If you can remember the last time you stayed up with family or close friends past midnight, talking, laughing, dancing, snacking, and drinking, then you have a feel for Shab-e Yalda, the Iranian celebration of the winter solstice on December 21.
Shab-e Yalda translates roughly to “night of birth” in the ancient language of Syriac, referencing the sun being reborn and light prevailing over darkness. It’s a powerful time, and there is magic in the air as people reenact the same ritual as their ancestors have for literally thousands of years. “It’s my favorite night of the year,” gushed my cousin Setareh, who grew up in Iran and now lives in San Diego. “The idea that there is one extra minute in this night and that we should spend it with the people we love is so romantic.”
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