شب یلدا (Shab-e Yalda)
Over winter break, my family and I celebrated شب یلدا (Shab-e Yalda), translated to the “Night of Rebirth,” which is an ancient Persian celebration that honors the longest and darkest night of the year. Every winter, families gather together to ward off the dark and evil spirits and welcome the birth of the sun, a tradition that dates back to ancient Persia.
Traditionally, people gather together at the eldest family member's home and stay awake until dawn. This Yalda, we celebrated at my cousin’s house, where we shared jokes, danced, ate, and read from the Divan-e Hafez book. The Hafez book consists of a collection of poems on spirituality, love, and many other words of guidance. Although it is traditional for the eldest person in the family to read from the book of Hafez, this year, my cousin and I wanted to read some lines from the book. I was so proud of myself for being able to read the poem in original Persian, but I relied on an English translation to understand the meaning. Along with reading the poems, our celebration was also accompanied by eating many traditional foods, including fesenjoon ( فسنجان), pomegranates (انار), watermelon, and nuts. Each food holds a symbolic meaning for the night of Yalda; pomegranates symbolize light and goodness, and watermelons symbolize the sun, and it’s believed that eating watermelon will help ward away winter diseases. Shab-e Yalda is a holiday that many Iranians have celebrated over many years, holding tradition together from ancient times.
Overall, this experience made me feel even more connected to my Persian roots. It was especially meaningful this time because I had conversations with my family in Persian and even read traditional Persian poetry, which felt really special.
~aerisjoon