Shabe Chelle (Persian) is an Iranian festival originally celebrated on the Northern Hemisphere’s shortest day of the year, that is, on the eve of the Winter Solstice.

Following the Iranian calendar reform of 1925, which pegged some seasonal events to specific days of the calendar, Yalda came to be celebrated on the 1st day of the 10th month (Dey). Subject to seasonal drift, this day may fall a day before or a day after the actual Winter Solstice.

History and development

The word Yalda derives from a Syriac term signifying “birth.” Due to it being the longest night, “Yalda” was celebrated as the day Mithra was born. The calibration carried on in to Zoroastrianism, ancient Greece, Roman Empire and was adopted by Christians as the birthday of Christ. It is an ancient Indo-European celebration, and a part of the festival was to decorate evergreen trees, which symbolize life and strength, even in today’s Iran. A Winter Solstice festival – Shabe Chelle – had already been celebrated throughout the Iranian world even prior to the introduction of the word Yalda during the early Sassanid Era.

The process by which the term Yalda entered the Persian language is not conclusively established, but is probably attributable to Syriac Christians who received protection from the Sassanid monarchs. While these Christians that brought Yalda to Iran presumably associated the festival with the birth of Christ, the proximity of December 25th to the day of the Winter Solstice (December 21st or 22nd) eventually led to the two festivals being conflated and celebrated as one.

Yalda today

Following the fall of the Sassanid Empire and the subsequent rise of Islam, the religious significance of the event was lost, and like all the other Zoroastrian festivals Yalda became merely a social occasion when family and close friends would get together. Nonetheless, the obligatory serving of fresh fruit during mid-winter is reminiscent of the ancient customs of invoking the divinities to request protection of the winter crop.

The tradition of family gathering survives today in full force. Iranian radio and television continue to have special programming for the night of Yalda.

As a novelty, watermelons may appear at the Korsi. The Korsi is traditional furniture similar to a very short table, around which the family sit on the ground. On it, a blanket made of wool filling is thrown, people leave their legs under the blanket. Inside the korsi, heat is generated by means of coal, electricity or gas heaters.

References

• Price, Massoume (December 8, 1999), Shab-e Yalda, Burlingame: The Iranian, <http://www.iranian.com/History/1999/December/Yalda/>
• Kianush, K. (August 07, 2005), The Festival of ‘Yalda’, Highworth: Art Arena

Kathy is one of the talented Persian artists who has been involved in promoting Iranian culture through her paintings around the world. We were fortunate to set up an interview with her to bring you an outstanding selection of her art work. You can check out her paintings in BidarTV Gallery and watch our interview with her in our home page in the “Recent Shows” tab.

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Hi All,

We just visited the House of Iran in Balboa Park, San Diego.
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