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Reverted 1 edit by Darius250000 (talk): Please stop removing perfectly good comments. (TW)
Azeris need to stop ruining Persian History. You left Iran after WWI create your own Russian Azeri culture.
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'''Shabe Yalda''' ("Yalda night"<!-- Steingass p. 729 says "longest winter-night"--> {{lang-fa|Ŝabe Yaldā}}) is an [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] festival celebrated on the "longest and darkest night of the year,"<ref group="rs" name="EIr_Sada" group="rs" /><!-- *** group="rs" =reliable source, conforming with Wikipedia's [[WP:RS]] policy. *** --> that is, in the night of the [[Northern Hemisphere]]'s [[December solstice|winter solstice]]. Calendarically, it is celebrated in the night between the last day of the ninth month (''[[Azar]]'') and the first day of the tenth month ([[Dey (month)|''Dae'']])<ref group="rs" name="EIr_Chella1" /> of the [[Solar Hijri calendar|Iranian civil calendar]], which corresponds to the night of December 20 or 21 each year.<ref group="rs" name="EIr_Chella1" />
'''Shabe Yalda''' ("Yalda night"<!-- Steingass p. 729 says "longest winter-night"--> {{lang-fa|Ŝabe Yaldā}}) is an [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] festival celebrated on the "longest and darkest night of the year,"<ref group="rs" name="EIr_Sada" group="rs" /><!-- *** group="rs" =reliable source, conforming with Wikipedia's [[WP:RS]] policy. *** --> that is, in the night of the [[Northern Hemisphere]]'s [[December solstice|winter solstice]]. Calendarically, it is celebrated in the night between the last day of the ninth month (''[[Azar]]'') and the first day of the tenth month ([[Dey (month)|''Dae'']])<ref group="rs" name="EIr_Chella1" /> of the [[Solar Hijri calendar|Iranian civil calendar]], which corresponds to the night of December 20 or 21 each year.<ref group="rs" name="EIr_Chella1" />
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Even though often repeated, Yalda/"birth" has nothing to do with Mithra.


The mistake is originally due to late 19th/early 20th century scholarship by Franz Cumont which assumed that the *Roman* cult of Mithras originated in Iran. That "continuity theory" is no longer followed today (the Roman cult may have borrowed, but it certainly did not originate in Iran). For further details, see the summary of the problem in the Encyclopaedia Iranica article on "Mithraism". The association of Mithra with Yalda is from the same mistake: because the Roman cult was once (mistakenly) imagined to have something to do with Christmas, and because the Roman cult was (mistakenly) presumed to come from Iran, somebody added the two mistakes and made another blunder.

Every so often someone comes along and adds some Mithra/"birth"/Yalda silliness, then someone else tags it with "no-source" or "unreliable", then it gets deleted, and then someone else comes along and the loop starts all over again. All the Mithra/"birth"/Yalda stuff is simply not correct, so there are no reliable sources for it. So its not going to stick, and so please spare everyone the headache and don't add it. PLEASE. Its not going to become true by repeating it again.

Mithra was not "born", and Yalda is not a particularly Mithra-related festival (only in a very extended sense). Though an association with renewal (which is not the same as the Egyptians' "rebirth" of the sun) may indeed have developed at some point, even that will require a reliable source to support it. Wikipedia has a policy on the use of _reliable_sources_. The Mithra/"birth"/Yalda stuff on the Internet is *NOT* reliable.
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The longest and darkest night of the year is a time when friends and family gather together to eat, drink and read poetry (especially [[Hafez]]) until well after midnight. Fruits and nuts are eaten and pomegranates and watermelons are particularly significant. The red color in these fruits symbolizes the crimson hues of dawn and glow of life. The poems of Divan-e-Hafez, which can be found in the bookcases of most [[Iranian peoples|Iranians]] families, are intermingled with peoples' life and are read or recited during various occasions like this festival and at [[Nowruz]].
The longest and darkest night of the year is a time when friends and family gather together to eat, drink and read poetry (especially [[Hafez]]) until well after midnight. Fruits and nuts are eaten and pomegranates and watermelons are particularly significant. The red color in these fruits symbolizes the crimson hues of dawn and glow of life. The poems of Divan-e-Hafez, which can be found in the bookcases of most [[Iranian peoples|Iranians]] families, are intermingled with peoples' life and are read or recited during various occasions like this festival and at [[Nowruz]].


