شب یلدا

Yalda night

Yalda is a Persian festival celebrated on the longest night of the year. It is one of the most ancient Persian festivals.

On Yalda festival, Iranians celebrate the arrival of winter, the renewal of the sun and the victory of light over darkness. Yalda which means birth, is a Syriac word imported into the Persian language. Yalda Night is also referred to as Shab-e Chelleh.

Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and some Caucasian States such as Azerbaijan and Armenia share the same tradition and celebrate Yalda Night annual at this time of the year.

Astronomically, it is the night of the northern hemisphere’s winter solstice. The solstice marks the turning point when the days begin to grow longer.

As days start lengthening, ancient Iranians believe that darkness is defeated by light and therefore they must celebrate the whole night. Yalda Night symbolized the triumph of light over darkness.

Yalda is a time when friends and family gather together to eat, drink and read poetry until well after midnight.

At Yalda Night, fruits and nuts are served and pomegranates and watermelons are particularly significant.

The red color in these fruits symbolizes the crimson hues of dawn and glow of life.

One favorite activity of the Yalda Night is divination by the Divan of Hafiz.

Each member of the family makes a wish and randomly opens Hafiz’s book of poems and asks the eldest member of the family to read it aloud.

Happy Yalda :)