Happy Yalda!
Yalda is the longest night of the year – or, more positively, the night after which the days become longer, and the sun starts to win again. Although it’s on December 20 or 21st, I’ve put this posting up early, since SOAS are having a special Yalda night on the 17th and you might still have a chance to get a ticket.
Yalda is a big thing in Iran – click here to see a 2 minute video about what goes on. Fal-e Hafiz, or divination with the Divan of Hafiz, is one of the traditional things to do. Anyone with a question should hold that question in their mind, and then open the book at random. The first line that the questioner sees, gives the answer to the question, while the rest of the ghazal gives clarification. If you don’t happen to have a Divan at home then click here, and the internet will randomly pick you out a verse.
With my historical hat on, I could point out that Yalda is linked to Christmas – Mithra-worshippers used the term ‘yalda’ (‘birth’, in Syriac) with reference to the birth of Mithra. In the 4th century AD, errors in calculating leap years and dates meant that Mithra’s birthday was moved to 25 December. And with the cult of Mithra popular in Roman Europe, the Christian Church adopted many Mithraic rituals and proclaimed 25th December as the official birthday of Christ.