{"id":40677,"date":"2019-12-16T11:56:10","date_gmt":"2019-12-16T11:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/?p=40677"},"modified":"2026-11-02T00:23:58","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T00:23:58","slug":"yalda-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/yalda-night\/","title":{"rendered":"Yalda Night 2026: Date, Traditions, Food and Hafez"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Yalda Night<\/strong> 2026 falls on the evening of <strong>Monday 21 December<\/strong>, the night of 30 Azar 1405 in the Iranian calendar, and lasts until sunrise on Tuesday 22 December, the first day of winter. Iranian families gather at the home of an elder, eat pomegranates and watermelon, read the poetry of Hafez and stay up late to see off the longest night of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Also called Shab-e Yalda or Shab-e Chelleh, the celebration is shared by Iran and Afghanistan, which together added it to UNESCO&#8217;s list of intangible cultural heritage in 2022. This guide explains when Yalda Night falls, what goes on the table, how families celebrate and what travellers in Iran should know.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Yalda-table-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"A Yalda Night table with pomegranates, watermelon, nuts, sweets and candles\" class=\"wp-image-64862\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Yalda-table-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Yalda-table-780x585.jpg 780w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Yalda-table-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Yalda-table-627x470.jpg 627w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Yalda-table-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Yalda-table.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Yalda table: red fruits, nuts, sweets and candlelight for the longest night of the year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-flat ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/yalda-night\/#when-is-yalda-night\" >When is Yalda Night?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/yalda-night\/#what-does-yalda-mean\" >What does Yalda mean?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/yalda-night\/#what-is-on-the-yalda-table\" >What is on the Yalda table?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/yalda-night\/#how-do-iranians-celebrate-yalda-night\" >How do Iranians celebrate Yalda Night?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/yalda-night\/#yalda-night-in-irans-cities\" >Yalda Night in Iran&#8217;s cities<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/yalda-night\/#visiting-iran-at-yalda-tips-for-travellers\" >Visiting Iran at Yalda: tips for travellers<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/yalda-night\/#happy-yalda-wishes-and-cards\" >Happy Yalda: wishes and cards<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/yalda-night\/#frequently-asked-questions-about-yalda-night\" >Frequently asked questions about Yalda Night<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"when-is-yalda-night\"><\/span>When is Yalda Night?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yalda Night is always the night of 30 Azar, the last day of autumn in the Iranian solar calendar, which runs into 1 Dey, the first day of winter. Because the Iranian calendar follows the sun, the date usually falls on 20 or 21 December. For the next two years:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Year<\/th><th>Iranian date<\/th><th>Evening of<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>2026<\/td><td>30 Azar 1405<\/td><td>Monday 21 December 2026<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2027<\/td><td>30 Azar 1406<\/td><td>Tuesday 21 December 2027<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yalda Night is not an official public holiday in Iran, so shops, museums and offices keep their usual hours that day. Expect busy fruit markets, bakeries and pastry shops in the days before, and quiet streets after dark, when families are indoors together. For the full list of holidays, see our guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/iran-public-holidays\/\">Iran&#8217;s public holidays<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"what-does-yalda-mean\"><\/span>What does Yalda mean?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yalda is a word borrowed into Persian from Syriac, usually explained as meaning &#8220;birth&#8221;, a reference to the sun, whose days begin to lengthen after the winter solstice. The older Persian name, Shab-e Chelleh, means &#8220;the night of the forty&#8221;. According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iranicaonline.org\/articles\/cella-term-referring-to-any-forty-day-period\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Encyclopaedia Iranica<\/a>, it opens the &#8220;great chelleh&#8221;, forty days of deep winter from 1 Dey to 11 Bahman, which is followed by a &#8220;small chelleh&#8221; of twenty days until the end of Bahman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">UNESCO describes <a href=\"https:\/\/ich.unesco.org\/en\/RL\/yald-chella-01877\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Yalda\/Chella<\/a> as a celebration of the sun and the warmth of life, held on the last night of autumn, and says it celebrates cultural identity, nature, friendship, hospitality and peaceful coexistence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"what-is-on-the-yalda-table\"><\/span>What is on the Yalda table?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Families sit around a table, or traditionally a <em>korsi<\/em>, a low heated table covered with a quilt, laid with symbolic objects and foods. UNESCO lists the essentials:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>A lamp or candles<\/strong> for light.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Water<\/strong> for cleanliness.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Red fruits<\/strong> for warmth: pomegranates, watermelon, beetroot, jujubes and grapes.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Broth, sweets, dried fruits and nuts<\/strong> kept or made specially for the night.