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Today (December 21, 1996), I - Mohsen Banan <mohsen@neda.com> - ran across a series of articles that link Shab-e Yalda with Christmas. Most Interesting!
I decided to combine them all in one place. If you run across other related material, please forward them to me, I'll be happy to incorporate it in this article.
This article is based on:
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This article itself is accessible through: http://www.neda.com/shabeYalda/html/yalda.html
In the east more than in the west, life-styles have often remained more in tune with nature. Therefore, natural rhythms change from morning to evening, from month to month, and finally from season to season. This integration of nature into life cycles is especially true in Iran. The winter solstice, December 21 or 22, is the longest night of the year. In Iran this night is called SHAB-E YALDAA, which refers to the birthday or rebirth of the sun. The ceremony is traced to the primal concept of Light and Good against Darkness and Evil in the ancient Iranian religion. This night with Evil as its zenith is considered unlucky. From this day forward, Light triumphs as the days grow longer and give more light. This celebration comes in the Persian month of DAY, which was also the name of the pre-Zoroastrian creator god (deity). Later he became known as the God of creation and Light, from which we have the English word "day" (the period of light in 24 hours).
In the evening of SHAB-E YALDAA bonfires are lit outside, while inside family and friends gather in a night-long vigil around the KORSEE, a low, square table covered with a thick cloth overhanging on all sides. A brazier with hot coals is placed under the table. All night the family and friends sit on large cushions (futons) around the KORSEE with the cloth over their laps. Formerly fruit and vegetables were only available in season and the host, usually the oldest in the family, would carefully save grapes, honeydew melons, watermelons, pears, oranges, tangerines, apples and cucumbers. These were then enjoyed by everyone gathered around the KORSEE, or a fireplace.
On this winter night, the oldest member of the family says prayers, thanks God for the previous year's crops, and prays for the prosperity of next year's harvest. Then with a sharp knife, he cuts the thick yogurt, the melon, and the watermelon and gives everyone a share. The cutting symbolizes the removal of sickness and pain from the family. Snacks are passed around through the night: pomegranates with angelica powder (GOLPAR) and AJEEL_E SHABCHAAREH or AJEEL-E SHAB_E YALDAA, a combination of nuts and dried fruits. Eating nuts is said to lead to prosperity in days to come. More substantial fare for the night's feast include eggplant stew with plain saffron-flavored rice; and rice with chicken; thick yogurt, saffron, and carrot brownies (HALVAA-E HAVEEJ). The foods themselves symbolize the balance of the seasons; watermelons and yogurt are eaten as a remedy for the heat of the summer, since these fruits are considered cold or SARDEE, and HALVAA, the saffron and carrot brownies, is eaten to overcome the cold temperatures of winter (since they are considered hot or GARMEE). On into the night of festivities, the family keeps the fires burning and the lights glowing to help the sun in its battle against darkness.
Early Christians took this very ancient Persian celebration to Mitra, Godess of Light, and linked it to Christ's birthday. Today the dates for Christmas are slightly changed but there are many similarities; lighting candles, decorating trees with lights, staying up all night, singing and dancing, eating special foods, paying visits, and finally, celebrating this longest night of the year with family and friends.
From: New Food of Life (1996) Author: Najmieh K. Batmanglij Publisher: Mage
While the Christians all over the world are preparing themselves for celebrating one of the most widespread ceremonies of mankind, that is Christmas, the Iranians in Iran and outside are getting ready to celebrate one of their most ancient celebrations, yalda. Is it a mere coincidence that these two celebration are so close to each other, Christmas is celebrated on Dec. the 25th. and yaldA is celebrated on the night of Dec. the 21th. the night before the first day of winter?! well I have found something on this subject. My reference in what follows is gAhshomAri va jashnhAy-e irAn-e bAstAn written by Mr. hAshem razi, and published in iran.
Yalda and its related ceremonies which are held at the night of the first day of winter; the longest night of the year; is a very ancient tradition, and is related to Mehr Yazat. Yalda is an Aryan ceremony and the followers of MithrAism have celebrated it for thousands of years in Iran. Yalda is the night of Mehr or MithrA,'s birth.
