The longest night
Shab-e Yalda 1405: the longest night
Pomegranates, watermelon, ajil and Hafez: how Iranians around the world celebrate the longest night of the year.
72
days until Shab-e Yalda
Monday, 30 Azar 1405 · December 21, 2026
Your Fal
Ghazal 356
گَرَم از دست برخیزد که با دلدار بنشینمز جامِ وصل مِی نوشم، ز باغِ عیش گل چینم
شرابِ تلخِ صوفی سوز، بنیادم بخواهد بردلبم بر لب نِه ای ساقی و بِستان جانِ شیرینم
مگر دیوانه خواهم شد در این سودا که شب تا روزسخن با ماه میگویم، پَری در خواب میبینم
Interpretation
If you can, you will sit with your beloved and pick flowers from the garden of joy. Your heart is so full of longing for them that you talk to the moon from night until morning. You have not yet enjoyed their kindness, but remind them that you are their old servant. Loyalty and truthfulness are not for everyone; you are one of those who have them. Your words are precious.
Think of your question, then open your Fal.
What is Shab-e Yalda?
Shab-e Yalda is the longest night of the year, the night from 30 Azar to 1 Dey, usually from 21 to 22 December. Families gather and stay awake until long after midnight. In old Persian belief, light begins to win over darkness from this night on, because the days grow longer again. The word Yalda comes from Syriac and means birth.
Customs
- Pomegranates: the red seeds stand for the glow of dawn and for new life.
- Watermelon: folk belief says it protects against cold and illness in winter.
- Ajil: a mix of nuts, seeds and dried fruit that people snack on all night.
- Fal-e Hafez: everyone thinks of a wish, and a family member reads a verse by Hafez as the answer.
- Stories: the grandparents tell tales, in the past often under the korsi, a heated table covered with a quilt.
Hafez on Yalda night
Fal-e Hafez belongs to Yalda just like the pomegranate. Think of your question and open your Fal right here.
Fal-e Hafez: Hafez fortune online