Wednesday, DECEMBER 21st , 7:00 PM PT | 9:00 PM CT | 10:00 PM ET
Pay What You can : Suggested donation $10- $30
A little about Yalda
Shabe Yalda, or Yalda night is an evening of festivities and merriment that begins when the sun sets on the last day of fall (last day the month of Azar on Jalali Calendar) and continues until the dawn of the first day of winter, or first day of Month of Dey.
The ancient Persians depended on agriculture for their livelihood and had to plant and gather according to the change of seasons. By experience they learned that the longer days and warm rays of sun helped their crops and the gathering months brought shorter days and longer nights. They discovered that after what was the longest night of the year the daylight hours started to get longer.
This night was called Yalda which meant “Rebirth” (of the sun), and it was celebrated for the triumph of light over darkness. They built fires on sundown of the last day in fall and kept them burning until the first rays of sun the following day. During this night they gathered with family and friends, ate delicious food, drank, and sang happy songs all night and listened to stories about old times and read poems.
Also Yalda refers to the birth of Mitra; the mythological goddess of light. Since days get longer and nights to get shorter in winter, Iranians celebrate the last night of autumn as the renewal of the sun and the victory of light over darkness.
What we do on this night
In our journey, It is very important to acknowledge the darkness and be comfortable with it. There is just dark and light. It’s literally like black and white. Yalda (Winter solstice) is a great opportunity to acknowledge the dark and celebrate the light.
In this night, we will gather together
lit the candle as a symbol of light
Do a meditation to expand the light within us
Open Hafiz (Poem book)
Pull a card of Osho deck
Everyone is welcome.
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