Yalda Night, The Longest Night of the Year
- themuseumoftime
- Dec 21, 2025
- 13 min read
Updated: Dec 23, 2025
Yalda (یلدا) is an ancient festival celebrated by Persians to mark the end of Azar (اذر), the ninth month of the Persian calendar, which usually falls on December 21 (December 20 on the leap years). It is the moment when autumn quietly steps aside and winter begins.
The Persian calendar is solar, deeply tied to nature and the movement of the sun. Azar is the last month of autumn, and when its final day arrives, we reach a threshold: the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. A pause between seasons. A crossing, from yellowing leaves to cold, white mornings.
This night, known as Yalda, is not just about darkness, but about waiting for light. While it is the longest night in Iran and much of the Northern Hemisphere, it is also the time when places like Oceania experience their longest day. The world tilts, and we feel it.
Yalda marks the birth of winter, often imagined through the folkloric figure of Naneh Sarma (ننه سرما), the mother of cold, who drapes the world in frost and whispers stories as children fall asleep. Families gather, candles glow, and the night stretches gently on. A Divan of Hafez is opened for fal-e Hafez (فال حافظ), poetry is read aloud, laughter fills the room, and tables overflow with mixed nuts, pomegranates, and watermelon, symbols of life, warmth, and the sun stored from summer.
Yalda is a night of togetherness, memory, and quiet resistance: staying awake through the longest darkness, trusting that morning will come.
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The longest night
have you ever wondered why we have the longest night in our yearly calendar?
Yalda is known as the longest night of the year, a title rooted in both science and tradition. It is also called Shab-e Cheleh (شب چله), a name that refers to the forty cold days that begin with the arrival of winter. One night, two names, the same meaning: the moment when darkness reaches its limit and light prepares to return.
The reason this night is longer than any other lies in the way the Earth moves through space. Our planet is tilted at about 23.5 degrees as it orbits the sun. This tilt causes the changing seasons and the shifting lengths of day and night. As the year moves forward, sunlight falls differently across the globe, stretching days in some months and shortening them in others.
December 21 (December 20 on the leap years), the Northern Hemisphere reaches the winter solstice. On this night, the sun appears at its lowest point in the sky, following its shortest path between sunrise and sunset. The result is the shortest day and the longest night of the year in Iran and many surrounding regions. From this moment onward, days slowly begin to grow longer again, even as winter deepens.
Yalda, or Shab-e Cheleh, is most strongly associated with Iran, but it is also celebrated in other regions shaped by Persian culture and shared history, including Kurdistan (Iraq), Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. Across these places, the tradition carries the same message: staying awake together, sharing warmth, and welcoming the return of light.
Interestingly, while this night stretches longest in the Northern Hemisphere, the opposite occurs in the Southern Hemisphere. In places such as Australia and parts of Oceania, this same moment marks the longest day of the year. One planet, two experiences, perfectly balanced.
For ancient communities, this night was never only about astronomy. It was a reminder that darkness, no matter how long it lasts, is never permanent. Yalda became a celebration of patience, connection, and the quiet certainty that light will always return.
What Is Yalda?
Yalda is an ancient winter festival marking the longest and darkest night of the year, the night that opens the first forty-day period of winter. For this reason, it is also widely known as Shab-e Cheleh (شب چله), literally “the night of forty.” In traditional Iranian timekeeping, the year was divided into forty-day cycles, and the night of Yalda signaled the beginning of Cheleh-ye Bozorg (the Great Forty), the coldest and most significant phase of winter.
Historically, there were three forty-day periods recognized throughout the year: one in summer and two in winter. The winter periods consisted of the Great Cheleh, lasting forty full days, followed by the Small Cheleh, which included twenty days and twenty nights. Shab-e Cheleh marks the precise transition between autumn and winter, the night between the final day of autumn and the first day of winter.
The name “Yalda” itself has an older and fascinating origin. It is a loanword from Syriac, a dialect of Middle Aramaic, in which yalda means “birth” or “rebirth.” During the early centuries of the Common Era, Syriac-speaking Christians lived within the Parthian and later Sasanian empires. Through cultural contact, the term entered Persian usage. In Syriac Christian tradition, Yalda referred to the birth of Christ, a celebration that once coincided with the winter solstice.