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Food plays a central role in the present-day form of the celebrations. In most parts of Iran the extended family come together and enjoy a fine dinner. A wide variety of fruits and sweetmeats specifically prepared or kept for this night are served. Foods common to the celebration include watermelon, pomegranate, nuts, and dried fruit. These items and more are commonly placed on a ''[[korsi]]'', which people sit around. In some areas it is custom that forty varieties of edibles should be served during the ceremony of the night of Chelleh.
Food plays a central role in the present-day form of the celebrations. In most parts of Iran the extended family come together and enjoy a fine dinner. A wide variety of fruits and sweetmeats specifically prepared or kept for this night are served. Foods common to the celebration include watermelon, pomegranate, nuts, and dried fruit. These items and more are commonly placed on a ''[[korsi]]'', which people sit around. In some areas it is custom that forty varieties of edibles should be served during the ceremony of the night of Chelleh.


Light-hearted superstitions run high on the night of Chelleh. These superstitions, however, are primarily associated with consumption. For instance, it is believed that consuming watermelons on the night of Chelleh will ensure the health and well-being of the individual during the months of summer by protect­ing him from falling victim to excessive heat or disease produced by hot humors. In Khorasan, there is a belief that whoever eats carrots, pears, pomegranates, and green olives will be protected against the harmful bite of insects, especially scorpions. Eating garlic on this night protects one against pains in the joints. Placing one's mouth near a donkey's ear and whispering into its ear is certain to cure any ailment, while mixing camel fat and mare's milk and burning them will protect from insects the place where the smoke from this concoction penetrates.<ref group="rs" name="EIr_Chella1" />


After dinner the older indi­viduals entertain the others by telling them tales and anecdotes . Another favorite and prevalent pastime of the night of Chelleh is divination by the Dīvān of Hafez ([[Bibliomancy|fāl-e Hafez]]). It is believed that one should not divine by the Dīvān of Hafez more than three times, however, or the poet may get angry.<ref group="rs" name="EIr_Chella1" />
After dinner the older indi­viduals entertain the others by telling them tales and anecdotes . Another favorite and prevalent pastime of the night of Chelleh is divination by the Dīvān of Hafez ([[Bibliomancy|fāl-e Hafez]]). It is believed that one should not divine by the Dīvān of Hafez more than three times, however, or the poet may get angry.<ref group="rs" name="EIr_Chella1" />
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Another custom performed in certain parts of Iran on the night of Chelleh involves young engaged couples. The men send an edible arrangement containing seven kinds of fruits and a variety of gifts to their fiancees on this night. In some areas, the girl and her family return the favor by sending gifts back for the young man.<ref group="rs" name="EIr_Chella1" />
Another custom performed in certain parts of Iran on the night of Chelleh involves young engaged couples. The men send an edible arrangement containing seven kinds of fruits and a variety of gifts to their fiancees on this night. In some areas, the girl and her family return the favor by sending gifts back for the young man.<ref group="rs" name="EIr_Chella1" />


== Yalda and Christmas ==
In the 4th century, Christianity replaced [[Mithraism]] in the Roman Empire. As the former did not have any ritual tradition of its own, it absorbed nearly all of the rituals and the symbolic dates of the Mithraists.
In particular the 25th of December, Mithra’s date of birth, became that of Christ. Sunday (day of the sun), holiday of the Mithraists, became the holiday of the Christians. The Christmas tree, holy bread and more other things entered, in this way, the Christian traditions. The Christian priest would furthermore be called “my Father”, following the title of the great master of the 7th degree of the Mithraists. Centuries later the Mithraism became a basic part of freemasonry.
Until that time the birthday of Jesus Christ was celebrated in January the 6th. But the religion of most of the Romans and the people of many of the European countries was still Mithraism. But when Christianity spread, the priests, since could not stop the practice of celebrating Mithra's birthday on December the 25th. declared this day as Jesus's birthday which is still so.