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Watermelon is the star. The Encyclopaedia Iranica records the belief that eating watermelon on the night of Chelleh protects you from the heat and illness of the coming summer, which is why families once stored a melon from summer for this night. Pomegranates, with their bright red seeds, are shared around the table. Read more in our story of the <a href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/pomegranate-in-iran\/\">pomegranate in Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"870\" height=\"580\" src=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Iranian-Traditional-Foods-for-Yalda-Night.jpg\" alt=\"Traditional Iranian foods and fruits prepared for Yalda Night\" class=\"wp-image-85577\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Iranian-Traditional-Foods-for-Yalda-Night.jpg 870w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Iranian-Traditional-Foods-for-Yalda-Night-780x520.jpg 780w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Iranian-Traditional-Foods-for-Yalda-Night-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sweets, fruit and dried fruit for Yalda Night.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Iranica entry also notes that in some areas forty different foods should be served, and that in Khorasan carrots, pears, pomegranates and green olives were thought to protect against scorpion stings. For regional dishes, from Tabriz to Kerman, see our guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/17-traditional-persian-foods-for-yalda-night\/\">Yalda Night food<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"how-do-iranians-celebrate-yalda-night\"><\/span>How do Iranians celebrate Yalda Night?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A family night at the elders&#8217; home<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yalda Night is above all a family gathering. Relatives meet at the home of grandparents or the oldest member of the family, share dinner and stay up long after midnight. UNESCO notes that the night also includes games, music and gifts for new in-laws, brides and children; in many families, a young man&#8217;s family sends gifts to his fianc\u00e9e, and in some areas her family sends gifts in return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fal-e Hafez: asking Hafez for a fortune<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The best-loved custom is <em>fal-e Hafez<\/em>. Someone makes a silent wish, opens the Divan of the 14th-century poet Hafez of Shiraz at random, and the poem on the page is read aloud as an answer. Tradition says you should not ask more than three times in a night, or the poet may grow tired of you. Learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/why-hafez-is-so-important-to-iranians\/\">why Hafez matters to Iranians<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"778\" src=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/yalda-night-hafez-1024x778.jpg\" alt=\"Reading the Divan of Hafez on Yalda Night\" class=\"wp-image-64860\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/yalda-night-hafez-1024x778.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/yalda-night-hafez-780x593.jpg 780w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/yalda-night-hafez-768x584.jpg 768w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/yalda-night-hafez-618x470.jpg 618w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/yalda-night-hafez-300x228.jpg 300w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/yalda-night-hafez.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Reading Hafez for a fortune is a Yalda Night favourite.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hafez himself used the image of the longest night in one of his ghazals:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u0635\u062d\u0628\u062a \u062d\u06a9\u0627\u0645 \u0638\u0644\u0645\u062a \u0634\u0628 \u06cc\u0644\u062f\u0627\u0633\u062a \/ \u0646\u0648\u0631 \u0632 \u062e\u0648\u0631\u0634\u06cc\u062f \u062c\u0648\u06cc \u0628\u0648 \u06a9\u0647 \u0628\u0631\u0622\u06cc\u062f<br><em>The company of rulers is the darkness of Yalda Night; seek light from the sun, for it may yet rise.<\/em><\/p>\n<cite>Hafez, Divan<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Stories, poetry and music<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After dinner, the older generation tells stories and anecdotes, and some families read from the Shahnameh, Ferdowsi&#8217;s epic of Iran&#8217;s kings and heroes. Today, radio and television also mark the night with special programmes. For a playlist, see our selection of <a href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/yalda-music-and-songs\/\">Yalda music and songs<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"yalda-night-in-irans-cities\"><\/span>Yalda Night in Iran&#8217;s cities<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the week before Yalda Night, fruit shops pile up pyramids of pomegranates and watermelons, and bazaars stay busy into the evening. Tehran&#8217;s old neighbourhoods, the bazaars of Rasht, Isfahan and Ahvaz, and pastry shops across the country fill with people buying for the night.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"518\" src=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Yalda-Night-Fruit-Market-in-Rasht.jpg\" alt=\"Shoppers at a fruit market in Rasht before Yalda Night\" class=\"wp-image-86838\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Yalda-Night-Fruit-Market-in-Rasht.jpg 780w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Yalda-Night-Fruit-Market-in-Rasht-768x510.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rasht&#8217;s bazaar on the eve of Yalda Night.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"650\" src=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Ahvaz-Yalda-Night-Market-1024x650.jpg\" alt=\"A busy market in Ahvaz selling fruit for Yalda Night\" class=\"wp-image-86844\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Ahvaz-Yalda-Night-Market-1024x650.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Ahvaz-Yalda-Night-Market-780x495.jpg 780w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Ahvaz-Yalda-Night-Market-768x487.jpg 768w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Ahvaz-Yalda-Night-Market.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Shopping for Yalda Night in Ahvaz.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more scenes, see our photo story of <a href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/yalda-night\/\">Yalda preparations in Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"visiting-iran-at-yalda-tips-for-travellers\"><\/span>Visiting Iran at Yalda: tips for travellers<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>It is a private celebration.