Countdown "2"..Iranian New Year Photo

Photographer’s Note

The old "Haji",named "Firuz" or "Firooz",is the troubadour who ushers in the new year with his song,dance and merriment.
"Haji Firooz" symbolizes the rebirth of the Sumerian god of sacrifice,Domuzi,who was killed at the end of each year and reborn at the beginning of the New Year.
Wearing an elaborate red costume which is a cross between a court jester,santa claus and perhaps a venician at carnival,the herald uses his tambourine and enlists a few fellow comedians to make the world laugh.
Traditionally,Haji Firooz wears black make up and this is thought to have come from ancient times when the entertainment was provided by black slaves who,with their rather 'strange accents' for the Persians brought laughter to the people.

Today’s modern Haji Firooz sings and dances through the streets with tambourines and trumpets spreading joy for Norooz.
He often appears at gatherings and entertains by singing,dancing,telling stories and also a few good jokes.
Children and adults all love Haji Firooz who,if you are lucky,will tell a few good tales like that of "Amoo Norooz" (Amoo Norouz) and other old Persian tales.
"Amoo Norooz",a distant relative of Haji Firooz is responsible for giving gifts to the children much like Santa Claus.
He makes their wishes come true and ensures that they are happy and healthy for many years to come.

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The shot has taken EXACTLY @ 17:02 UTC on 19 Mar (Iran-Tehran-20:32 pm ).
A tribute to this forum and theme by Kolesn.

jmdaoudal, kolesn, PLD_images, lcask, jemaflor, saintclaude, stranger, nima, weswang, alvaraalto, farzane, ChrisJ, CliffW, Fixfocus, bpelvan, papagolf21, PixelTerror, sandip, cessy, johnhopkins, joso, Rinie_Hoff, Hanso2, saamb, babri has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

jmdaoudal (82) 2005-03-19 13:49

Hi Mohammad,
you have done the game, and give here a very good picture from this important day for Iranese.
I like very much for it is giving the real life from your contry here, and in time....
Compliments
jean Michel

Maru (0) 2005-03-19 13:59

Hi Mohammad, what a nice and happy shot you took for the "Exactly 17:02"!!
I like very much the troubadour with his red costume, he seems to enjoy very much what he's doing :)
Well done!!
Marisa

jemaflor (39323) 2005-03-19 14:07

Very interesting with your note to know tradition of your country. Thanks for sharing.

saintclaude (1398) 2005-03-19 14:11

Hello Mohammad!
Very beautiful photography of an Iranian traditional festival!
Thanks for making us take part, very beautiful work and very beautiful note too!
Bravo!
Claude

Booz (13854) 2005-03-19 15:49

Hi Mohammad, :) Thank You for true life true people, I like it...

Regards
Tomek

weswang (18223) 2005-03-19 16:11

Hi Mohammad, A great timing for the timing event. I really enjoy the culture you have captured here. Thanks for the notes in explaining the background.
A very nice evening shot. You have done an excellent job to show all the details. A well composed well taken picture.
Cheers, Wes

alvaraalto (5231) 2005-03-19 16:37

Hallo Mohammad,
This is the way to learn and know from each other. Excellent, interesting note and a very good illustration.
groet Rob

Galmeida (12559) 2005-03-19 16:53

You are in the countdown "2", but you here have a great real contdown!!! Thanks for your usual quality photos and useful guidelines. Great contrast, inspiration and a creative moment for a exactly 17:02 of 19 march.

Friendly and greatly yours Mohammad!!!
REgards and the best to you.

tongapup (1574) 2005-03-19 20:13

fabulously surreal. i love the Haji Firooz, i want more pictures of him!

i'd like to see a similar composition with a person walking into the frame as well (so we could see their face).

lovely and strange.

CliffW (2310) 2005-03-19 23:08

How wonderful to get a shot of such an interesting custom at the right minute too. I'd very much love to visit your country someday, if it's possible and your photos make it harder yet to resist. Congratulations on a great photo under time pressure.