Since the first night of winter( 21th of December) is the longest night and from that night on the days get longer and the warmth and light of the sun increases, that night was supposed to be the time for the re-birth of sun. The Aryan tribes, in India, Iran and Europe celebrated sun's birth at the beginning of winter.
Yalda is a Soriani word meaning birth. The Roman used the word natalis for birth. <ref group="rs" name="EIr_Chella1" />


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 04:46, 22 December 2014

For the demiurge, see Yaldabaoth
Shabe Yalda (Persian: Ŝabe Yaldā)
Observed by Iran
 Afghanistan
 Azerbaijan
 Tajikistan
 Turkmenistan
 Kurdistan
 Uzbekistan
SignificanceLongest night of the year[rs 1]
DateDecember 20, 21 or 22 (night of the Winter Solstice)
Frequencyannual

Shabe Yalda ("Yalda night" Persian: Ŝabe Yaldā) is an Iranian festival celebrated on the "longest and darkest night of the year,"[rs 1] that is, in the night of the Northern Hemisphere's winter solstice. Calendarically, it is celebrated in the night between the last day of the ninth month (Azar) and the first day of the tenth month (Dae)[rs 2] of the Iranian civil calendar, which corresponds to the night of December 20 or 21 each year.[rs 2]


The longest and darkest night of the year is a time when friends and family gather together to eat, drink and read poetry (especially Hafez) until well after midnight. Fruits and nuts are eaten and pomegranates and watermelons are particularly significant. The red color in these fruits symbolizes the crimson hues of dawn and glow of life. The poems of Divan-e-Hafez, which can be found in the bookcases of most Iranians families, are intermingled with peoples' life and are read or recited during various occasions like this festival and at Nowruz.

The longest and darkest night of the year marks "the night opening the initial forty-day period of the three-month winter",[rs 1] from which the name Chella, "forty", derives.[rs 2] There are all together three 40-day periods, one in summer, and two in winter. The two winter periods are known as the "great chella" period ([further explanation needed] to [further explanation needed],[rs 2] 40 full days), followed/overlapped by the "small chella" period ([further explanation needed] to [further explanation needed],[rs 2] 20 days + 20 nights = 40 nights and days). Shab-e Chella is the night opening the "big chella" period, that is the night between the last day of autumn and the first day of winter. The other name of the festival, 'Yaldā', is a borrowing from Syriac[rs 1] and is "connected with Christianity".[rs 1] In the 1st-3rd centuries, significant numbers of Eastern Christians settled in Arsacid and Sassanid territories, where they had received protection from religious persecution. Through them, Western Iranians (i.e. Parthians, Persians etc.) came in contact with Christian religious observances, including, it seems, Nestorian Christian Yalda, which in Syriac (a Middle Aramaic dialect) literally means "birth"[1] but was also one of the Syriac words for Christmas,[rs 3] which -- because it fell nine months after Annunciation -- was celebrated on eve of the winter solstice. Although it is not clear when and where the Syriac word was adopted into Persian, gradually 'Shab-e Yalda' and 'Shab-e Cheleh' became synonymous and the two are used interchangeably.

An association with the 40-day "chella" period is preserved amongst Iranian Azerbaijanis, who call it Chilla Gejasi, which means the beginning of the first 40 days of winter.[2] The Iranian concept also survives in Urdu-speaking Kashmir, India, where Chillai Kalan designates the 40-day harshest winter period.[3]

Shab-e Chella was officially added to Iran's List of National Treasures in a special ceremony in 2008.

Customs and Traditions

Yalda setting
Traditional sweet of Yaldā in Zibad, Razavi Khorasan Province
Pomegranate is necessary for Yalda.
Persian Lady recites Hafez poems in Yalda Night

The names Shab-e Chelleh and Shab-e Yalda are from Islamic times.[rs 1] In pre-Islamic Zoroastrian tradition the longest and darkest night of the year was a particularly inauspicious day, and the practices of what is now known as "Shab-e Chelleh/Yalda" were originally customs intended to protect people from evil (see dews) during that long night.[rs 4] People were advised to stay awake most of the night, lest misfortune should befall them, and people would then gather in the safety of groups of friends and relatives, share the last remaining fruits from the summer, and find ways to pass the long night together in good company.[rs 4] The next day (i.e. the first day of Dae month) was then a day of celebration,[note 1] and (at least in the 10th century, as recorded by Al-Biruni), the festival of the first day of Dae month was known as Ḵorram-ruz (joyful day) or Navad-ruz (ninety days [left to Nowruz]).[rs 1] Although the religious significance of the long dark night have been lost, the old traditions of staying up late in the company of friends and family have been retained in Iranian culture to the present day.

