Yalda Night

Common card · No. 207503

Yaldā Night (Persian: شب یلدا, romanized: šab-i yaldā, pronounced [ʃa.bi jal.ˈdaː]) or Chilla Night (also Chelle Night, Persian: شب چلّه, romanized: šab-i čilla, lit. 'fortieth night', pronounced [ʃa.bi t͡ʃil.ˈla]) is an ancient festival in Iran, Kurdistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan that is celebrated on the winter solstice of the Northern Hemisphere. This corresponds to the night of December 21 (or 20 during leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, and to the night between the last day of the ninth month (Azar) and the first day of the tenth month (Dey) of the Iranian solar calendar. 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 Shahnameh until well after midnight. Fruits and nuts are eaten and pomegranates and watermelons are particularly significant. The red colour in these fruits symbolizes the crimson hues of dawn and the glow of life. The poems of...

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