Cultural Heritage
Art
Main article: Iranian art


A persian miniature depicting a polo-match, 1546.
Iran has one of the richest art heritages in world history and encompasses many disciplines including architecture, painting, weaving, pottery, calligraphy, metalworking and stonemasonry. There is also a very vibrant Iranian modern and contemporary art scene.
Iranian art has gone through numerous phases. The unique aesthetics of Iran is evident from the Achaemenid reliefs in Persepolis to the mosaic paintings of Bishapur. The Islamic era brought drastic changes to the styles and practice of the arts, each dynasty with its own particular foci. The Qajarid era was the last stage of classical Persian art, before modernism was imported and suffused into elements of traditionalist schools of aesthetics.



Language and literature
Main article: Iranian literature
See also: Persian language, Persian literature, and Persian literature in Western culture
Several languages are spoken in different regions of Iran. The predominant language and national language is Persian, which is spoken across the country. Azeri is spoken primarily in the northwest, Kurdish primarily in the west, Arabic primarily in the Persian Gulf coastal regions, Balochi primarily in the east and Turkmen primarily in northern border regions.
Persian literature inspired Goethe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and many others, and it has been often dubbed as a most worthy language to serve as a conduit for poetry. Dialects of Persian are sporadically spoken throughout the region from China to Syria, though mainly in Iranian Plateau. Two important dialects of Persian serving as languages are Tajiki and Dari respectively spoken in Tajikistan and Afghanistan as official languages. Contemporary Iranian literature is influenced by classical Persian poetry, but also reflects the particularities of modern day Iran, through writers such as Houshang Moradi-Kermani, the most translated modern Iranian author, and poet Ahmad Shamlou.[3]

Religious in Iran
Zoroastrianism was the national faith of Iran for more than a millennium before the Arab conquest. It has had an immense influence on Iranian philosophy, culture and art after the people of Iran converted to Islam.[4]
Today of the 98% of Muslims living in Iran, around 89% are Shi’a and only around 9% are Sunni.This is quite the opposite trend of the percentage distribution of Shi’a to Sunni Islam followers in the rest of the Muslim population from state to state (primarily in the Middle East) and throughout the rest of the world.[5]
Followers of the Christian faith comprise around 250,000 Armenians, around 32,000 Assyrians, and a small number Catholic and Protestant.
Holidays in Iran
The Persian year begins in the vernal equinox: if the astronomical vernal equinox comes before noon, then the present day is the first day of the Persian year. If the equinox falls after noon, then the next day is the official first day of the Persian year. The Persian Calendar, which is the official calendar of Iran, is a solar calendar with a starting point that is the same as the Islamic calendar. According to the Iran Labor Code, Friday is the weekly day of rest. Government official working hours are from Saturday to Wednesday (from 8 am to 4 pm).[7]
Although the date of certain holidays in Iran are not exact (due to the calendar system they use, most of these holidays are around the same time). Some of the major public holidays in Iran include Oil Nationalization Day (March 20), Nowrooz—which is the Iranian equivalent of New Years (March 20), the Prophet’s Birthday and Imam Sadeq (June 4), and the Death of Imam Khomeini (June 5). Additional holidays include The Anniversary of the Uprising Against the Shah (January 30), Ashoura (February 11), Victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution (April 2), Sizdah-Bedar—Public Outing Day to end Nowrooz (April 1), and
Islamic Republic Day (January 20).




Persian Rugs
In Iran, Persian Rugs have always been a vital part of the Persian culture.


Antique Persian Mashad Rug
Iranians were some of the first people in history to weave carpets. As time progressed, the complexity and beauty of rugs increased to a point where rugs are now bought as decorative pieces.[10]
Because of the long history of fine silk and wool rug weaving in Iran, Persian rugs are world-renowned as some of the most beautiful, intricately designed rugs available. Around various places in Iran, rugs seem to be some of the most prized possessions of the local people. Iran currently produces more rugs and carpets than all other countries in the world put together.[11]