Iranians to Celebrate Yalda' as Longest Night of the Year
"Yalda" is a Syriac word meaning birth and according to Mithraism, a faith that initially originated from Persia and later spread out throughout the ancient civilized world, the first day of winter which falls on December 21 this year, was celebrated as the birthday of Mithra, the Angel of Light.
Ancient Iranians believed that two groups of angels - good and bad - were in constant fight on the earth with each other and that on the dawn of the first day of the month of Day', beginning December 21, and with the victory of the rising sun as the symbol of "Ahura Mazda", the Zoroastrian God, over the evil of darkness the fight would come to an end.
People had developed the idea that the longest night of the year, when the evil of darkness found an opportunity to stay longer, was an inauspicious occasion and, therefore, they would gather together and stay awake the whole night by holding celebrations and making fire in order to pass behind the ominous night.
They would try to keep the fire alive all through the night and the person in charge of the task was called "Atropat" or the "Guardian of Fire" who used to have a religious rank in ancient Persia.
Ancient Iranians believed that the beginning of the year marked with the re-emergence or rebirth of the sun which coincided with the first day of the month of Day' when sun was salvaged from the claws of the Devil of Darkness and gradually spread its domination over the world.
However, apart from its religious and traditional characteristics, "Yalda" has long been observed in the Iranian culture as the longest night of the year.
On this night, all members of the family will stay together, narrate old stories, play traditional games and eat dried fruits and candies. The fruits that are specially served at this night are sweet melon, water melon, grapes and pomegranates.
Another tradition that is observed on the night of Yalda is reading poems of the highly revered Iranian poet "Hafez".
(IRNA)