Christmas is growing in popularity in Iran as a secular festival. But for true believers, to be seen partaking in the Christmas festivities could lead to a house search and even arrest. In this blog post and video, Omeed Jouyandé from SAT-7 PARS explains more about the complexities of Christmas in Iran.
Iranians love Christmas, which comes just after Yalda’s Eve, the ancient winter solstice celebration, which is still a major event on the Persian calendar.
Iran is in the northern hemisphere and around this time of year night comes early.
It is often cold and wet around the time of Christmas. And, the lights, the decorations and the joy that go hand in hand with Christmas are a real attraction for so many Iranians, who are accustomed to religious events being times of darkness and mourning.
As a child growing up in Tehran, I remember in late December walking in an area where Armenians lived. Passing the windows of houses, I could see decorated Christmas trees, and I still remember the sense of warmth and delight that I had seeing the wonderful lights on the beautifully decorated trees.
An Iranian Christian who lives in Mashhad, one of the two most important centres of Islam in Iran, wrote to tell us that she and her husband had found it hard to find a Christmas tree because people had already bought most of them. That is an amazing indication of how popular Christmas now is in Iran.
Last year we heard reports that a large, good natured, crowd had gathered outside of the Armenian cathedral in Isfahan, pounding on the doors and chanting, “Jesus Christ, open the doors!”
Many Iranians are being drawn towards Christ and that is something no one could have anticipated a few decades ago.
As you know, the Church in Iran has grown and there are 1.5 million or more believers in the country. Non-Christians can celebrate Christmas without fear because they are not active believers and a search of their home, for instance, would not lead to Bibles or other Christian material being found.
Christians from the majority faith background, however, can’t celebrate Christmas openly. And so they gather with trusted friends and family, sometimes on a day other than Christmas itself, and connect with Christian channels like SAT-7 PARS to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
An Iranian girl called Parnia wrote to a children’s programme presenter on SAT-7 PARS to say:
I wanted to wish you a happy Christmas and I wanted to say that Christmas is the day that marks when the Lord Jesus was born and came into this world for our sake and for the forgiveness of our sins. He came to free us from darkness and to help us see God and to understand His love. Thank you for helping me in recent times to learn so many things from the word of God.”
A woman called Mah-monir wrote to us to say:
I give thanks for this wonderful day that celebrates when the Saviour of the world was born, and for the most amazing gift when the Lord gave His life for me. A joyful Christmas to you my dear friends – may you shine in the grace of the Lord and may this be a year of victory and goodness for the people of Iran, bringing us freedom in the holy name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”
The good news of freedom and rescue from sin that is contained in the Gospel resonates for many Persian speakers. As Isaiah wrote long ago:
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,
Upon them a light has shone.”