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| Back to School in Iran |
| A firsthand account by Kourosh Ziabari |
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Kourosh Ziabari (Persiangul)  |
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Published 2008-10-03 09:37 (KST) |
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The first of "Mehr" coincides with Sept. 22 and the first day of autumn in Persian solar calendar when the autumnal equinox is started and the Sun appears to cross the celestial equator from north to south, and this marks the commencement of a new season.
"Mehr" means love and fondness in Persian language and almost resembles the maternal kindness to the Iranian people that are recognized internationally for their considerable tribute and affection for the mothers.
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FROM THE SECTION |
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| From the ancient times in Iran, "mother" was counted as the representative of the almighty God in the homes and a symbol of divine gratuity to humankind.
Iranians were always paying abundant respect to their mothers and kissing the hands of mothers as a sign of appreciation is a pure Persian custom remaining for us since the past millenniums.
After the sparkling of Islamic flashes in Iran, the Persian and Islamic cultures mixed with together and shaped a new tradition that expose the peaceful and sublime approach of Iranians and Muslims toward lifestyle. A notable quotation from the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) reminds us that "the heaven is located under the footsteps of mothers" and it shows clearly that how much the cultures of Islam and Iran are close together.
However, the word "Mehr" led us toward the heavenward world of mothers and their passion, but in Iran, "Mehr" also manifests another meaning which is purely precious and esteemed for both mothers and children; the arrival of a new school year.
To the elementary or college students, the first of "Mehr" is not necessarily an exciting or enchanting day since they have experienced the school attendance before and are no longer newbie to this environment.
But the first of "Mehr" has a different and strange meaning to the first-grade primary school students and their parents, too.
If you have experienced the sweat and memorable days of first entering the schools at the beginning of Mehr in Iran and are not students anymore, you perhaps cannot help shedding tears when facing with the "dramatic" and "indescribable" moments of new school year's initiation for the students of first grade; the moments when you witness little 7-year old boys and girls standing in long rows, wearing colorful and miscellaneous cloths, holding the hands of their mothers securely and holding red, blue flowers in the other hands to present their new teachers, waiting for their names to be called so as to leave for their classes and sit at the wooden benches of school for the first time.
Perhaps you were one of those first-grade rookies who cried and wept innocently at the first of Mehr, calling for your mothers to stay with you and not leave you alone, resisting against the school's superintend who tried to drag you toward the class and you shouted: "I want my mom…"
Or perhaps you were one of those talented, clever students wearing eye-glasses, always locking your arms together and sitting steadily at the first bench row in front of the teacher, trying to answer all of her questions to introduce yourself as the spry of the class from the first day and sometimes inflaming the other classmates with your excessive smartness!
Those memorable and impeccable days passed, when our only entertainment was to play hide-and-seek or thief-and-police between breaks, knowing nothing from the exhausting political disputes and controversies, having a tiny and shiny world full of notebooks, painting, pens and pencils, teddy bears etc…
But this window is still wide opened for thousands of "first-grade" students who are just some innocent and benignant angels that our chaotic and obstreperous world doesn't matter to them at all.
They just know that how to hold flowers in their hands, how to lend pencils to their classmates, how to write their homework and how to be "good children" that the mother is satisfied with.
However, more than one week passed from the 1st of Mehr and all of the Iranian students are now on the stages of knowledge, friendship and wisdom.
Eventually, schools are not just places to learn the alphabet and basis of literature, mathematics, physics or chemistry from. Schools are intending to teach us the alphabet of true living, so refer to our school times and remember the quotations of our teachers who strived sympathetically to teach us how to get good marks in the examinations of lifetime.
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©2008 OhmyNews
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