This winter celebration has to do with the
longest night of the year. Yalda, a Syriac word imported by the Syriac
Christians means birth and is related to the birth of Jesus. It is also
interchangable with “Shab-e Cheleh”, the Zoroastrian celebration of Winter
Solstice, the longest night of winter, around December 21st and forty days
before the next Persian festival ‘Jashn e Sadeh’. Cheleh is the word for forty
and Shab means night.
Traditionally on this night the forces of Ahriman are at the peak of their
strength. The next day, the first day of the month of ‘Dey’ known as ‘khoram
rooz’ or ‘khore rooz’ (the day of sun) belongs to Ahura Mazda, the Lord of
Wisdom. Since the days are getting longer and the nights shorter, this day marks
the victory of Sun over darkness.
On this night, family and friends gather for a large feast. Various dried
fruits, nuts, seeds and fresh winter fruits are provided at these events to
celebrate and pray to the deities to ensure the protection of the winter crops.
The traditional feast for the night is eggplant stew with saffron rice, rice
with chicken and yoghurt. Medieval poetry from Hafez can be read and fortunes
are told in the famous “Fal-e Hafez” tradition. Children and parents gather
around a warm korsi, which is an older Persian oven (wooden box filled with
coal), and hear tales of Rostam and Sohrab or other great stories from the
Shahnahmeh. Candles are lit and fireplaces, ovens and heaters are all turned on
to get through the cold night together. Families cuddle under the korsi and pass
snacks around, tell jokes and stay up all night to share in the fun.