Kerman, Jashan Sadeh, which means hundred, is a mid-winter feast that was celebrated with grandeur and magnificence in ancient Iran. It was a festivity to honor fire (Feast of fire) and defeat the forces of darkness - frost and cold. Two different days were observed for its veneration. One celebration marked the hundredth day before the religious Norooz on the first day of the Farvardin, or March 21. (religious Noruz is different from the seasonal spring Norooz). The other one was the hundredth day after Ayathrima (one of the six feasts of obligation) held to be the beginning of winter. This day coincides with 10th of Bahman (January 30) in the present calendar. It is not clear why there are two Sadeh festivals and why different regions have had different dates. Many Zoroastrian holy days were and are celebrated twice; this is caused by the calendar reform in the 3rd century AD...In ancient times the fires were always set near water and temples. The great fire originally meant (like winter fires lit at other occasions) to help revive the declining sun, and bring back the warmth and light of summer. It was also designed to drive off the demons of frost and cold, which turned water to ice, and thus could kill the roots of plants. For these reasons the fire was lit near and even over water and by the shrine of Mihr, who was lord both of fire and the sun. In AD 1000, Biruni described the philosophy behind the Sadeh festival very accurately...Today, Sadeh is mainly celebrated on 10th of Bahman. The fires are not lit outside and all activities take place inside the shrines. However many Iranians are becoming more familiar with the occasion and there are gatherings and celebrations outside Iran. Fires are lit and people surround themselves with music and dancing. The occasion for the majority of Iranians has no religious significance and no specific rituals are involved other than torching bon fires at sunset and having a merry time..