Transformation of Yalda in Contemporary Iranian Culture

The discussion revolves around the rulers of the darkness of Yalda night, the light from the sun, as expressed by Hafez. Celebrating Yalda night and gathering families around a table filled with food and sweet words is one of the oldest rituals of Iranians. This ritual, which marks the beginning of the winter solstice, is rooted in historical values such as the veneration of the sun, the end of the harvest season, and the promise of overcoming darkness together, heralding the arrival of light and justice. However, the social position and meaning of this ritual in contemporary Iranian culture have undergone transformations in recent decades. Today, this ritual has become so widespread in Iran, especially in large cities, that government officials and cultural authorities are compelled to respond to it. The Cultural Heritage Organization has banned Yalda night tours, citing its coincidence with the 28th of Safar, which in the Shia Islamic calendar corresponds to mourning for the anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad's death and Imam Hassan, the second Shia Imam. This government reaction follows recent years where tourism agencies and non-governmental cultural associations have organized Yalda night events at tourist sites across Iran. Furthermore, Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, a cleric close to the Iranian government, has called on people to refrain from celebrating on this night in response to a fatwa regarding Yalda. However, he has approved family visits and gatherings on this night, a practice known as 'Sileh Rahm' in jurisprudence. The cautious reaction of the Cultural Heritage Organization seems to be a form of political preemptive measure against potential pressure from extremists and more zealous religious factions regarding public attention to Yalda night. For instance, Mahmoud Karimi, a well-known cleric who gained notoriety for an armed attack on passengers in a car in Tehran last year, has called for a boycott of Yalda night on his Facebook page, stating, 'Yalda night boycott... This is the voice of the Twelver Shia's breath. What does joy mean? What does laughter mean? Our lives have been spent on a bunch of superstitions that I should laugh at the moment that is long tonight!' The Iranian government has been cautious in its approach to Yalda to ensure that its stance does not appear to oppose Yalda, reflecting the government's effort to promote Islamic rituals over pre-Islamic ancient traditions without facing public discontent. Since the early years after the revolution, the government has attempted to adopt rituals like the Nowruz Haft-Seen with some modifications to align with Islamic traditions, but has shown some resistance to others like Chaharshanbe Suri. Yalda was one of the rituals that the government remained largely silent about. However, most observers of cultural developments in Iran say that attention to Yalda night and its traditions among the people, especially in cities like Tehran, has increased. This attention is partly a result of cultural resistance against the government's anti-ancient Iranian ritual stance and partly due to the support of some segments of the more religious middle class for this ritual. In the years following the revolution, alongside some attacks by extremist factions against ancient Iranian values and rituals, sensitivities among certain segments of Iranian society regarding the preservation of ancient cultural symbols have also increased. In this context, in 2008, a group of 46 cultural associations and NGOs wrote to the Iranian Public Culture Council requesting the registration of Yalda as a national holiday in the official calendar, and Mansour Vaezi, the then-secretary of the Public Culture Council, announced its approval. Additionally, that same year, the Cultural Heritage Organization announced that the Yalda night ritual had been registered as part of the country’s intangible heritage and also reported efforts to register it as a global intangible heritage with UNESCO. Anthropological studies in Iran show that Yalda night rituals are held in almost all regions of contemporary Iran, from cities like Tehran, Mashhad, and Shiraz to areas like Kurdistan, Khuzestan, Gilan, and Azerbaijan, encompassing various ethnic and religious spectrums. According to a study conducted by the Media Studies and Research Center of the Hamshahri Institute in 2009, 72% of people in Tehran reported that they celebrate Yalda night. Nearly 40% said they do so to preserve national customs, and 41% stated that they read Hafez or take Hafez’s fortune on this night. Therefore, Yalda night can be considered one of the symbolic rituals that reflect the current national values of Iran, values that are learned from childhood within families, from rural to urban households. However, the types of fruits and foods recognized as special for Yalda night