Over time, the word was adopted by Iranian culture and reshaped within its own worldview. Rather than the birth of Christ, Yalda came to symbolize the birth of the sun and the gradual return of light after the longest night.
Today, Yalda and Shab-e Cheleh are used interchangeably. Though centuries have passed, the essence remains unchanged: a night rooted in ancient astronomy, seasonal awareness, and the enduring human need to believe that after the deepest darkness, light will return.
Where Yalda Comes From?
Yalda originates from ancient Persia, in what is today Iran, and its roots stretch deep into the early civilizations of the Iranian Plateau. Long before modern calendars or written history, people living in this region closely observed the movement of the sun, the changing seasons, and their impact on agriculture and survival. The winter solstice (when darkness reaches its peak) was impossible to ignore.
While it is difficult to identify the very first celebration of Yalda by an exact date, historians agree that the tradition is pre-Islamic and likely formed thousands of years ago, evolving gradually rather than beginning as a single event. Its foundations can be traced to ancient Iranian beliefs centered on light, time, and cosmic balance.
Yalda is often associated with Mithraic traditions, in which Mithra (the divinity connected to light, truth, and the sun) played a central role. In these belief systems, the winter solstice symbolized the rebirth of light after the longest night, a turning point when darkness began to lose its power. This idea later blended with Zoroastrian concepts that emphasized the eternal struggle between light and darkness, good and evil.
As Persian culture expanded and interacted with neighboring regions, the meaning of Yalda deepened and spread. What began as an astronomical observation became a cultural ritual, a night marked by staying awake, gathering together, and honoring the promise of renewal.
Over centuries, Yalda remained alive not because it was written into law, but because it was practiced in homes. Passed from one generation to the next, it survived empires, religions, and borders. Today, Yalda stands as one of the oldest continuously observed festivals in the region, a quiet inheritance from ancient Persia, still glowing in the modern world.
The Symbols of Yalda
Yalda is filled with symbols, simple objects that carry centuries of meaning. Each one reflects the central idea of the night: light surviving darkness.
One of the most recognizable symbols of Yalda is the pomegranate. With its deep red color and countless seeds, it represents life, fertility, and renewal. Red has long been associated with the sun and blood, the forces that sustain life. Eating pomegranates on Yalda is a way of welcoming vitality and warmth into the heart of winter.
Watermelon may seem like an unusual winter fruit, but its presence on the Yalda table is intentional. Traditionally saved from summer, watermelon symbolizes health and protection against the cold months ahead. Its bright red flesh mirrors the color of the rising sun, a reminder that warmth and light are never truly gone, even in the depths of winter.
Another quiet but powerful symbol is fire and candlelight. Candles are often lit to push back the darkness of the longest night, echoing ancient practices of honoring light. Their soft glow transforms the night into a shared, intimate space, proof that even a small flame can hold back the dark.
Poetry, especially the verses of Hafez, plays a central role in Yalda. Through Fal-e Hafez, families open his book at random, reading poetry as a form of reflection and guidance. This ritual turns words into symbols, blending fate, emotion, and collective memory.
Finally, the most important symbol of Yalda is togetherness. Families gather, stories are told, laughter fills the room, and time slows down. Staying awake through the longest night becomes an act of unity, a shared promise that no one faces darkness alone.
Yalda’s symbols are not extravagant. They are familiar, human, and warm. Yet through them, an ancient message endures: darkness may linger, but light, connection, and hope always return.
Food, Family, and Staying Awake
At the heart of Yalda lies one of the most defining values of Iranian culture: family. In Iran, family is not only important, it is central. Celebrations are meant to be shared, joys are meant to multiply, and even difficult moments are faced together. Yalda reflects this belief more clearly than almost any other tradition.
The longest night of the year is meant to be spent awake, not in silence or solitude, but surrounded by loved ones. Staying awake through the night is symbolic: facing darkness collectively until light returns. It is a quiet reminder that no one is meant to endure long nights alone.
