One of the old Shiite traditions is the Arbaeen procession. In recent years, this walk has been significantly appreciated and welcomed by people all over the world, so that the number of participants in the Arbaeen gathering every year which has from 40 thousand people to 10 million and 200 thousand people, which shows an increase in the number of pilgrims has increased 55 times in 6 years, which has increased by more than 130% every year, and in 1996, more than 3 million Iranian pilgrims participated in this ceremony.
Many studies have shown that religious beliefs and rituals affect the physical, mental health, and happiness of individuals. Happiness is the amount of positive value that a person places on himself and is created when a person feels satisfied with himself and his surroundings.
Happiness as a positive emotion can facilitate interpersonal relationships and promote self-sacrifice, altruism, and conversational skills, and have far-reaching positive consequences for recognizing the level of social activity and health.
Happiness also leads to a way of thinking that enables people to solve problems with creativity and innovation. Considering that increasing vitality and happiness has always been one of the main concerns of human beings and various methods have been proposed to experience it, and considering the importance of Arbaeen walking and the existence of a serious research gap in examining its psychological dimensions, an Iranian institute “Arbaeen Psychology Center” With the presence of professors from the seminary and the university and a group of students from Kharazmi University in Karaj, he conducted the “Arbaeen Psychology” test with the aim of determining the difference between happiness in those who participated in the Arbaeen walk and those who did not.
This research is a descriptive comparative description according to its basic purpose and method. The statistical population of the study includes people from Karaj who participated in the Arbaeen walk in 2017 and also includes people who have never experienced Arbaeen walking in Karaj.
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The sample consisted of 120 people (60 participants in the Arbaeen walk and 60 non-participants) who were purposefully selected; The instrument used in this study to measure happiness was the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire.
The data obtained from the study were processed using SPSS software version 22 and statistically analyzed using an independent t-test.
The results of the study showed that happiness in 95%, of people who participated in the Arbaeen walk, was higher than those who have never participated in the Arbaeen walk.
According to the results, performing religious ceremonies such as the Arbaeen walk and generally adhering people to religion can have a positive effect on their happiness; Therefore, the development of Arbaeen walking culture is recommended due to its wide and deep effects, as well as conducting detailed scientific research in this field.
