اسفند

اسفند is the last month of winter and the last month of the year. It also names the seeds Iranians burn against the evil eye.

What it actually means

اسفند (esfand) is the 12th and final month of the Iranian solar calendar, running from roughly February 20 to March 20. The year ends on the last day of اسفند, and Nowruz (نوروز) begins the moment the sun crosses into the spring equinox at the start of فروردین. اسفند is also the Persian name for wild rue (Peganum harmala), a plant whose dried seeds are burned ritually to ward off the evil eye. The month and the seed share the same word for a reason traced below.

Where it comes from

The month is named for Spenta Ârmaiti (Avestan), the Yazata of “holy devotion” and the patron of the earth. Spenta Ârmaiti is one of the six Amesha Spentas, the female-aspected Yazata associated with fertile soil, marriage, and care of the land. Avestan Spentâ-Ârmaiti → Pahlavi Spendârmad → New Persian اسپندارمذ → اسفند. The plant اسفند (rue) takes its name from the same root, because the seeds were sacred to Spenta Ârmaiti and burned in her honor. The 5th day of اسفند is the historical festival of اسفندگان (Sepandârmazgân), an ancient Iranian women’s day, recently revived in the diaspora.

How to say it

Formal (نوشتاری): اسفند · esfand · “Esfand (12th month / wild rue seeds)”

Colloquial (محاوره): اسفند · esfand · same form

In a sentence

• آخر اسفند خانه‌تکانی می‌کنیم. · âkhar-e esfand khâne-tekâni mikonim. · At the end of Esfand we do spring cleaning.
• مادرم اسفند دود می‌کند. · mâdaram esfand dud mikonad. · My mother burns esfand (rue seeds for protection).
• اسفندگان روز زن باستانی است. · esfandgân ruz-e zan-e bâstâni ast. · Esfandgan is the ancient Iranian women’s day.

Cultural note

The last weeks of اسفند are the most domestic stretch of the Iranian year. Families do خانه‌تکانی (khâne-tekâni, the deep house-cleaning before Nowruz), shop for the haft-sin table, and prepare new clothes. Markets are crowded; bakeries run extra shifts. Burning اسفند seeds, often by an older woman in the household, is a ritual that crosses religion and class. The smoke is believed to absorb the evil eye, especially around children, brides, and travelers. The continuity from a Zoroastrian Yazata to a modern grandmother smoking a baby’s cradle is one of the cleanest demonstrations of how pre-Islamic Iran lives inside contemporary Iran.

Related

The month before is بهمن; the year that follows begins with فروردین. For Nowruz background see Nowruz traditions.