Food plays a meaningful role in this gathering. The Yalda table is filled with familiar, symbolic foods rather than elaborate dishes. Pomegranates and watermelon, with their rich red color, represent life, warmth, and the rising sun. Mixed nuts and dried fruits, known as ajil, symbolize abundance and hope for the months ahead. These foods are shared generously, reinforcing the idea that what we have is meant to be enjoyed together.
In Iranian culture, happiness is not considered trivial. Laughter, storytelling, and music are valued as essential parts of life, especially during hard seasons. On Yalda night, conversations stretch long, jokes are told, and memories are repeated. Elders pass down stories, while children listen, learning that joy itself is a form of resilience.
Staying awake becomes more than a tradition, it becomes an act of togetherness. Candles remain lit, time slows, and the darkness feels lighter when shared. Yalda teaches that warmth does not come only from fire or food, but from presence, connection, and shared happiness.
In this way, Yalda is not only a celebration of the seasons, but a reflection of Iranian values: family first, joy protected, and hope carried forward, together!
Poetry and the Voice of Hafez
No Yalda night feels complete without poetry, and no poet is more closely tied to this tradition than Hafez of Shiraz. Living in the 14th century, Hafez is one of Iran’s most cherished literary figures, admired for his ability to speak about love, longing, faith, joy, and doubt all at once. His poems were later gathered in a collection known as the Divan of Hafez, a book that has become a cultural companion in Iranian homes, often kept close, opened often, and trusted deeply.
Hafez’s poetry is both intimate and expansive. His verses move effortlessly between the spiritual and the everyday, offering wisdom without instruction and emotion without excess. Because his language is layered and symbolic, readers across centuries have felt that his words somehow understand them personally. Each poem feels open, waiting to be interpreted.
This connection comes alive on Yalda through the tradition of Fal-e Hafez. During the gathering, someone opens the Divan at random and reads a poem aloud. While this ritual is sometimes compared to horoscopes or fortune-telling, it is less about predicting the future and more about reflection and dialogue. The poem becomes a lens through which people consider their own feelings, questions, and hopes.
The process is often gentle and communal. A question may be held silently, the poem read slowly, and its meaning discussed together. Different interpretations emerge, none of them final. This openness is part of the beauty, it invites conversation, laughter, and moments of quiet recognition.
On the longest night of the year, poetry offers a different kind of light. Through the voice of Hafez, Yalda becomes not only a celebration of seasons, but a space for thought, imagination, and shared understanding. His words remind us that uncertainty is human, and that meaning can be found even when the night feels endless.
Folklores of Yalda
Yalda has always lived as much in story as in ritual. Long before scientific explanations of the winter solstice, people turned to folklore to make sense of the longest and darkest night of the year. These stories helped transform fear into familiarity and darkness into something that could be faced together.
One of the most enduring figures connected to Yalda is Naneh Sarma (ننه سرما), often described as the mother of winter. In Iranian folklore, she arrives with the cold, covering the earth in frost and snow. She is usually imagined as an elderly woman (quiet, patient, and powerful) who brings winter not out of cruelty, but necessity. To children, she is a storyteller who whispers tales as they fall asleep; to adults, she represents the unavoidable arrival of hardship and rest. Her presence explains the cold nights and long silences of winter, reminding people that nature moves in cycles beyond human control.
Another central folkloric belief tied to Yalda is the idea of the birth or rebirth of the sun. Ancient Iranians believed that on this night, the forces of darkness reached their peak, but immediately began to weaken. With the passing of Yalda, daylight would slowly return, signaling the victory of light over darkness. This belief transformed Yalda from a night of fear into a night of hope. Staying awake was not only practical, it was symbolic. To witness the night fully was to witness its end.
In ancient times, Yalda Night was not seen merely as a celebration, but as the longest and most dangerous night of the year. People believed that darkness reached its peak on this night, giving Div (a figure from Persian mythology symbolizing chaos, deception, and destructive inner forces) more time to spread darkness within human hearts.
