It is said that on this day, Iranian Jews facing an imminent massacre were saved, and from that day forth Sizde Be-Dar became a tradition. According to the Torah, one of the king’s ministers who was an anti-Semite had commanded various commanders across the Persian empire to kill every Jew. However, Xerxes, the Achaemenian King, and Queen Esther, who was Jewish, discovered this conspiracy plot.
To thwart the conspiracy, Queen Esther requested the King to issue a new command asking all Jews in the empire to not stay indoors on the thirteenth day, and to spend the day outdoors. This was done to ensure that the Jewish people, whose homes had been identified and marked as a result of the conspiracy, would be outdoors, unidentifiable since not at home, and thus not in danger. Accordingly, the Persian custom of Sizdah Be-Dar began was created. To this day, Persians spend the thirteenth day of the New Year outdoors to get rid of, or avoid, bad luck.