Yalda is also called Chelleh (Shab-e Chelleh) and as mentioned earlier is the night of birth of the unconquerable sun, or Mehr. This ceremony is as ancient as the time that people organized their lives based on seasonal changes.
Light, day and sunshine were assumed to be the signs of order and ahurAic whereas night, darkness and cold were thought as to be ahriman's sign. Watching the changes in the length of days and nights, made the people believe that light and darkness, or day and night are in continuous battle. Light's victory resulted in longer days whereas darkness's victory meant longer nights.
Since the first night of winter is the longest night and from that night on the days get longer and the warmth and light of the sun increases, that night was supposed to be will go the time for the re-birth of sun. The Aryan tribes, in India, Iran and Europe celebrated sun's birth at the beginning of winter.
To remain safe of ahriman's harms, people gathered on this night and made fire, and arranged a special setting on which any fresh fruit which was preserved and also all the dry fruits were put. This setting was sacred and religious. They asked sun yazat to bless them. The fruits resembled people's hope for a fruitful spring and summer. They spent all the night together beside the fire to get rid of ahriman's harm.
When mithrAism spread to ancient civilized world from Iran, in Rome and many European countries, the 21th. of December which is the day before the beginning day of Iranian month day or the first month of winter, was celebrated as mithrA's birthday. But in the 4th. century A.D., because of some errors in counting the leap year, the birth day of mithrA shifted to 25th. of December and was established. Until that time the birthday of Jesus Christ was celebrated in January the 6th. But the religion of most of the Romans and the people of many of the European countries was still mithrAism. But when Christianity spread, the priests, since could not stop the practice of celebrating _mithrA_'s birthday on December the 25th. declared this day as Jesus's birthday which is still so.
Yalda is a soriAni word meaning birth. The Roman used the word nAtAlis for birth. The soriAni Christians brought the word Yalda to Iran, which is still used. It is not just mithrA's birth time which entered Christianity. Nowadays all Christians who celebrate Jesus's birthday, do not sleep for the whole longest night of the year, eat and drink and have fun.
There are so many common believes and customs (sometimes hidden from our notice!!) between different nations and religions. Let's know those customs and talk about them, so that we may bring friendship and peace among the people of the world. Zoroastrianism and Iranian culture is so ancient that it has many similarities (and of course differences!!) with most of the great faiths of the world. Let us emphasize on the similarities and not on the differences.
Ushta-Te Bahman Noruziaan Dec.15.1994
OPENING THOUGHTS
A LINGUISTIC PUZZLE
A FAMILY FERTILITY RITUAL
WINTER SOLSTICE IN MANY CULTURES
IN SONG
A TIME OF MAGIC
THIS YEAR'S SOLSTICE
Let's The Earth is actually nearer the sun in January
start with than it is in June -- by three million miles.
the Pretty much irrelevant to our planet. What causes
science. the seasons is something completely different.
The Earth leans slightly on its axis like a
spinning top frozen in one off-kilter position.
Astronomers have even pinpointed the precise
angle of the tilt. It's 23 degrees and 27 minutes
off the perpendicular to the plane of orbit. This
planetary pose is what causes all the variety of
our climate; all the drama and poetry of our
seasons, since it determines how many hours and
minutes each hemisphere receives precious
sunlight.
Most of us have known something about this since Pretty
grade school. What fascinates me about it is how we basic
figured it out in the first place, especially stuff.
before the advent of satellites and space travel. I
haven't studied astronomy enough to understand how
we came to know this. The axis is, after all, an
imaginary line. But here's an eloquent perspective
on that question from a Nightkitchen visitor.
Solstice means... [Sun]
standing-still-sun
Such precision we have about it now! Winter solstice is when...
...because of the earth's tilt, your hemisphere is leaning
farthest away from the sun, and therefore:
The daylight is the shortest.
The sun has its lowest arc in the sky.
