Ancient Iranian religion

Nowruz (, , ) is New Year's Day on the Iranian calendars, including the currently used Solar Hijri calendar. Historically, it has been observed by Iranian peoples, but is now celebrated by many Persianate cultures worldwide. It is a festival based on the Northern Hemisphere spring equinox, and thus usually coincides with a date between 19 March and 22 March on the Gregorian calendar.

thumb|Zoroastrian priests (Magi) carrying barsoms. Statuettes from the [[Oxus Treasure of the Achaemenid Empire, 4th century BC]]

Yasna (; ) is the Avestan name of both a text within the Avesta collection and of the Yasna liturgy, Zoroastrianism's principal act of worship.

Asha () or arta (; ) is a Zoroastrian concept with a complex and highly nuanced range of meaning. It is commonly summarized in accord with its contextual implications of 'truth' and 'right' (or 'righteousness'), 'order' and 'right working'. It is of cardinal importance to Zoroastrian theology and doctrine. In the moral sphere, aṣ̌a/arta represents what has been called "the decisive confessional concept of Zoroastrianism". The opposite of aṣ̌a is druj ().

Atar () is the Zoroastrian concept of holy fire, sometimes described in abstract terms as "burning and unburning fire" or "visible and invisible fire" (Mirza, 1987:389). It is considered to be the visible presence of Ahura Mazda and his Asha through the eponymous Yazata. The rituals for purifying a fire are performed 1,128 times a year.

'''''' (; Avestan: ) is a divine plant in Zoroastrianism and in later Persian culture and mythology. has its origins in Indo-Iranian religion and is the cognate of Vedic .

Mazdaism (Armenian: Մազդէականութիւն; Persian: آیین مزدایی) It is a pre-Zoroastrian Iranian religion, believed to be the ancestor of Zoroastrianism, from which later religions would derive, unlike Zoroastrianism, Ahura Mazda is one of the gods in Mazdaism, considered to be equal to Mithra.

Tirgan (, Tirgān), is an early summer ancient Iranian festival, celebrated annually on Tir 13 (July 2, 3, or 4). It is celebrated by splashing water, dancing, reciting poetry, and serving traditional foods such as spinach soup and sholezard. The custom of tying rainbow-colored bands on wrists, which are worn for ten days and then thrown into a stream, is also a way to rejoice for children.

thumb|Relief from the Sasanian period with the word Farr written in a calligraphic style of [[Middle Persian]] thumb|Reverse of coin minted during the reign of Huvishka|Shāhanshāh Huvishka of the Greco-Iranian [[Kushan Empire displays the word Farr written in Greek script]]

ancient beliefs and practices of the Iranian peoples before the rise of Zoroastrianism