Iranians celebrate fire festival ahead of Persian new year

On the eve of the last Wednesday of the year in the Persian calendar, Iranians celebrated the traditional fire festival, or "Chaharshanbeh Suri". People gather around fire along with family members and friends, sing, and jump over fire, to commemorate an ancient tradition dating back to at least 1700 B.C. that is thought to be linked to Zoroastrianism."It's a symbol of throwing bad things into fire and then the flames of fire radiate happiness and warmth into their homes," said a nutritionist attending the festival.

The fire festival is held as part of the run up to the Persian New Year, or Nowruz, which falls on March 21.The festival, is linked to the pre-Islamic era, and thus authorities in the theocracy do not formally recognize or approve of it.