Sunday, December 21, 2014
Kabul (BNA) Yalda, the longest night of the year is coinciding with the first night of winter (Jaddi first) in northern hemisphere of the earth.
This night covers the time between the sunset in last day of Qaus or autumn season and sun rise in Jaddi first or the beginning day of winter.
Iranians and majority of other tribes celebrate the Yalda night.
In northern hemisphere, this night is coinciding with winter revolution, so since that time, the days get longer and night shorter.
Yalda has the Suryani background and means “birth”. The aim of “birth” is the birth of the sun or “Mitra”.
The Romans regard the birth day of Mitra as unbreakable.
Abu Raihan al-beruni nominated this night as “The Great Birth” and said that the purpose behind this name is “The birth of the sun”.
Background of the festival:
Yalda and the festival which are celebrating in this night, is an ancient tradition.
The peoples lived in ancient times that agriculture made the foundation of their life, in the course of year, with passing of season were accustomed to natural oppositions. As a result of experiences they taught from the life-time, they did to arrange their activities with changing of seasons. They are witnessing that in some days and seasons, the days get longer that as a result in these days, they benefited more from the light of the sun. This belief came into being that sun rising and its light is a sign of goodness and agreeable and is opposed with the darkness of the night.
The ancient people from among them, the Aryan tribes learnt from Indo-Iranian and Indo-European that the shortest day is the last day of autumn and gradually after that, the days are becoming longer and the night goes to shortness. So, this night is nominated as the birth night of the sun and accepts it as the beginning of the year.
Based on the same, in ancient culture, the year begins with cold season and in Avesta the word of “Saredha” and “Sareda” means cold.
This is the glad-tiding for the success of “Ahura MUzda” over Ahriman” or the success of the light over darkness.
In the works of Abu Raihan, the first day of Jadi nominated as sun.
In some other resources, this day is nominated as the day of happiness.
In Burhan-i-Qate, the word of Yalda is written as follow:
Yalda is the first night of winter and last night of autumn that coincides with Jadi first and last night of Qaus. It is the longest night of the year.
In that night or close to it, the sun delivers to Jadi month.
According to some beliefs, this night is the most sinister night and some other believe that the Yalda night is coinciding with Jadi 11th.
The darkness was the sign of devil, because, the Yalda night is the night of devil darkness.
This night was as unclean night for Iranians. So, with the arrival of this night, they were burning fire till the darkness flee and the factors of devilish be annihilated. The people were gathering around each other and spent the night with eating, drinking, happiness and dance and were preparing a colorful table-cloth.
The latter was decorating with various summer and winter fruits.
The table-cloth of this night was nominated as “Myazd” that were including of fresh and dried fruits. Zoroastrians nominated it as “Lork” that was including of the means of this festival.
Besides blessing instruments, they were preparing a table –clothe decorated with seasonal furits.
At this night, the people were sitting till sun rise in the slope of AL-burz Mountains and were waiting for re-birth of the sun. Some others were engaging in worship places of the followers of this religion.
They were inviting from Almighty Allah the success of light over darkness and were praying till the dawn. Then were going to asleep and the day was public holiday.
Any one has the right to instruct others. The works were done voluntarily and from king to ordinary people were wearing simple cloth.
At this day fighting and bloodshed even slaughtering of animals was forbidden. In war fronts they were observing cease fire.
Sometimes, the provisional cease fires changed into long-term peace in the day after Yalda night, the people were sitting before the great sun and were pledging till next year, they plant another juniper.