Fixfocus (9377) 2005-03-20 2:01

Nice capture of this interesting moment.Good compo in "reportage" style.
Also good timing in this one you captured the Haji Firooz in a nice pose.
Again a very good and informative note!
regards!
hermann

bpelvan (3786) 2005-03-20 2:06

Hi Muhammed,
First of all HAPPY NEW YEAR.:))) This is a good shot of a part of the tradition. Good composition and sharp image.
Thaks for sharing...

By the way what it says on the tambourine and the hood??

ChrisJ (70171) 2005-03-20 3:26

Hi Mohammad

A good daily life shot. Well composed, with good sharpness & graphism, especially the hat. Well done!

PixelTerror (86060) 2005-03-20 5:20

hi Mohammad,
Nice and expressive photo for your 17:02 entry, I like the joyful appearance of the guy and the contrast between the dark visage and the bright red costume.
Have a nice time celebrating, Mohammad, and happy new year to you and your fellow Iranians !!!
Jean-Yves

papagolf21 (56335) 2005-03-20 5:20

Cher ami Mohammad,
Vous étiez présent au jour J et à l'heure H ! C'est parfait !
Merci pour cette excellente note d'accompagnement qui fait comprendre la photographie.
Excellent sujet pour le site TrekEarth ! Apprendre des autres, c'est très enrichissant !
Un grand merci de nous faire partager ces traditions.
Amitiés.
Philippe

sandip (3492) 2005-03-20 5:28

Nice that u continue ur series with this theme too.. A very good night shot Mohammad.I appreciate the note with the composition.I learnt something today.

PLD_images (7141) 2005-03-20 7:23

Very festive shot Mohammad. It's nice to see that this image serves more then one purpose, your theme and the forum of kolesn. I could not take a shot at that time because I am at work.... Sad for me...

Have a good weekend.

baska (0) 2005-03-20 8:10 [Comment]

Show Comment

jhm (82461) 2005-03-20 8:20

Hello Mohammad,
Very beautiful photography of an Iranian traditional festival!
I like very much for it is giving the real life from your country here, and in time.
A well composed well taken picture. Interesting note and a very good illustration.
Greetings,
John.

cessy (13647) 2005-03-20 10:13

nice shot, Mohammad
never heard about this iranian new year, very interesting. thanks for sharing

johnhopkins (866) 2005-03-20 16:06

Hi Mohammad, Humerous photo and a great note. I love your photographs and insights into the culture of your country...

joso (1786) 2005-03-21 4:38

March 21 2005 09:26 CET
I`ll not comment the quality of the photo.
But I thank to you (all) for letting me beeing on 43 different places in the same moment, letting me see with your eyes, having somehow the same thoughts, letting me feel yoir spirit in the moment as I put my finger on the shutter.

Special thanks for Aleksei(kolesn) for his idea.

But although I have all that good feelings, after the enthusiasm of the moment has gone, there's something taht makes me think about.
There are actualy 13099 members on TE.
43 of them participated...

János

Rinie_Hoff (9332) 2005-03-21 16:26

Hello Mohammad, happy New Year to you!!!
I really wish you a good 1384.

This is a nice contribution, Mohammad, and I saw your other one from yesterday as well. I like the informative note very much.
I like this laughing guy in his red suit.

jrj (34779) 2005-03-22 10:45

Very exotic and interesting your contrubution in the theme 1702. Sure something special, with this persons dressed for the big feast..
Interesting one M.

Hanso2 (629) 2005-03-25 14:29

Hi Mohammad,
Very informative, I'm very pleased with all the info about Iran you share.
I like the photo also because of the combination you made with the two ladies.
The expression of Haji Firooz is priceless.
Thanks.

saamb (1004) 2006-03-25 4:52

Mohammad,
very nice shot...
man kheily donbale akse "haji firooz" boodam dar internet. amma khoshbakhtane inja didam. thanks for your all beautiful photos.
SAAM