Through investigation of Iranians’ collective expressions of happiness and sadness in the era of post-1979 Islamic Revolution, I argue that these feelings are extremely politicized in such a way that they have become the signifiers of individuals’ political and social identity and sites for collective political contestation and resistance. As the result of globalization and the spread of neoliberal ideologies and values, the concept of happiness has become bold in the Iranians social value system in the past few years. Happiness and its symbols “as a technique of living well” which is only imagined possible through the neoliberal Western way of living, have become the signifiers of liberal, progressive, and modern individuals in Iran. On the other hand, collective mourning ceremonies that have been inseparable components of the life of a Shi’i Iranians for centuries are perceived as purely Islamic and therefore looked upon as something backward and futile by the “modern” Iranians. In order to study the shifts in happiness and mourning discourses in Iran, I investigate and analyze three national events; the summer water pistol fights of 2011 that were organized through social media in a few major cities and which were all subject to a police crackdown, the arrest of six young men and women who created a tribute to Pharrell’s global "Happy" campaign in May 2014, and the Iran-South Korea soccer qualifier for the 2018 World Cup in October 2016. For each site of inquiry, I study the state media coverage of the events, the oppositional rhetoric against state violence, and participant and victims’ statements and interviews. I compare conversations around these major events to the state’s systematic attack on private social gatherings in the earlier years after 1979 Revolution. This comparison reveals the ways in which these events are framed and discussed differently by both the state and the people; once discussed and fought against through the lens of religion, now understood and argued on neoliberal grounds.