Zoroastrian Festivals

Zoroastrian Festivals

Pateti is not the Parsee New Year. Pateti is the last day of the closing year or the old year. The word 'Pateti' is derived from the Pazend script ‘patet’ which means 'repentance'. Since Pateti is the day of repentance, surely it is paradoxical to wish someone 'Pateti Mubarak'. However, to wish any PARSEE OR IRANI ZOROASTRIAN, you should say “Happy Navruz” or “HAPPY NEW YEAR” as wishes and NOT or NEVER Pateti. ( akin to “Good Friday” for Christians – we don’t wish.)

Pateti is translated as repentance or regret for some act of wrongdoing or sin. Given that the Parsis lay much importance to 'good thoughts, good words, and good deeds', any action that contravenes these ideals must be deemed a sin or an offence against the good and hence that person must repent on pateti day and pray.

By offering patet prayers, a person says, "I admit that I have committed a sin or wrongdoing, and I therefore deserve and will surely be given retribution. But I pray that the retribution is such that I might bear it. I pray to my GOD to grant me the spiritual strength to avoid falling into the same error, sin, wrongdoing again."

The word “Nav-ruz” in Persian, means "New-Day" (whereas the word “PATETI” means ‘Repentance’ and it falls on the last day of the old year which is the tenth day of the holy prayer “Muktad days”.) Pateti is the day to redeem oneself of the sins and mistakes and repent by offering patet prayer in the temple, and then, prepare to greet the New Year the next day with a clean conscience.

“Muktad days” are the last TEN DAYS of the current year. It is believed that during these 10 day spiritual festival, the spirits (farohars) of the dead visit their near and dear ones in this world. The priests perform special rituals and prayers at the Fire Temples, during which the spirits of the departed are invoked in order to seek their protection and blessings. On the last day, a special ceremony in honour of the farohars is performed, by way of a gesture to bid the holy spirits a final farewell from this world and seek blessings.

MUKTAD DAYS were from 8-Aug.-2012 to 17-Aug.-2012 = 10 days.

PATETI is the last day of the old year – for repentance, 17-Aug.-2012.

New Year or NAVRUZ is on Sat. 18-Aug.-2012.

Zoroastrianism has numerous festivals and holy days, all of which are bound to the Zoroastrian calendar. The Shahenshahi and Kadmi variants of the calendar do not intercalcate leap years and hence the day of the Gregorian calendar year on which these days are celebrated shifts ahead with time. The third variant of the Zoroastrian calendar, known as either Fasli (in India) or Bastani (in Iran), intercalcates according to Gregorian calendar rules and thus remains synchronous with the seasons. For details on the differences, see Zoroastrian calendar.