Yalda night

Yalda Night

Yalda Night is one of Iranians' celebrations at the begining of winter season because we have the longest night of the year in this night. During this night, Iranians gather in their parents house and celebrate Yalda with family members like brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles. People usually sing together and dance, read poems of Hafez, Iranian poet and poems and stories of Ferdowsi, the Iranian poet who wrote historical and heroic poems.  Dont forget speciall foods.  Every family has a family traditional food for this night, some cook Ash Reshte, Adas Polo or Sabzi Polo.  This night set a unique table.  On this table you can see: baked beetroot, turnip and pumpkin, some nuts, dried fruits and plums, persimmon, watermelon and the special guest is pommegranate which is so lovely and dear for Iranians.  Nowadays people like to cook some cookies and cakes with pommegranate on Yalda too.  You can see Iranian sweets like Baslugh on this table that I have explained them before.  I usually like to bake a pommeganate cheesecake with a leyer of  natural pommegranate jelly that vanishes quickly.

Every family choose some of the above mentioned foods on it's table not all of them but the symbol of Yalda is watermelon and pommegranate because people believe that if you eat the symbols of summer and winter during Yalda, you have more blesses in your table during the year.

The most important fact is family gatherings and being happy so Iranians like Yalda as one of their national celebrations.

If you had stomach ache after eating all of these foods, you can drink mint water drink that I have learned it before.