In many regions, people believed that evil or negative forces were strongest during the longest night. To protect themselves, families stayed together, lit fires or candles, and filled the darkness with sound, laughter, storytelling, poetry, and music. Silence was avoided, and warmth was shared. These customs were less about superstition and more about emotional survival in a time when winter could be harsh and unforgiving.
Folklore also played a role in education. Elders used Yalda night to pass down stories, moral lessons, and cultural memory. Tales told on this night often emphasized patience, endurance, cleverness, and the importance of community. Through these stories, children learned that difficult seasons pass, and that strength is found in togetherness.
Over centuries, these folk beliefs evolved, blended, and softened, but they never disappeared. Even today, when science explains the solstice and electric lights replace candles, the spirit of these stories remains. Yalda still carries the feeling that this night is different, heavier, slower, and meaningful.
Through folklore, Yalda becomes more than a seasonal event. It becomes a shared narrative about facing darkness without surrendering to it. A reminder, passed quietly from generation to generation, that no matter how long the night lasts, it is never endless.
Yalda Today
Today, Yalda lives in a world very different from the one it was born into, but it has not faded. Instead, it has adapted. What was once shaped by survival, agriculture, and long winter nights now exists alongside smartphones, cities, migration, and fast-moving lives. Yet the core of Yalda remains untouched.
In modern Iran, Yalda is still primarily a family-centered celebration. People gather in homes, often at the house of grandparents or elders, honoring the idea that family is the anchor of life. Tables are prepared with symbolic foods, poetry books are opened, and the night is shared through conversation, laughter, and memory. Even in busy urban life, Yalda creates a pause, a reason to slow down and stay with our family in this busy life.
For Iranians living outside Iran, Yalda has taken on an even deeper meaning. In the diaspora, the celebration becomes a way to protect identity and maintain connection to home. Families recreate Yalda with whatever is available, adapting traditions to new places while keeping their essence alive. In these settings, Yalda is not only cultural, it is emotional. A reminder of belonging.
Social media has also reshaped how Yalda is expressed. Photos of Yalda tables, poetry quotes, and messages of light and hope fill timelines every December. While the format is modern, the message is ancient: togetherness matters, darkness passes, light returns. Yalda has found a new language without losing its voice.
Importantly, Yalda today is no longer limited by borders or religion. It is celebrated by people of different backgrounds who connect with its symbolism rather than its origin. In a world marked by uncertainty, the idea of staying awake together through the longest night feels especially relevant.
Yalda today is quieter than it once was, perhaps, but also more intentional. It is chosen, not imposed. And that choice (to gather, to remember, to celebrate light) keeps the tradition alive.
Yalda survives not because it resists change, but because it carries something timeless: the human need for warmth, meaning, and hope, even in the darkest hours.
Why Yalda Still Matters
Yalda still matters because ancient things matter. Not everything old is outdated, and not everything modern is progress. Traditions like Yalda carry knowledge that has survived not because it was written in stone, but because it was lived, repeated, and protected by people across generations.
Persian culture is one of the few cultures in the world that has remained alive and recognizable for thousands of years. Empires rose and fell, borders shifted, languages evolved, but the core values endured. Celebrations like Yalda are proof of that continuity. They show how a culture can adapt without disappearing, change without losing itself.
Yalda connects modern life to an ancient understanding of the world: that nature moves in cycles, that darkness is temporary, and that community is essential. These ideas were meaningful thousands of years ago, and they remain meaningful now. In this way, Yalda is not a relic of the past, but a living tradition that still speaks.
Preserving ancient customs is not about nostalgia. It is about identity. Culture answers the question of who we are and where we come from. When people gather for Yalda today (whether in Iran or other countries that celebrate Yalda) they are participating in a chain that stretches back centuries. Each celebration is a quiet act of remembrance and survival.
Persian culture has endured because it values poetry over force, memory over erasure, and joy even in difficult seasons. Yalda stands as a reminder that some traditions do not fade with time, they grow stronger, because they are rooted in human experience.
To celebrate Yalda is to say that history still has a place in the present, and that a culture, when carried with care, can remain alive for thousands of years, and still matter.
author: The Museum of Time, Asal Mirzaei
21 December 2025, Lastest update
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