(2 Apr 2014) Residents of Tehran enjoyed the sunshine on Wednesday as they took to a local park to celebrate a national holiday known as "Nature Day".
Families played ball games, barbecued, played cards and relaxed during the day, called Sizdeh Bedar, a public picnic day in early April.
The day marks the end of Iranian New Year holidays, and falls on the thirteenth day of Nowruz.
Sizdeh is 13 and Bedar means "passing" in Persian.
"People head outdoors to get rid of the so-called 'curse of number 13'," Tehran resident Sara Mahmoudi said.
Sizdeh Bedar is an ancient Persian festival, celebrated by spending an entire day outdoors.
As well as having picnics, some perform traditional good luck rituals, such as tying knots in blades of grass.
"We first make a wish or vow in our minds and then tie a knot with grass so that God willing, our wish will come true in the new (Iranian) year," said Shabnam Jafarnejad.
The festival is a legacy from the pre-Islamic era which hardliners in Iran failed to eliminate from people's calendars.
Unlike other countries in the Middle East, Iran follows the Persian solar year, which begins on the first day of spring.
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