Yalda Night, celebration of longest night of year

An ancient Iranian festival which basically celebrates the coming of the winter solstice and the longest night of the year for centuries is Yalda Night (or Shab-e Yalda; also, Shab-e Chelleh). It refers to a time between the sunset of autumn’s last day (30th of Azar in Iranian calendar equal to 21st of December) and the sunrise of the first day of winter (1st of Dey in Iranian calendar equal to 22nd of December).

It is considered as one of the holy nights and one of the most important festivities in ancient Iran and officially entered the official calendar of the ancient Iranians from 502 BC during the time of Darius I, commonly known as Darius the Great.

Yalda Night, both before and after Islam, has a special place in Iranian culture and has always been considered a motivation for gathering close and distant relatives. The festivities that take place on this night are an ancient tradition.

Since days get longer and nights get shorter in winter, Iranians celebrate the last night of autumn as the renewal of the sun and the victory of light over darkness.

Yalda night is a long-standing tradition that has long been considered important by Iranians. In ancient times, darkness was considered a sign of the devil, so on in the night of Yalda, which is the longest night of the year, the Iranians lit fires to protect themselves from evil forces due to the light of fires.

Like Iran, central Asian countries, including Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and some Caucasian states like Azerbaijan and Armenia, and some parts of Pakistan, India and Kashmir which share the same tradition, celebrate Yalda Night.

"An ancient Iranian festival which basically celebrates the coming of the winter solstice and the longest night of the year for centuries is Yalda Night (or Shab-e Yalda; also, Shab-e Chelleh)"

Iranians' tradition and customs on Yalda night are different from other countries. On the eve of Yalda Night, indescribable passion arises among Iranian families as they want to prepare themselves for this night.

A family sits on the floor around the Korsi during Yalda Night celebration