What is Shab e Yalda?
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The ancient Persian festival celebrating the winter solstice, which marks the longest night of the year...
Shab-e Yalda is an ancient Iranian holiday that falls on the longest and darkest night of the year: the winter solstice.
It is a celebration of the light that follows darkness as spring follows winter; a time to gather together with friends and family to ward off the privations of the coldest season.
In the ancient Zoroastrian version of this festival, the solstice is the night that the Lord of Wisdom, Ahura Mazda will triumph over evil, signified by darkness.
Yalda means birth and is also a popular female name.
Ancient Zoroastrians in Iran used red to represent the color of dawn and light in general. For that reason, many of the edibles served on Yalda are red.
Iranians typically serve a variety of fruits, including pomegranate - the crown jewel of fruits native to Iran - watermelon, and persimmon.
A favourite tradition on Yalda night is what we call a ‘fal-e Hafez’ which is the most prevalent form of fortune telling in Iran.
Iranians believe deeply in Hafez, our most revered poet. It is said that every Iranian household, regardless of faith, has a copy of Divan-e -Hafez.
After midnight, you make a wish, then open the book of Hafez to a page at random. A designated reader (usually an elder of the family) interprets the poem at hand, as that person’s fortune for the year to come...