Celebrating the Revolution: Selfies, "Death to America" and a Festival Spirit

At this year’s rallies marking the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution on February 11, family selfies were all the rage. Morality Patrols were nowhere to be seen, and hardliner websites published photographs of women without hejabs, as they do every year. 

There was more entertainment on offer this year, and more children than ever were out on the streets, smiling and wearing bright colors. Students, both girls and boys, wore outlandish masks, which have become more imaginative and surprising each year. And everywhere, people took photographs.

In recent years, celebrations marking the 1979 Islamic Revolution have become more and more like a Western festival: colorful, creative, fun. Of course, Iranian officials try hard to keep the political, anti-Western symbols going strong, from the burning of flags to chants of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”. And this year, nuclear negotiations were thrown into the mix as well.