Yalda Night

                         Shabe Yalda Mobarak, شب یلدا مبارک – Happy Yalda Night! 

To all our Persian families celebrating the longest night of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere ;) ), have a wonderful night together!

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What is Yalda? Yalda is an ancient Persian Celebration, which is held on the 21st of December this year. It is the Winter Solstice (longest night of the year) in the Norhtern Hemisphere.

The longest and darkest night of the year is a time when friends and family gather together to eat, drink and read poetry (especially Hafez) and the Shahnameh until well after midnight. 

Fruits and nuts are eaten and pomegranates and watermelons are particularly significant. The red color in these fruits symbolizes the crimson hues of dawn and glow of life.

Yalda is a night full of hope for the future and happiness for the young and old. There is a saying in Farsi that goes something like this: I wish you a long and happy life like Shabe Yalda, sweet as watermelon and fruitful as pomegranates!

Ms Lisa Foster

Cultural Studies Specialist/Library