to retain as much of the Sun and heat as possible. Fire symbolizes a hot star, a particle of divine light. His power is not subject to darkness and destruction, decay and decay. The fire on Sade’s day, and at another time, also unites people, makes them stand or sit around it.
The day of the autumnal equinox is preceded by a very serious and strict post for Zoroastrians. Cede is celebrated at sunset when the Sun enters the first destructive degree of cosmic Libra. From this moment begins the era of Separation (Visarization).
Before the onset of a difficult period in human life, the time when the forces of evil prevail on Earth, you need to purify yourself and take stock of the past six months of light and heat. Cede holiday is also a work on the distribution of the crop. Fruits are sorted and sorted. People share information and experience, select the best seeds. The crop is carefully stored for storage, because life in winter depends on it. Sede festival separates the seeds from the chaff.
People spend the autumnal equinox day together. They light eight guard lights, read the prayers of Miter and
Ahura Mazda. Instead of wine, they drink pomegranate juice and milk that day.
