Family
In Iran, the family is the core of all social structures. Iranian people take their responsibility to their family very seriously. Their loyalty to the family comes before everything else like social and business relationships. Nothing is more important for an Iranian than to keep their family safe and in a sound situation. Nowadays, families are shrinking to have only one or two children. Often, young people live with their family before marriage, and they are always welcome to live with their parents’ as long as they are single. In Iran, usually both men and women show more love to their children than their spouse.
The marriage ceremony in Iran has two or more stages depending on the family customs but the two-stage version is more common in every family. The first one is called “Aghd” when the bride and groom officially sign a marriage contract that represents the legal aspect of marriage. Some families hold a party after Aghd. The second stage is the wedding party, where feasts and celebrations are held. Wedding party in Iran consists of several costs such as buying wedding dresses for bride and groom, renting a hall, and designing a wedding car with flowers, professional photographers and makeup artists usually be hired for a wedding party. One of the Iranian wedding customs is that the groom should pay for all the costs of the wedding party and a house while the bride buys all the furniture and stuffs for their future house.
Mostly, guests give money or gold coins as a gift to the newly-wed in both stages.
Society
Iranian people welcome tourists much warmer than how they treat other Iranians. They are helpful, kind and hospitable to foreigners. Most young educated people know English and they can communicate with tourists, however, we recommend that you use our Interpreting service to avoid any trouble when traveling to Iran.
Iranian Politeness (Taarof) is a way of behavior to show respect to each other in verbal and non-verbal commination. For example, if there is an empty seat in a bus, they offer each other to take the seat, but other Iranians know that it is usually not a very serious offer unless they insist more seriously than normal. Another example of Taarof is that, when someone offers something like sweets or tea, others decline it but if he insists again, they will take that offering.
Iranian people do not express their feelings or needs directly. They try to be nice even if they do not like each other but over time maybe they can find out about their real feelings.
Greeting
The most common greeting is “salam” meaning “hello”. Formally, people shake hands with people from the same sex when they meet each other. In a more friendly way, they hug and kiss three times (on the cheek). People usually make a small talk when they meet.
Dress Etiquette
Appearance is very important for Iranians and it has a great impression on them. So it is important to dress well. In a formal situation, men wear dark suits. Wearing a tie is not necessary but if someone wears a tie, it would not be seen as negative. Women should always cover their hair in public or around strangers. Generally only in a place where everyone are females, women are allowed to not cover their hair.
Gift-Giving Etiquette
Iranians give gifts at various social occasions such as birthdays, weddings, return from trips, or for personal accomplishments. There are some occasions when Iranians receive a gift from close friends or family. For example, when a pregnant woman gives birth, her husband buys jewelry for her, and her close relatives would give her gift, or when someone buys a new house, people bring house-warming gifts. It is customary to bring flowers or sweets when invited to someone’s house for the first time. Also, there are some traditional and religious feasts that people give money to each other as a gift.
Usually gifts are elegantly wrapped or placed in a nice pocket or box. Iranian mainly open their gifts right away when they receive it but sometimes open them later. Both actions are accepted and depends on the person.