When it's winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the sun is
directly overhead at noon only along the Tropic of Capricorn, on
which lie such places as Sao Paulo, Brazil, southern Madagascar,
and areas north of Brisbane, Australia.
In 1996, winter solstice will occur on December 21 at 6:05 a.m.,
PST.
Celebrated No one's really sure how long ago humans
among the recognized the winter solstice and began
ancients as a heralding it as a turning point -- the day
turning that marks the return of the sun. One
point. delightful little book written in 1948, 4,000
Years of Christmas, puts its theory right up
in the title. The Mesopotamians were first, it
claims, with a 12-day festival of renewal,
designed to help the god Marduk tame the
monsters of chaos for one more year.
It's a charming theory, but like much of cultural
anthropology, it may turn out to be totally wrong.
Many, many cultures the world over Solstice celebrations:
perform solstice ceremonies. At their universal & perhaps
root: an ancient fear that the much older than we
failing light would never return know.
unless humans intervened with anxious
vigil or antic celebration.
There's much new scholarship about Neolithic peoples and
their amazing culture. For example, it now looks as
though writing is much more ancient than we earlier
thought -- as much as 10,000 years old.
Neolithic peoples were the first farmers. Their lives
were intimately tied to the seasons and the cycle of
harvest. I'm certain they were attuned to the turning
skies.
Scholars haven't yet found proof that these peoples had
the skill to pinpoint a celestial event like solstice.
But perhaps they did, and perhaps they celebrated it --
with fertility rites, with fire festivals, with
offerings and prayers to their gods and goddesses.
And perhaps, our impulse to hold onto certain
traditions today -- candles, evergreens,
feasting and generosity -- are echoes of a
past that extends many thousands of years
further than we ever before imagined.
-------------------------
"Shall we liken Christmas to the web in a
loom? There are many weavers, who work into
the pattern the experience of their lives.
When one generation goes, another comes to
take up the weft where it has been dropped.
The pattern changes as the mind changes, yet
never begins quite anew. At first, we are not
sure that we discern the pattern, but at last
we see that, unknown to the weavers
themselves, something has taken shape before
our eyes, and that they have made something
very beautiful, something which compels our
understanding."
--Earl W. Count, 4,000 Years of Christmas
-------------------------
A linguistic puzzle.
The rebirth of the sun.
The birth of the Son.
Christmas was transplanted onto winter solstice some
1,600 years ago, centuries before the English language
emerged from its Germanic roots. Is that why we came to
express these two ideas in words that sound so similar?
-------------------------
A family You may have heard of apple wassailing, the
fertility medieval winter festival custom of blessing the
ritual from apple trees with songs, dances, decorations and
Romania. a drink of cider to ensure their fertility.
Here's another, more obscure tradition that
most certainly predates Christmas, and was
probably once a solstice ritual, because it is
so linked to the themes of nature's rebirth and
fertility. In Romania, there's a traditional
Christmas confection called a turta. It is made
of many layers of pastry dough, filled with
melted sugar or honey, ground walnuts, or hemp
seed.
In this tradition, with the making of the cake families
enact a lovely little ceremony to assure the
fruitfulness of their orchard come spring. When the wife
is in the midst of kneading the dough, she follows her
husband into the wintry garden. The man goes from barren
tree to tree, threatening to cut each one down. Each
time, the wife urges that he spare the tree by saying:
"Oh no, I am sure that this tree will be as
heavy with fruit next spring as my fingers are
with dough this day."
-------------------------
Winter solstice in many cultures.
Winter solstice was overlaid with Christmas, and the
observance of Christmas spread throughout the globe.
Along the way, we lost some of the deep connection of
our celebrations to a fundamental seasonal, hemispheric
event. Many people--of many beliefs--are looking to
regain that connection now.
I gain inspiration from the universality of the ancient
idea--winter solstice celebrations aren't just an
invention of the ancient Europeans.
Native Americans had winter solstice rites.
In Iran, there is the observance of Yalda, in which
families kept vigil through the night and fires burned
brightly to help the sun (and Goodness) battle darkness
(thought evil).
