Celebration

Of all the ancient Persian festivals, only two are celebrated by Iranians worldwide -- Yalda night (the birth of a new sun) and Norouz or Persian New Year (the birth of a new day).

Nationally called “Shab-e Yalda” or “Shab-e-Chelleh”, it means the night of the forty. As best as we can tell, Shab-e Cheleh has been celebrated for almost 8,000 years, possibly longer. On this night, the people of Iran believed this is the night of the Sun’s rebirth. Each day after the Yalda Night gets longer and longer and nights keep getting shorter.

The tradition of the Yalda Night celebration, is shared by many Central Asian countries such as Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan as well as some Caucasian states such as Azerbaijan and Armenia.

People in this celebration get together in the grandparents' home to eat various dried and fresh fruits such as pomegranates, watermelons, grapes, persimmons, sweet melons, apples, and others. Fresh and dried nuts are also added to the table as are various meals, typically native to the city or village.

Pomegranates are especially important as they are believed to symbolize birth, revival, and the cycle of life. Their hard outer cover is the “dawn” or “birth” while the bright red and delicious seeds inside are the “glow of life”.

While eating, the people would play traditional Iranian games such as chess, backgammon, and others. They would also tell old stories of their ancestors, reading from epics such as the Divan-e-Hafez and Shahnameh.

All this creates an atmosphere of warmth, kindness, love, and happiness on the Yalda Night.