Yalda Night: Ancient Solstice Festival and Symbol of Cultural Resilience

DID Press: Yalda Night, the oldest surviving festival from the ancient world, symbolizes the triumph of light over darkness and represents a shared cultural memory across the Iranian civilizational sphere. From Iran and Afghanistan to Central Asia and the Caucasus, the longest night of the year continues to carry deep mythological, religious, and cultural meanings, expressed in diverse local forms.

The origins of Yalda date back to pre-Zoroastrian beliefs and Mithraic traditions, in which the winter solstice marked the rebirth of the sun and the gradual return of light. The word Yalda, derived from Syriac and meaning “birth,” later became associated with the symbolic birth of the sun. During the Sassanian era, the night gained official recognition in the ritual calendar, and after the advent of Islam it endured as a cultural and family tradition rather than a religious rite.

Across the Yalda cultural sphere, practices differ in form but share a common spirit. In Iran, the night is marked by family gatherings, poetry recitations, reading Hafez, and symbolic foods such as pomegranates and watermelon. In Tajikistan and parts of Central Asia, storytelling and the transmission of wisdom by elders are central, while in the Caucasus and eastern Anatolia, Yalda blends with local winter customs.

In Afghanistan, Yalda has traditionally been observed among Persian-speaking communities, particularly in Kabul, Herat, and Balkh. However, decades of war, poverty, and, more recently, Taliban restrictions have pushed the celebration into private spaces. For many Afghans today, Yalda is no longer a public festivity but a quiet act of cultural endurance.

Despite these constraints, families and cultural circles continue to keep the tradition alive through small gatherings, poetry, and remembrance. In this context, Yalda has become a symbol of soft cultural resistance and the preservation of historical identity.

Today, Yalda stands not only as an ancient celebration of the sun’s rebirth, but also as a testament to cultural resilience—an enduring light sustained by memory and hope, even in the darkest of times.