Winter solstice celebrations are also part of the
cultural heritage of Pakistan and Tibet. And in China,
even though the calendar is based on the moon, the day
of winter solstice is called Dong Zhi, "The Arrival of
Winter." The cold of winter made an excellent excuse for
a feast, so that's how the Chinese observed it, with Ju
Dong, "doing the winter."
I'm certain there are other examples...I'm just starting
to collect them. Nightkitchen visitors have told me of
celebrations among the Hopi and Iranians, among others.
Know of any others you'd like to share?
-------------------------
In song
The rising of the sun
And the running of the deer,
The playing of the merry organ,
Sweet singing in the choir.
Now, where do you suppose the first couple of lines of this carol
came from?
There is a whole series of medieval English carols on the subject
of the rivalry between the holly and the ivy. In many of them, the
holly and ivy symbolized male and female, and the songs narrated
their often rowdy vying for mastery in the forest or in the house.
-------------------------
A time of magic.
In many cultures, customs practiced at Christmas go back to
pre-Christian times. Many involve divination--foretelling the
future at a magic time--the season turning of solstice.
In Russia, there's a Christmas divination that involves
candles. A girl would sit in a darkened room, with two
lighted candles and two mirrors, pointed so that one
reflects the candlelight into the other. The viewer
would seek the seventh reflection, then look until her
future would be seen.
The early Germans built a stone altar to Hertha, or
Bertha, goddess of domesticity and the home, during
winter solstice. With a fire of fir boughs stoked on the
altar, Hertha was able to descend through the smoke and
guide those who were wise in Saga lore to foretell the
fortunes of those at the feast.
In Spain, there's an old custom that is a holdover from
Roman days. The urn of fate is a large bowl containing
slips of paper on which are written all the names of
those at a family get-togehter. The slips of paper are
drawn out two at a time. Those whose names are so joined
are to be devoted friends for the year. Apparently,
there's often a little finagling to help matchmaking
along, as well.
In Scandinavia, some families place all their shoes
together, as this will cause them to live in harmony
throughout the year.
And in many, many cultures, it's considered bad luck for
a fire or a candle to go out on Christmas Day. So keep
those candles burning!
-------------------------
Winter solstice this year.
Winter solstice for 1996 occurs at 6:05 a.m. PST (be
sure to adjust for your time zone!) on December 21.
Here's what my friend, astrologer Robin Clauson, has to
say about it:
The Winter Solstice Chart
View the chart
Three Grand Trines in earth lend an expansive,
almost giddy sense of material optimism.
Charities will reap the bounty of the
collective willingness to share resources.
Choose elegant yet practical gifts for your
Christmas list. (Hey, cashmere can last a
lifetime!)
Our intuitive knowledge is heightened by
another surge of technological breakthroughs.
This accelerated pace of evolution takes place
on an unconscious level, but is made visible
by scientific and humanitarian advances. It's
possible that a cure for AIDS will be found
during this period.
The love lives of the powerful will continue
to fascinate the public. It's highly likely
that the Clintons face further sordid
accusations in this quarter. (Watch out for
Hillary's rolling pin, Bill; it may be wrapped
in divorce papers!)
Everyone should avoid signing contracts or
making long-term commitments between December
23rd and January 12th when Mercury is
retrograde. Misunderstandings, communication
breakdowns, accidents, and transportation
problems are likely during that time.
$Log: index.html,v $ Revision 1.1.1.1 2004/11/24 03:10:16 pinneke Imported sources Revision 1.6 1998/07/13 22:30:33 mohsen Added Revision Control to all the texinfo files, incluindg html format. Revision 1.5 1998/06/26 20:20:05 mohsen Doc number additions. Revision 1.4 1998/06/18 00:23:37 mohsen index convention now. Revision 1.3 1996/12/23 04:49:15 mohsen Added citation for Batmanghelidje's book. Revision 1.2 1996/12/22 02:49:40 mohsen Fixed a glitch with reference to my name. Revision 1.1.1.1 1996/12/22 02:16:43 mohsen Imported sources