Firooz represents the red-dressed fire keepers of the Zoroastrians, who at the last Tuesday of the year, was sent by the white-dressed Moghs (Zoroastrian priests) to spread the news about the arrival of the Nowruz. The fire-keeper's second duty was to call on the people to burn their old items in the fire, and to renew their life and regain health by obtaining the solved energy of the fire. The dark colour of the fire-keeper's face is allegedly caused by the heat of the holy fire. Fire-keepers use of rather unfamiliar expressions combined with their humorous nature, brought laughter to people's faces.Mehrdad Bahar opined that the figure of the Haji Firooz is derived from ceremonies and legends connected to the epic of prince Siavash, which are in turn derived from those associated with the Mesopotamian deities of agriculture and flocks, Tammuz (Sumerian:Dumuzi).Later , he claimed that Haji Firooz’s blackened face symbolizes his returning from the world of the dead, his red clothing is the sign of Siavash’s red blood and the coming to life of the sacrificed deity, while his joviality is the jubilation of rebirth, typical of those who bring rejuvenation and blessing along with themselves .He speculates that the name Siyāwaxš might mean "black man" or "dark-faced man" and suggests that the black part of the name may be a reference either to the blackening of the faces of the participants in the afore-mentioned Mesopotamian ceremonies, or to the black masks that they wore for the festivities.Etymology:Haji Firuz is also called Khawja Piruz, Khawja means master and Piruz/Firuz means successful. "Haji" in here is just a form of address and has nothing to do with the Islamic (Haajhi) hajj, like using 'sir' to address a gentleman in English without the person being a knight in the technical sense.Group: Iranian culture