“Angel Celebration”: Honoring the Religious Maturity of Iranian Teenage Girls

Angel Celebration
A Religious Festival for Iranian Teenage Girls

According to Muslim beliefs, especially among Shia, children entering adolescence are considered fully responsible individuals with mature personalities. Shia families celebrate this milestone, which signifies the intellectual maturity of their children, and call it the Taklif ceremony.

In February 2023 (Bahman 1401 in the Persian calendar), a series of grand celebrations named the Angel Celebration were held nationwide as a Taklif ceremony for Iranian girls. This event was a religious and social ritual, and the first and largest celebration was hosted by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Khamenei, with thousands of teenage girls participating. It was a warm and joyful atmosphere where the Leader offered advice for entering adolescence and then prayed with the girls.

The celebration took place throughout Iran with nearly 100,000 teenage girls attending, hosted by representatives of the Supreme Leader. Many intimate and beautiful images of this religious event among Iranian teenage girls were recorded.

Following the Angel Celebration, a series of fasting initiation celebrations were held for boys and girls who fasted for the first time, across Iran. This festival was also warmly welcomed by Iranian families and held in several major cities.

In recent years, many media outlets affiliated with capitalist systems, the United States, and the Zionist regime have tried to portray Iranian teenagers as non-religious and secular. However, the Angel Celebration challenged this claim and showed that Iranian teenagers have deep faith in Islam.