TEHRAN—It is the ninth day of Israeli-imposed war against Iran. The ordinary lives have faced changes. These changes show the lively public culture of the society even in crisis time. It has led to returning to tradition of old days, mass living of families together and unannounced parties. Shelters which have embraced the tired and anxious souls.

According to ISNA, these days that the war anxiety due to aggressive attacks of Zionist regime has shadowed the residential regions of various cities, one of the prominent cultural reactions of the society has happened inside the houses. Nowadays, we hear the conversation of several generations in a house. With start of security threats and teleworking of staff of some organizations and offices, many families decided to go to mother home, family villa and ancestral village. Houses which were silent for years, have again congested and turned into a spiritual shelter for each of family members following Israeli attacks.

Mothers who used to have launch solely, currently cook for several generations. The family gathering which had shrunk for years, has become bigger.Mass happiness, family games, watching TV series together and even watching ancient photos are prevalent in grandmother’s home or rented villas following Israeli impose war. One of the obvious signs of this cultural return is rise in family and friendly gatherings without official occasion or arranged invitation.

Those who have stayed in their city, gather together to spend more time with each other. There is not internet access in many parts of Iran, making it difficult to access war news. But this has led to direct contacts and face to face conversations. Pandemic era of coronavirus was accompanied with social isolation.

But the situation is different in this crisis (Israeli attack to Iran). Families are at home but together. Those who seldomly gathered together due to different occupations, currently have dinner together. The outside threat has created an inner need for being together.Our society has always swayed between modern lifestyle and indigenous communicational traditions. In many crises, the tradition is like a cultural shelter. The role of grandmother as center of familial communications is a sign of revival of lifestyles which are less seen in modern planning.

This is cultural action to the current crisis. Unannounced gatherings and unarranged dinners are forms of soft cultural resistance born from threats. Although security threats have made the streets empty, the public culture of Iran has brought the families together.Although crises may interrupt the programs, they can’t destroy the cultural bonds, particularly in a society that mass gatherings are prevalent.