<\/strong> Yalda Night happens at home, not in the streets. The best way to share it is an invitation from Iranian friends or a stay with a local family; a <a href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/iran-homestay\/\">homestay<\/a> can make that possible.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Bring a gift.<\/strong> If you are invited, a box of pastries, nuts or fruit is a welcome present.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Visit the bazaars.<\/strong> The days before Yalda Night are a lively time to see fruit markets and pastry shops at their busiest.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Pack for winter.<\/strong> Late December is cold in Tehran, Tabriz and the mountains, and mild on the Persian Gulf coast. See our guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/does-it-snow-in-iran\/\">Iran in winter<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Plan the rest of your trip.<\/strong> Combine Yalda Night with a winter itinerary through our <a href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/iran-tours\/\">Iran tours<\/a> or a <a href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/iran-private-tours\/\">private tour<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"happy-yalda-wishes-and-cards\"><\/span>Happy Yalda: wishes and cards<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To wish someone a happy Yalda in Persian, say <em>Shab-e Yalda mobarak<\/em> (\u0634\u0628 \u06cc\u0644\u062f\u0627 \u0645\u0628\u0627\u0631\u06a9). A simple English message works too: &#8220;Wishing you a warm and happy Yalda Night, and light after the longest night of the year.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Yalda-Night-Gift-Cards-01-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"A Happy Yalda Night greeting card with pomegranates and candles\" class=\"wp-image-87452\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Yalda-Night-Gift-Cards-01-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Yalda-Night-Gift-Cards-01-780x780.jpg 780w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Yalda-Night-Gift-Cards-01-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Yalda-Night-Gift-Cards-01-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Yalda-Night-Gift-Cards-01-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Yalda-Night-Gift-Cards-01-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Yalda-Night-Gift-Cards-01-600x600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Yalda-Night-Gift-Cards-01.jpg 1296w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Yalda Night greeting card.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yalda Night is one of several seasonal festivals that mark the Iranian year, from Nowruz in spring to Mehregan in autumn. Explore them in our guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/iranian-festivals-and-celebrations\/\">Iranian festivals and celebrations<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"frequently-asked-questions-about-yalda-night\"><\/span>Frequently asked questions about Yalda Night<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n<div id=\"rank-math-faq\" class=\"rank-math-block\">\n<div class=\"rank-math-list \">\n<div id=\"faq-question-yalda-1\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">When is Yalda Night 2026?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Yalda Night 2026 falls on the evening of Monday 21 December, which is 30 Azar 1405 in the Iranian calendar. The celebration lasts until sunrise on Tuesday 22 December, the first day of winter, called 1 Dey. In 2027 it falls on the evening of Tuesday 21 December.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-yalda-2\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Why do Iranians eat watermelon and pomegranate on Yalda Night?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Red fruits stand for warmth and the light of the sun. A traditional belief recorded in the Encyclopaedia Iranica holds that eating watermelon on Yalda Night protects you from the heat and illness of the coming summer, so families once kept a melon from summer for the night.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-yalda-3\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">What is fal-e Hafez?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Fal-e Hafez is a way of asking the poet Hafez for guidance. You make a silent wish, open his Divan at random and read the poem on the page as the answer. It is one of the best-loved Yalda Night customs, and tradition says you should not ask more than three times.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-yalda-4\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Is Yalda Night a public holiday in Iran?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>No. Yalda Night is not an official public holiday, so shops, museums and offices keep their normal hours. It is a family celebration held at home in the evening. Markets and pastry shops are especially busy in the days before, which makes it a lively time to visit bazaars.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-yalda-5\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Is Yalda Night on the UNESCO list?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Yes. In 2022 UNESCO inscribed Yalda\/Chella on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, after a joint nomination by Iran and Afghanistan. UNESCO describes it as a celebration of the sun and the warmth of life, held on the last night of autumn.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yalda Night 2026 falls on Monday 21 December. What the longest night means, what goes on the Yalda table, fal-e Hafez and tips for travellers in Iran.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":68711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15889,306,1,16712],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","category-culture","category-tourism-iran","category-to-know"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/yalda-tehran.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40677"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40677\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":203015,"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40677\/revisions\/203015"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}