What it means
مهرگان (mehregân) is derived from مهر (mehr), the Middle Persian form of Old Persian Mithra, the Indo-Iranian divinity of covenant, light, and friendship, plus the festival suffix -گان (-gân). The Old Persian form of the festival name was Mithrakāna, which became Mihragān in Middle Persian and مهرگان in New Persian. مهر on its own also carries the everyday meanings of “love,” “affection,” and “the sun” in modern Persian, layering the festival’s name with warmth in both the literal and emotional sense. There is no Arabic or Turkic element: the word is entirely native Iranian from Proto-Indo-Iranian roots.
How to use it
- مهرگان جشن پاییز ایرانیاست. (mehregân jashn-e pâiz-e irâniyâst.) “Mehregan is the Iranian autumn festival.”
- در مهرگان گل انار و زعفران سر سفره میذارن. (dar mehregân gol-e anâr va za’farân sar-e sofre mizâran.) “At Mehregan they place pomegranate flowers and saffron on the table.”
- مهرگان دومین جشن بزرگ ایران باستانه بعد از نوروز. (mehregân dovvomin jashn-e bozorg-e irân-e bâstâne ba’d az nowruz.) “Mehregan is the second greatest festival of ancient Iran after Nowruz.”
- جشن مهرگان رو امسال میگیری؟ (jashn-e mehregân ro emsal migiri?) “Are you celebrating Mehregan this year?”
Cultural note
Mehregan falls on the 16th of Mehr (the seventh Persian month), when the day-name and month-name both align to honor Mithra, following a Zoroastrian calendar pattern where such alignments mark major festivals. Under the Sasanian Empire (224 to 651 CE) it was the second most important festival in Iran after Nowruz, and Sasanian kings were sometimes crowned on Mehregan or Nowruz. The medieval scholar Biruni recorded that some Iranians rated Mehregan above Nowruz, preferring autumn to spring. Iranian folk tradition associates the day with the defeat of the tyrant Zahhak by the hero Fereydun, giving the festival an overlay of justice and liberation alongside its harvest and solar themes. Today Mehregan is celebrated primarily by Zoroastrian communities and by Iranians with a strong interest in pre-Islamic heritage.