Yalda, the victory of light over darkness

Millions of Iranians all over the world Saturday night will celebrate ‘Yalda’, on the Northern Hemisphere’s longest night of the year, that is, on the eve of the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year and the first night of winter as a token of victory of the angel of goodness over the devil of badness.
‘Yalda’ is a Syriac word meaning birth and according to Mithraism, a faith that initially originated from Persia and later spread out throughout the ancient civilized world, the first day of winter which falls on December 20 this year, is celebrated as the birthday of Mithra, the angel of light.
Ancient Persians believed that evil forces were dominant on the longest night of the year and that the next day belonged to the Lord of Wisdom, Ahura Mazda.
On Yalda festival, Iranians celebrate the arrival of winter, the renewal of the sun and the victory of light over darkness.
Today in Iran Families continue to hold traditional gatherings on Yalda . Iranian radio and television offer special programming on that night of Yalda.
Yalda is a social occasion when family and close friends would get together. In this night family members gather at the home of the elders until after midnight.
Guests are served with dried fruits, nuts, and winter fruits like pomegranates and watermelons, which symbolize the red color of dawn in the sky.
Nonetheless, the obligatory serving of fresh fruit during mid-winter is reminiscent of the ancient customs of invoking the divinities to request protection of the winter crop.
They practice bibliomancy with the poetry of the highly respected mystic Iranian poet Hafez Shirazi.