Yalda, also called shab-e-chelle, is the annual observance of the triumph of light over darkness. This festivity happens on the last night of autumn, or the winter solstice (December 20 or 21). Iranians celebrate putting the longest night of the year behind them and anticipating more sunlight as the days get longer. On this joyful night, families and friends get together to drink, eat nuts, watermelons, and pomegranates, and read poems by Hafez, a fourteenth-century Persian poet who wrote about love, wine, and ecstasy.
Happy Yalda!
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