Guest guest Posted December 24, 2005 Report Share Posted December 24, 2005 The Persian Winter Solstice of 'Yalda' A 7,000-year-old celebration of the birth of Sun god Mithra By Farahani (sadaff) Moon was in love with the Sun, but he couldn't meet her. He always wanted to wake up earlier to catch the Sun at dawn, but he never succeeded. Moon found a solution; he hired a star, the star that always appears beside the Moon, to wake him up. Finally, one night the star informed Moon that Sun was coming and Moon went to meet her. They fell in love and Moon prevented Sun from leaving. They forgot about their jobs and Sun rose later than usual. According to this Persian myth, since that night the Moon and the Sun meet each other one time a year during "Yalda," a night that is the longest night of the year. http://image.ohmynews.com/down/images/1/todd_265031_1[400396].jpg Mithra sacrifices a bull before the sun and the moon. Yalda is a Syric word imported to the Persian language meaning birth, and in the Mithraism religion Yalda is the birth of Mehr or Mithra, a Sun god. For the past 7,000 years Iranian people have celebrated the Eve of Yalda on Dec. 21. Mithraism influenced the Roman Empire and it had many followers among Roman soldiers. Even when the Romans accepted Christianity they kept some traditions and formalities. Some historians such as Ernest Renan (1823-1892) believed that until the 4th century Romans celebrated the birth of Jesus on Dec. 21. It seems they may have used Jesus instead of Mithra. A long time ago, Iranian people used to decorate a cypress tree with two pieces of golden and silver ribbons for the Eve of Yalda. Nowadays, some of these traditions have been abolished in Iran, but still remain among Christians in the form of a Christmas tree. In Iranian culture, "shab e Yalda" (night of Yalda) means the rebirth of the Sun and they spend this night happily. Persian families go to their grandparents' homes and spend the night listening to grandpa and grandma's stories. Until some years ago, Persians used a "korsi," a low table with a big blanket on it and a heater or small oven under it to make it warm, just like a Japanese kotatsu. The "korsi" is a nostalgic symbol of Yalda for Persians. Iranian people never forget the essential things for Yalda: to read Hafez's poems and to eat watermelon! They open a page of Hafez's poems randomly then one of the old members of the family reads out the poems, which they believe reveals their destinies. Some people believe if they eat watermelon during Yalda they won't catch cold in the winter. Nowadays, televisions join this party like a member of the family and programs tell the stories for young generations instead of grandmothers and grandfathers. However, Iranians around the world try to keep and continue these kinds of ancient traditions for future generations. 2005-12-21 13:48 ©2005 OhmyNews http://english.ohmynews.com/ArticleView/article_view.asp? no=265031&rel_no=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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