Ashura is the culmination of a 10-day annual mourning period in the lunar calendar month of Muharram for Imam Hussein (AS), who was martyred along with his 72 companions in the Battle of Karbala in southern Iraq in 680 AD after fighting courageously for justice against the much larger army of the Umayyad caliph, Yazid I.
The Muharram ceremonies symbolize the eternal and unwavering stance of truth against falsehood and humanity’s struggle against injustice, tyranny and oppression.
Each year on Ashura, the mourners, dressed in black, march in mass processions, listen to elegies and hold noon prayers, with benefactors distributing votive foods.
In Iran, however, ceremonies are different this year as gatherings in closed areas and street marches are banned due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Iranians were also advised not to go on pilgrimage to neighboring Iraq amid a closure of borders over the coronavirus outbreak.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei attended a mourning ceremony on the eve of Ashura last night.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raeisi also addressed a mourning ceremony in Tehran on Wednesday night.