Shab-e Yalda: A warm welcome to winter, felicitous farewell to fall
The auspicious yet thousands-year-old occasion, known as the longest and darkest night of the year, marks the last eve of autumn and the beginning of winter.
Shab-e Yalda is also called Shab-e Chelleh that literally meaning the night of the forty. One of the dominant features of the feast is Chelleh Neshini (sitting for Chelleh), a social context during which families and friends usually gather in the cozy ambiance of home of an elder such as grandparents, aunts or uncles to rejoice in warmth of one another’s company.
Some opt for making phone calls to friends and close relatives or send text messages to congratulate them on this night.
Guests are served with fresh fruits and colorful Ajil (a mixture of dry fruits, seeds and nuts) in bowls. To Iranians however, the dry fruits are somehow a reminiscence of the abundance of summer and the fresh fruits are an invocation for food during winter.
Watermelon and pomegranates as symbols of bounty are the traditional fresh fruits of this night. It is believed that eating watermelon before the arrival of winter can immunize one against cold and illness.
All food items are arranged on a spread known as Sofreh (traditional table cloth available in various materials and patterns), usually by women of the house.
Following a fresh and hot dinner, people recite poetry, narrate stories, chant, play musical instruments or just chat in the coziness of their company until midnight or so.
Of all ancient rituals, there are mostly two festivals that are unanimously celebrated by Iranians today, Yalda Night and the Persian New Year or Nowruz that means the birth of a new day.
From a wider point of view, human beings often mourn some endings and celebrate most beginnings. The Iranian nation has strong social and historical fibers to celebrate when it comes to the death of a season that gives birth to another.
Welcome to winter varies region to region
Yalda Night is celebrated in different parts of the country traditionally as a welcome to winter, though it encompasses regional variations and themes. In what follows some of them have been given:
Natives to the northwestern Azarbaijan region believe that eating watermelon will not let the cold of winter into their bones. Also, on this night, new brides carry gifts to brides-to-be of the family.
In Tabriz, the capital of East Azarbaijan Province, local musicians known as ‘Aashigh’ play traditional instruments and sing songs from ancient Persian legends on Yalda. Aashighs are local artists who play a great role in preserving oral culture and they can recite poetry spontaneously.
In the northwestern Ardabil Province, people ask the Chelleh Bozorg (first forty days of winter) to promise them to be moderate as they wish for a good winter time.
Families in the southern city of Shiraz, Fars Province, spread a Sofreh (Persian table cloth, mostly spread on the floor) which is not very different from the Persian New Year spread. They normally place a mirror and an artistic depiction of Imam Ali (AS), the first Shia Imam, on the spread. In addition to typical Yalda food items, Halva Shekari (a kind of paste made of sugar, butter and sesame seeds) and Ranginak (Persian date cakes) are also served.
In the northern province of Gilan, however, Yalda is never complete without watermelons. It is assumed that anyone who eats watermelons on this day would not be thirsty in summer and cold in winter. Aoknous is a tempting and indispensable Gilani dish on Yalda Night.
People in the southeastern Kerman Province stay up most part of the night to welcome the arrival of the legendary Gharoun (Croesus) who is believed to bring wood for poor families in the disguise of a woodcutter. The wood logs would then turn into gold and bring prosperity and luck to the house. The ritual is of course a symbolic one.
One of the oldest Yalda rituals in the western Lorestan Province was when a group of small and teenage boys would go to the rooftops of houses and throw down their bags tied to the end of a long scarf from the chimney holes. They would sing songs, wishing prosperity and happiness for the owner who would fill their bag with Yalda treats. The children would state their gratitude accordingly by singing songs of merriment.
In the villages of northeastern Khorasan Province the groom’s family sends out gifts with a group of musical instrument players to the bride-to-be’s house. In this province, after dinner and festivities, people read out verses from the Shahnameh, a long epic poem by illustrious Persian poet Ferdowsi.
In one of the villages of Garmsar, north-central Semnan Province, people of one family or clan get together over a meal of khorous polo (cockcrow meat and rice dish), after which they chitchat with jokes, anecdotes and short stories.
It is customary for people in the western province of Kermanshah that they stay up most of the night by eating, singing and tellin
传统波斯节日Shab-e Yalda是波斯“冬至夜”，意为新生，每年伊朗历（阿富汗历）9月30日，即波斯历的秋天。这个节日起源古老的琐罗亚兹德文化，庆祝太阳神密拉特而设置。伊斯兰后的波斯，该节日称为波斯民族节日，称为今天伊朗、阿富汗、塔吉克斯坦等波斯语国家的共同节日。该节日具有悠久历史，至今千年以上历史。古代波斯人认为这天晚上是一年中最漫长、最黑暗的夜晚。故全家人应该团聚度过这个晚上，然后迎来冬天即新生。
当这天晚上来临，全家人围着餐桌，在餐桌上摆放由七种红色水果、干果等组成的食物，石榴和西瓜象征着美好。波斯人认为在冬天食西瓜有利祛除疾病和寒冷。同时，在餐桌上也要摆放《古兰经》、《哈菲兹诗集》。聚会上以祈祷、诵读诗歌、讲故事及音乐为主。一家人愉快的度过晚上。
现在，雅勒达节在不同国家或地区，都有各自特色方式的庆祝。例如在今天伊朗各省庆祝的方式也是不同。
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