Yalda Night: Persian Food and Traditions for the Longest Night

Persian celebrations · 21 December 2026

On the longest night of the year, Iranians all over the world stay up together. We gather at the oldest relative’s home, cut open pomegranates, slice a watermelon in the middle of winter, read Hafez, and wait for the sun to come back. This is Yalda Night, and here is everything you need to celebrate it: what it means, what goes on the table, and a full menu you can cook.

What is Yalda Night?

Shab-e Yalda, also called Shab-e Chelleh, is the night of the winter solstice: the longest and darkest night of the year. In the Iranian calendar it falls on the last night of the month of Azar. From the next morning the days start getting longer again, so Yalda has always been a celebration of light winning over darkness.

The tradition is thousands of years old and comes from Iran’s pre-Islamic past, which is why everyone celebrates it, whatever their background. The word yalda means “birth”: the birth of the sun. In 2022 UNESCO added Yalda/Chella to its list of the world’s intangible cultural heritage, shared by Iran and Afghanistan.

In 2026, Yalda Night is the evening of Monday 21 December, running into the early hours of Tuesday 22 December.

What goes on the Yalda table

The Yalda table is all about red: the colour of dawn, warmth and life.

• Pomegranates (anar). The star of the night. The ruby seeds stand for life and the glow of the sunrise. They’re eaten fresh, sprinkled with a little salt and golpar (angelica), or cooked into stews and soups.
• Watermelon (hendevaneh). Eating summer fruit on the first night of winter is said to keep you healthy through the cold months. Families save a watermelon for weeks just for this night.
• Ajil. A big bowl of mixed nuts and dried fruit: pistachios, almonds, roasted chickpeas, raisins, dried mulberries and figs, nibbled all night long.
• Persimmons, red apples and pomegranate juice to keep the table glowing.
• Tea and sweets. A pot of black tea with cardamom, and whatever sweets the family loves.
• Candles and a copy of Hafez’s poetry.

Reading Hafez: the fal-e Hafez

Every Iranian home has a copy of the Divan of Hafez, the 14th-century poet from Shiraz. On Yalda each person makes a silent wish, and the eldest opens the book at random and reads the poem on that page aloud. That poem is your fal, your fortune for the year ahead, and the whole family argues happily about what it means. It’s the moment everyone waits for.

A Yalda menu from my kitchen

Yalda dinner is generous and full of pomegranate, walnut and saffron. Pick one or two from each line, or cook the lot if the whole family is coming.

To startAsh-e Anar, a sweet-and-sour pomegranate and herb soup, or Mast o Khiar, yogurt with cucumber, walnuts and raisins.

The main dishKhoresh-e Fesenjan, the pomegranate and walnut stew made for nights like this. Or Nardoon, a pomegranate duck or chicken stew, or Morgh-e Torsh, the herb and walnut sour chicken of the Caspian.

The ricePolo Zaferooni, saffron rice with its golden crust, or for something grander Morasa Polo, jewelled rice, or Tahchin, the saffron rice cake.

Something sweetSholeh Zard, saffron rice pudding, and a jug of Sharbat-e Anar, pomegranate sharbat.

All nightPomegranate seeds, watermelon, ajil, tea, and Hafez.

How to host your own Yalda night

• Cook the stew the day before. Fesenjan and most khoresh taste even better the next day, so you’re free when your guests arrive.
• Seed the pomegranates early. Cut them in half, hold each half cut-side down over a bowl and tap the back firmly with a wooden spoon. The seeds fall out and your shirt stays clean.
• Lay the table before dark. A red or patterned cloth, candles, bowls of fruit and ajil, and the book of Hafez in the middle.
• Eat late and stay up. Dinner, then fruit, then tea and sweets, then Hafez. The point is to keep each other company through the long night.

Yalda questions

When is Yalda Night 2026?

The evening of Monday 21 December 2026, the night of 30 Azar 1405 in the Iranian calendar. Celebrations go on past midnight into Tuesday 22 December.

Is Yalda a religious holiday?

No. Yalda comes from ancient Persian traditions that are older than Islam. It’s a cultural celebration that Iranians of every background, and many Afghans, Tajiks and Kurds, celebrate with family.

Why do Iranians eat watermelon on Yalda?

An old belief says that eating summer fruit on the first night of winter protects you from the cold and illness of the months ahead. It’s also simply a treat, keeping a summer watermelon for a winter night.

Why pomegranates?

Their deep red colour stands for the dawn, the sun and life itself, and the many seeds for abundance. On Yalda you’ll find them fresh on the table and cooked into dishes like Fesenjan and Ash-e Anar.

What does “Yalda” mean?

It means “birth”, the rebirth of the sun after the longest night. The other name, Shab-e Chelleh, means “the night of forty”, because it opens the forty coldest days of winter.

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