Yalda Night is winter solstice celebration in Iran (winter solstice in Northern Hemisphere).
Iranian celebrate the longest night of the year (the last night of Autumn) as it’s called Shabe Yalda in Persian (Yalda night).
The longest and darkest night of the year is a time when friends and family gather together to eat, drink and read poetry (especially Hafez) until well after midnight. Fruits and nuts are eaten and pomegranates and watermelons are particularly significant. The red color in these fruits symbolizes the crimson hues of dawn and the glow of life. The poems of Divan-e Hafez, which can be found in the bookcases of most Iranian families, are read or recited on various occasions such as this festival and Nowruz.
Customs and traditions
In Zoroastrian tradition, the longest and darkest night of the year was a particularly inauspicious day, and the practices of what is now known as “Shab-e Chelleh/Yalda” were originally customs intended to protect people from evil during that long night at which time the evil forces of Ahriman were imagined to be at their peak. People were advised to stay awake most of the night, lest misfortune should befall them, and people would then gather in the safety of groups of friends and relatives, share the last remaining fruits from the summer, and find ways to pass the long night together in good company.
Although the religious significance of the long dark night has been lost, the old traditions of staying up late in the company of friends and family have been retained in Iranian culture to the present day.
Food plays a central role in the present-day form of the celebrations. In most parts of Iran, extended families come together and enjoy a fine dinner. A wide variety of fruits and sweetmeats specifically prepared or kept for this night are served. Foods common to the celebration include watermelon, pomegranate, nuts, and dried fruit. These items and more are commonly placed on a Korsi, which people sit around. In some areas, it is custom that forty varieties of edibles should be served during the ceremony of the night of Yalda.
Light-hearted superstitions run high on the Yalda night. These superstitions, however, are primarily associated with consumption. For instance, it is believed that consuming watermelons on the Yalda night will ensure the health and well-being of the individual during the months of summer by protecting him from falling victim to excessive heat or disease produced by hot humors. In Khorasan, there is a belief that whoever eats carrots, pears, pomegranates, and green olives will be protected against the harmful bite of insects, especially scorpions. Eating garlic on Yalda night protects one against pains in the joints.
After dinner, the older individuals entertain the others by telling them tales and anecdotes. Another favorite and prevalent pastime of Yalda night is fāl-e Hafez, which is divination using the Dīvān of Hafez. It is believed that one should not divine by the Dīvān of Hafez more than three times, however, or the poet may get angry.
Activities common to the festival include staying up past midnight, conversation, drinking, reading poems out loud, telling stories and jokes, and some dancing. Prior to the invention and prevalence of electricity, decorating and lighting the house and yard with candles was also part of the tradition, but few have continued this tradition. Another tradition is giving dried fruits and nuts to family and friends, wrapped in tulle and tied with ribbon (similar to wedding and shower “party favors”). Prior to the ban of alcohol, drinking wine was also part of the celebration. Despite the Islamic alcohol ban in Iran, many continue to include homemade alcoholic drinks in their celebrations.