The Persian winter solstice festival is called Yalda, or Yalda Night.
Yalda is celebrated on the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, marking the transition from autumn to winter. In Iran’s solar calendar, it falls between the last day of the month of Azar and the first day of Dey. Families commonly gather late into the night, eat fruit and nuts, and read poetry, especially the works of the Persian poet Hafez.
The festival is also known as Shab-e Chelleh, meaning “Night of Chelleh.” Chelleh refers to the opening of the major forty-day winter period. Pomegranates and watermelon are especially associated with the celebration, symbolizing life, warmth and the hope that light will overcome darkness.
A common mix-up is to treat Yalda as another name for Nowruz. Nowruz is the Persian New Year and spring equinox festival, whereas Yalda belongs to the winter solstice. The word Yalda itself entered Persian through Syriac, where it means “birth.”