Day 3. Yalda Night: Iranian Celebrations of Story, Survival.
Yalda Night (Shab-e Chelleh) is the celebration of the longest and darkest night of the year in Iranian culture, marking the winter solstice. Held on the eve of the first day of the Iranian winter, it is a festival of light and survival that has been celebrated for thousands of years, primarily linked to the Zoroastrian tradition of honoring the sun god, Mithra.
The Victory of Light
On Yalda Night, friends and family gather in the homes of elders to stay awake until dawn. This tradition was originally a way to protect themselves from evil forces, which were believed to be most potent on the darkest night. The celebration centers on the reading of poetry, especially the mystical verses of Hafez and Rumi, and the sharing of specific foods. The red color of pomegranates and watermelon symbolizes the crimson hues of dawn and the glow of life, signifying the victory of light over darkness.
“The wound is the place where the light enters you.” – Rumi
Story and Kinship
Yalda is fundamentally a celebration of kinship and resilience. By staying awake and sharing stories, families keep the light-both physical and spiritual-alive until the sun is symbolically reborn. For Unitarian Universalists, this tradition powerfully models how storytelling is medicine and how gathering in the darkness can strengthen the bonds of community.
“The longest and darkest night of the year is a time when friends and family gather together to eat, drink and read poetry… until well after midnight.” – Persian Yalda Tradition
Reflection: In what ways do you use storytelling and poetry to nurture hope and survival in your own life and family?
Learn More
- Read: Yalda: A Living Heritage in the Ritual Shell of History – Published by the Tehran ICH Center, under the auspices of UNESCO.
- Visit the Poetry Foundation to discover the work of lyrical poet Hafez and Sufi mystic Jalal al-Din Rumi
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