Shab-e Yalda

A winter festival that predates Islam becomes an occasion to reassert national identity and Persian culture.

The winter solstice begins on the last day of the month of Azar in the Persian calendar — the longest night of the year, the night of Yalda.

Before Zoroaster, the Iranians had a polytheistic religion quite similar to Hinduism and Mithra was the most important of their gods and Yalda was the night when Mithra, the angel of light and truth, was born. The tradition was adopted in turn by the Zoroastrians. The most important Mithraic ceremony was the sacrifice of a bull but Zoroaster denounced the sacrifice of the bull.

With the arrival of Islam on the Iranian Plateau, Yalda became a purely social occasion without religious or official standing. For centuries, it was quietly observed by many Iranians with family gatherings and readings from the classical masters such as Hafez. That has largely changed now!

Yalda night: Cars choke the streets of Tehran and the capital’s notorious traffic jams are even worse than usual. People are heading to their Yalda parties after lining up outside shops since early afternoon. The shelves of pastry stores are empty. The prices for pistachios and the dried fruit-and-nut mix known as ajil have been rising for the past week, although the bakery and candy shop syndicate has announced that there is no shortage of Yalda treats. Cafe’s across the city have hung signs inviting people to come celebrate Yalda. To a foreign observer, it would seem self-evident that an important national holiday is being observed.

Nooshin, a psychologist from south Tehran, agrees. “Yalda was an occasion for people to get together, to meet their elders and to recite poetry and have fresh fruits and snacks.” Now, “Yalda is a really big deal for many,” she says. “From a night of family reunions and poetry readings, Yalda has evolved into a night of dancing and parties.” She has seen many Yalda fêtes where alcohol -entirely illegal in Iran- flowed freely.

Tonight she will drop by her grandparents’ place, but then head elsewhere for most of the evening. “My brother and I will hit a few parties in the north of Tehran.” She even plans a costume change: a fashionable, yet modest outfit for the family will be followed by an evening dress for the party rounds. “It’s a younger crowd and you need to look good,” she explains. As for alcohol, she is looking forward to having some wine after hearing her grandfather read from Hafez. “A party without alcohol is not a party!” she proclaims.

There is a heavy trade in alcoholic beverages as well. Kasra, a 26-year-old salesman, has already received his orders of beer and Cognac for the night.

According to Morteza, “People are celebrating their heritage. They want to tell the government that they are Iranians and they have Iranian heritage too.” (not just Islamic).

Celebrating Yalda as a way of underscoring a distinctly Iranian identity is not new, says Nooshin. “However, people have become adamant about their cultural identity recently,” she asserts. Mr. Hosseini concurs completely. “Our government wants to change us into something we are not. People do not want that and use every opportunity to keep their traditions.”

It is getting late and the streets are still jammed. Yalda has just begun. Tehran, under the veil of darkness, celebrates its own unconquerable spirit.