Yalda is the longest night of the year and one of the biggest festive occasions in Iran. The celebration of Yalda is a tribute to science in old ages. Our ancestors designed the solar calendar more than 7000 years ago, and figured out that the first night of the winter is the longest night of the year.

Iranians have celebrated the night of Yalda for centuries, not missing it once even during the invasions of Turks and Mongols. At this night, families gather together at the houses of the eldest members of the family and pass the night by chatting and storytelling and narrating tales from the past. In some Iranian cities, people lay out the Yalda spread with watermelons and other colorful autumn fruits and nuts. Iranians have always been passionate about merriment and celebrations, and the concept of light has always been a part of every celebration. At this first night of the winter, Iranians sit around the fireplace or the traditional “Korsi” (a blanket-covered table with a brazier of hot coals underneath) and summon the warmth of the fire to fight the cold of the winter. Visiting the elder members of the family and getting together with friends is an admirable tradition of this night.

The fact that the ancient Iranians had achieved a calendar predicting the timings of sunrise and sunset with such precision is a constant source of amazement for the advanced, contemporary man. Thousands of years ago, our ancestors discovered that lunar calendars were not completely reliable, and so they started to investigate the solar movements to use them as a basis for their new calendar. They studied the positions of the sun as it appeared to move on the celestial sphere and picked a special name for each sign of zodiac. Finally, they found out that the rising of the sun in the sign of Aries marks the beginning of spring, when the night and day are of the same length.

We celebrate the Night of Yalda to cherish the memory of great men like Khayyam and those who preceded him. Iranians have always paid tribute to the sun in all their celebrations and regarded it as a symbol of goodness, an attitude which finds a new meaning during the longest and darkest night of the year. People all around the country stay awake and wait for the dawn, eager to watch and admire the sun as it moves up in the sky. Eating such a lot of snacks can be regarded as an excuse to stay up and await the new day.