vary across different regions of Iran, reflecting the diverse agricultural products of these areas. Pomegranate and watermelon are the most common fruits consumed on Yalda night, usually accompanied by various nuts across different regions of Iran. Just as the tradition of family gatherings and the pleasant atmosphere of enjoying delicious fruits and foods have contributed to the continuity of Yalda culture, Persian poetry has also played an effective role in transmitting this culture. Saadi and Hafez, the undisputed masters of Persian poetry, have immortalized Yalda by intertwining it with their love and wisdom in Persian culture. They have established an understanding of Yalda that can also be seen in poets before them. In their poetry, references to the simultaneous belief of Yalda night with the birth of Christ can be found. Additionally, various interpretations exist regarding the end of Yalda night and the beginning of the reign of the sun, which clearly alludes to the ancient belief of Yalda coinciding with the birth of the sun. In contemporary times, Ibrahim Pourdavood's interpretation of Yalda has given this ritual a new position among Iranian nationalists. Pourdavood's interpretation of the Yashas is based on the belief that Yalda is an Aryan tradition rooted in Mithraism, celebrating the birth of Mithra, the sun god. This belief has been emphasized by figures like Dehkhoda and has now become widespread among Iranians. Thus, accepting the belief in the birth of Christ on Yalda night is also a result of this belief and has Aryan roots. This belief has been questioned by some researchers in recent years. Khodadad Reza Khani, an ancient history specialist, considers the roots of Yalda in Mesopotamian traditions, identifying Yalda night as the birthday of a Babylonian god named 'Shamash' (etymologically related to the Arabic word 'Shams,' meaning sun). Mr. Reza Khani sees the Aramaic word Yalda as a sign of this cultural transfer from Mesopotamian beliefs to ancient Iran, which aligned with the Iranian belief in Mithra as the sun god. However, regardless of which interpretation one accepts, it does not change the fact that celebrating Yalda night is a traditional practice in ancient Iran, including among Zoroastrians, that has been passed down into post-Islamic culture. Nevertheless, one cannot overlook the difference in the cultural status of the Yalda ritual compared to traditions like Nowruz and the Sadeh festival. While the rituals associated with Nowruz and Sadeh have been included in the official calendars of Iranian governments since the Achaemenid era and have been officially celebrated by authorities, Yalda night has remained a family and popular tradition. This position distinguishes the meaning of Yalda in ancient Iranian political culture from celebrations like Nowruz. Yalda has been a popular ritual where the participation of kings was more about approaching the people. This perspective on Yalda is well illustrated in the account provided by Abu Rayhan Biruni, an anthropologist and historian of the fourth century, in 'The Remaining Signs of Past Times' about the customs of the day after Yalda: 'The king would come down from the royal throne, wear white garments, and sit on white carpets in the desert, dismissing the guards and attendants, who are in awe of the king, and would observe the affairs of the world with a carefree demeanor. Anyone in need who wished to speak to the king, whether a beggar or a wealthy noble, could approach the king without any guard or hindrance and converse with him freely. On this day, the king mingled with the farmers and laborers, shared a meal with them, and said: 'Today, I am like one of you, and I am your brother because the stability of the world depends on the work done by you, and the stability of its construction also depends on the king. Neither the king can escape from the subjects, nor the subjects from the king, and since this is the truth, I, as the king, will be a brother to you laborers, and we will be like two kind brothers.' Yalda, a ritual for enduring the long night of darkness, has given a sense of public empathy to the cultural values embedded in Yalda night ceremonies, transforming it into a symbol of striving to joyfully endure the long night of darkness as a representation of the difficult days and years of injustice. These values are reflected not only in classical Iranian poetry but also in contemporary Iranian poetry. In contemporary Iranian poetry, and among poets like Shamloo, Yalda night has become a metaphor for the dark night of oppression, an endurance made possible through love. Thus, two forms of social and romantic interpretation of Yalda are always seen together in Persian poetry. A sign of the hopeful darkness of Yalda night, as expressed in Saadi's words: 'Arise, O morning of the eager, if the time of day has come, for this Yalda night has taken away the sorrow from the moon and Pleiades.'