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Yalda (A Persian Celebration)
--from wikipedia
Shabe Yaldā (Persian: یلدا) or Shabe Chelle (Persian: شب چله) 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.
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