Yalda Night
Yalda Night (Chelleh Night) is a winter event celebrated annually by Iranians on December 20th or 21st, or around that time. Also known as Yalda Night, Chelleh Night, or Yalda (Chelleh) Night, it is one of the oldest Iranian festivals celebrated each year on December 21st by Iranians worldwide. It’s a traditional Iranian celebration that marks the longest night of the year, coinciding with the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s a time when friends and family gather to eat, drink, and recite poetry (especially Hafez) together after midnight. Fruits and nuts are consumed, with pomegranates and watermelons having special significance. The color red in these fruits symbolizes the color of the dawn and the vitality of life. The poems of Hafez, found in most Iranian households, are recited on occasions like this celebration and Nowruz. Yalda Night was officially added to Iran’s National Heritage List in 2008.
Yalda Night is an ancient Iranian festival celebrated annually by Iranians. Yalda Night (Chelleh Night) is an Iranian winter event celebrated every year on December 20th or 21st. During these days, many Iranians are busy buying fruits such as pomegranates, watermelons, and various dried nuts. Today, Yalda celebration has turned into a social occasion where friends and families gather to eat, drink, and recite poetry (especially Hafez) together after midnight. They all wish for each other’s desires and randomly open Hafez’s book of poems, reading verses that are believed to offer interpretations of wishes. Fruits, especially pomegranates and watermelons, along with nuts, are served on this night.
The fruits symbolize hope for a fruitful spring and summer. It is widely believed that red-colored fruits symbolize the colors of dawn and the radiance of life, invoking the glory of Mithra. It’s believed that eating pomegranates, along with sprinkling them with angelica powder, protects individuals against evil forces. In ancient Iran, there was a goddess named Mithra who embodied light and brought warmth to life. It’s believed that Yalda Night is dedicated to her, who returns light to people’s lives. Having a minute more of brightness every day was a cherished privilege by ancient Iranians and was celebrated throughout the centuries.
This ancient festival dates back to ancient times when many Iranians adhered to the Zoroastrian religion. Central Asian countries such as Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and some Caucasian countries like Azerbaijan and Armenia also observe this tradition and celebrate Yalda Night every year during this time of the year. Yalda Night was added to Iran’s National Heritage List in 2008.
The annual winter ceremony symbolizes the traditional concept of light and goodness prevailing over darkness and evil in ancient Iranian rituals. The longest and darkest night of the year indicates “a night that marks the beginning of the forty-day winter season,” hence the name “Chelleh,” which means “fortieth.” There is a right to print altogether three 40-day periods, one in summer and two in winter. The two winter periods are known as the “Great Chelleh” period (from 1st to 11th of Bahman, a complete 40 days), followed by the “Little Chelleh” period (from 10th to 30th of Bahman, 20 days + 20 nights). Chelleh Night is the opening night of the “Great Chelleh” period, meaning the night between the last day of autumn and the first day of winter. Yalda Night, both before and after Islam, has held a special place in Iranian culture and has always been an incentive for gathering people from far and near. Another name for this festival, “Yalda,” is ultimately borrowed from Syriac-speaking Christians.
During the 1st to 3rd centuries, a considerable number of Eastern Christians settled in the territories of the Parthians and Sassanians, where they were protected from religious persecution. Western Iranians (i.e., Parthians, Persians, etc.) through them, adopted Christian religious ceremonies, including what seems to be the Mesopotamian Yalda night, which in Syriac (Middle Aramaic) means “birth,” but religiously also the special name of Syriac Christians for Christmas, and – because it fell nine months after the Annunciation – on the eve of the winter solstice, celebrated the revolution of winter.
The name of the Christian festival reached non-Christian neighbors, and although it is not clear when and where this Syriac term was borrowed into Persian, gradually “Shab-e Yalda” and “Shab-e Chelleh” became synonymous and are used interchangeably.
