Ashura Religious Festival in Iran (15 images)

Iranian women cover their faces and read prayers during an Islamic mourning ceremony called Chehel Menbar (Forty Pulpits ) in Khorramabad, Iran on November 24, 2012. In this ceremony, women cover their faces and light candles in forty different houses in order that their wishes come true. This ceremony takes place on Tasoa day, the day before Ashura. Shia Muslims mourn the slaying of Imam Hussain, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, during the first month of the Islamic calendar called Muharram. UPI/Maryam Rahmanian

An Iranian woman covers her face during an Islamic mourning ceremony called Chehel Menbar (Forty Pulpits ) in Khorramabad, Iran on November 24, 2012. In this ceremony, women cover their faces and light candles in forty different houses in order that their wishes come true. This ceremony takes place on Tasoa day, the day before Ashura. Shia Muslims mourn the slaying of Imam Hussain, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, during the first month of the Islamic calendar called Muharram. UPI/Maryam Rahmanian

An Iranian woman covers her face during an Islamic mourning ceremony called Chehel Menbar (Forty Pulpits ) in Khorramabad, Iran on November 24, 2012. In this ceremony, women cover their faces and light candles in forty different houses in order that their wishes come true. This ceremony takes place on Tasoa day, the day before Ashura. Shia Muslims mourn the slaying of Imam Hussain, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, during the first month of the Islamic calendar called Muharram. UPI/Maryam Rahmanian