References to other older festivals held around the winter solstice are known from both Middle Persian texts as well as texts of the early Islamic period.[rs 1] In the 10th century, Al-Biruni mentions an Adar Jashan festival of fire celebrated on the intersection of Adar day (9th) of Adar month (9th), which is the last autumn month.[rs 1] This was probably the same as the fire festival called Shahrevaragan (Shahrivar day of Shahrivar month), which marked the beginning of winter in Tokarestan.[rs 1] Sufism's Chella, which is a 40-day period of retreat and fasting,[rs 6] is not related to winter solstice festival.

Food plays a central role in the present-day form of the celebrations. In most parts of Iran the extended family come together and enjoy a fine dinner. A wide variety of fruits and sweetmeats specifically prepared or kept for this night are served. Foods common to the celebration include watermelon, pomegranate, nuts, and dried fruit. These items and more are commonly placed on a korsi, which people sit around. In some areas it is custom that forty varieties of edibles should be served during the ceremony of the night of Chelleh.


After dinner the older indi­viduals entertain the others by telling them tales and anecdotes . Another favorite and prevalent pastime of the night of Chelleh is divination by the Dīvān of Hafez (fāl-e Hafez). It is believed that one should not divine by the Dīvān of Hafez more than three times, however, or the poet may get angry.[rs 2]

Activities common to the festival include staying up past midnight, conversation, eating, reading poems out loud, telling stories and jokes, smoking "Ghelyoon" (water pipe), and for some dancing. Prior to invention and prevalence of electricity, decorating and lighting the house and yard with candles was also part of the tradition, but few have continued this tradition. Another tradition is giving dried fruits and nuts to family and friends, wrapped in tulle and tied with ribbon (similar to wedding and shower "party favors"). Prior to ban of alcohol, drinking wine was also part of the celebration. Despite the Islamic alcohol ban in Iran, many continue to include home-made and contraband alcoholic drinks in their celebrations.

Another custom performed in certain parts of Iran on the night of Chelleh involves young engaged couples. The men send an edible arrangement containing seven kinds of fruits and a variety of gifts to their fiancees on this night. In some areas, the girl and her family return the favor by sending gifts back for the young man.[rs 2]


References

Notes
  1. ^ The first day (Ormuzd day) of Dae month was/is the first of the four name-day feast days of the Creator Ahura Mazda (Dae, "Creator"; Ormuzd = Ahura Mazda),[rs 5] for which Al-Biruni notes that in earlier times, "on the day and month both called by the name of God, i.e. (Hormuzd), [...] the king used to descend from the throne of the empire in white dresses, [...] suspend all the pomp of royalty, and exclusively give himself up to considerations of the affairs of the realm and its inhabitants." Anyone could address the king, and the monarch would meet with commoners, eat and drink with them, and he would declare his brothership with them, and acknowledge his dependency on them (Albîrûnî, "Dai-Mâh", On the Festivals in the Months of the Persians in The Chronology of Ancient Nations, tr. Sachau, pp. 211-212).
Citations
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Krasnowolska, Anna (2009), "Sada Festival", Encyclopaedia Iranica, New York: iranicaonline.com.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Omidsalar, Mahmoud (1990), "Čella I: In Persian Folklore", Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol. V, New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul, pp. 123–124.
  3. ^ Payne Smith, J., ed. (1903), "ܝܠܕܐ", Syriac Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon, p. 192.
  4. ^ a b Daniel, Elton L.; Mahdi, Ali Akbar (2006), Culture and customs of Iran, Westport: Greenwood, p. 188, ISBN 0-313-32053-5.
  5. ^ Boyce, Mary (1999), "Festivals I", Encyclopedia Iranica, vol. IX, f5, pp. 543–546.
  6. ^ Algar, Hamid (1990), "Čella II: In Sufism", Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol. V, New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul, pp. 124–125.
  1. ^ Syriac Dictionary: ܝܠܕܐ
  2. ^ "چیلله گئجه سی". ahrabnews.com. Retrieved Jan 10, 2012.
  3. ^ Bashir, Sheikh Imran; Agence India Press (21 December 2011), "40-day harshest winter period 'Chillai Kalan' begins in Kashmir", Two Circles, Cambridge, MA: urdustan.com, retrieved 2013-12-18

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yalda night.
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