What it means
تیرگان (tirgân) is formed from تیر (tir), the name of the fourth Persian month and the Avestan divinity Tishtrya, plus the suffix -گان (-gân), which marks a festival or collective celebration in classical Persian. The name therefore means, roughly, “the celebration of Tir.” Tishtrya was the Yazata presiding over the star Sirius and over rain, making Tiregan fundamentally a rain festival. It is celebrated on the 13th of Tir (falling in early July). The word has no Arabic or Turkic component: it is entirely native Iranian in structure, reaching back to Avestan.
How to use it
- تیرگان جشن آب پاشیه. (tirgân jashn-e âb pâshie.) “Tiregan is the water-splashing festival.”
- روز تیرگان بند رنگی دور مچ میبندن. (ruz-e tirgân band-e rangi dor moch mibandan.) “On Tiregan Day they tie a colorful band around the wrist.”
- داستان آرش کمانگیر رو شنیدی؟ (dâstân-e arash-e kamângir ro shonidi?) “Have you heard the story of Arash the Archer?”
- تیرگان یکی از قدیمیترین جشنهای ایرانیه. (tirgân yeki az qadimitarin jashn-hâ-ye irânie.) “Tiregan is one of the oldest Iranian festivals.”
Cultural note
Along with Nowruz and Mehregan, Tiregan was one of the three most widely celebrated feasts of ancient Iran, documented by medieval historians including Biruni, Gardezi, and Masudi, and even mentioned in the Talmud. The festival centers on water: people splash each other in the streets, echo the myth of Tishtrya sending rain to break drought. It is also linked to the legend of Arash the Archer (Arash-e Kamângir), who, on the 13th of Tir, shot an arrow from Mount Damavand that flew from dawn until noon to fix the border between Iran and Turan. Today Tiregan is actively celebrated in several Iranian provinces, including Mazandaran, Khorasan, and Yazd, and by Zoroastrian communities worldwide.