Cycle of nature – Yalda marks end of autumn, start of winter

As you know, today the eve of the 22nd of December is the year’s longest night and its morning heralds the beginning of winter in the northern hemisphere, while in the southern hemisphere it is the beginning of summer.

In other words, when we in the northern hemisphere mark the beginning of summer on June 22, it is the beginning of winter in the southern hemisphere. In astronomical terms these two days are known as winter and summer solstices respectively. The winter solstice occurs exactly when the axial tilt of a planet's polar hemisphere is farthest away from the sun around which it orbits. Thus depending on the hemisphere, the winter solstice occurs on the shortest day and longest night of the year, when the sun's daily maximum elevation in the sky is the lowest. Since the winter solstice lasts only a moment in time, other terms are often used for the day on which it occurs, such as midwinter, the longest night or the first day of winter. The seasonal significance of the winter solstice is in the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of days.

These are all the signs of the Majesty of the One and Only Creator of the universe Who sent for our guidance a long line of Messengers, some of them with heavenly books, culminating in the universal mission of Islam entrusted to Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Indeed God granted His Last and Greatest Messenger the Eternal Miracle known as the Holy Qur’an, in which He has explained to us the wonders of nature, so as to prevent us from falling into superstations such as ascribing partners for Him, or worshipping the sun, moon and stars as deities.

Worldwide interpretation of the winter solstice has varied from culture to culture, involving holidays, festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations around that time. In Iran, the eve of the winter solstice is known as Shab-e Yalda. 'Yalda' is actually a Syriac word means 'birth', which means the Arabic word 'Tawallod' that is widely used in Persian for birth, has the same Semitic roots. During persecution in the Roman Empire many Syrian Christians fled into the Sassanid Empire of Iran, introducing the term Yalda, meaning birth.

The ayahs of the Holy Qur’an enlighten our minds and should act as lamps of guidance for us against the blind imitation of the wrong practices of the cultures of the past, many of whom were destroyed because of their turning away from the path of God Almighty and indulgence in sins.

Ayah 12 of Surah Nahl says: “He made subservient the night and the day for you, and the sun, the moon and the stars are subservient by His command. There are indeed signs in that for a people who apply reason.”

In ayah 33 of Surah Anbiya God says: “It is He who created the night and the day, the sun and the moon, each swimming in an orbit.”

Likewise in ayah 164 of Surah al-Baqara, God Almighty says: “Indeed in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, and the ships that sail at sea with profit to men, and the water that Allah sends down from the sky —with which He revives the earth after its death, and scatters therein every kind of animal— and the changing of the winds, and the clouds disposed between the sky and the earth, are surely signs for a people who apply reason.

Now since our minds have become enlightened with God’s commandments let us discuss Shab-e Yalda and what we should do and what we should not do.

The winter solstice or Shab-e Yalda is also known as ‘Shab-e Chelleh’, meaning the night of forty, which refers to the forty days of winter that are supposedly the coldest and initially hardest to bear. Chelleh Neshini or sitting for chelleh is a social occasion when families and friends gather usually at the house of an elder (grandparents, aunts or uncles) on the eve of winter. Ajeel, which is a mixture of dry fruits, edible seeds and nuts, along with fresh winter fruits are served to the guests. The dry fruits are somehow a reminiscence of the abundance of summer and the fresh fruits are an invocation for food during winter. Watermelon and pomegranates are the traditional fresh fruits of this night. The red colour and the fleshy texture are also a symbol of sunrise and the birth of the first day of winter. People stay awake, usually reciting poetry or just chat in the coziness of their home and among their loved ones. They also exchange congratulation messages on the phone. However, in reverence for the sanctities of Islam, most Iranians do not indulge in frivolities and prefer to read the holy Qur'an and recite supplications to God Almighty.

Anyway, Autumn or Fall which ended is also regarded as one of the most meaningful and eventful seasons in the Iranian calendar and culture. Autumn sunsets and the familiar sense of nostalgia associated with them are common themes in Persian poetry. There is something tense in the air, an ambiguous desire to not sit still and move as we try to instill peace to the inner self. Out of this poetic tension, comes an aesthetic confusion of colorful leaves and winds and a human conclusion of their death plus as much as hope for a renewal. In fact, autumn is known as the ‘season of poets’. More poetry readings and sessions are held during this season and people generally develop a taste for writing poems and reciting them. Classic Persian poets tackled the depiction of nature with their pen to a great extent as they employed metaphors of nature and its elements generously in their poetry. Persian poet Manouchehri Damghani (11th century) almost paints the colours of autumn with the tip of his pen as his paintbrush in a poem with the same title. Persian Sufi and poet of the 13th century, Mowlana Jalaleddin Roumi writes out autumn as a metaphor for death from a mystical point of view. Fall symbolizes a temporary ending to the valley flowers but then there is a beacon of hope as there will be a resurrection after every dead spell. Also, contemporary Iranian poet, Mehdi Akhavan Saales has deemed autumn as ‘the king of all seasons’ in a poem with the same title. Interestingly, this poem was written in spring. Some would read it the light of the repressive ambiance of pre-revolution days, where the poet invokes the hidden fruits and potentials of the motherland.

Generally autumn in Iran is a fairly short season that signals the advent of winter with a signature snow at its end. Autumn fruits in Iran are a blend of sameness and differences, the mellow and the pungent. There is abundance of citrus: grapefruits, oranges, tangerines, sweet oranges, Persian limes, bitter orange, blood oranges (oranges with red hued flesh) and mandarin oranges are available. Pomegranate, quince, figs and persimmon are also among the fruits generously offered by nature in autumn. Although they turn ripe by summer end, grapes are also pretty much available in autumn but autumn grapes are believed to be not as great for health because they can lead to sore throat, perhaps due to their cold generic nature. With its colourful contraries, framed melancholy and the promise of change, autumn in Iran is indeed a poem, each time written and read anew. The leaves of life dance to the will of the winds of change. Nothing remains the same forever. So, let us read what the book of nature opens for us and watch its seasonal pages flutter and turn by the end of which we can welcome snow in the ever evolving and intelligent design of its flakes.

Persian poet and mystic of the 13^th century, Shaikh Sa’di of Shiraz once wrote his observation on the vicissitudes of nature, saying: To the wise and the wisely, each page from the book of green trees is but a treatise of the Creator’s wisdom. Perhaps what Sa’di intended to say or rather what we can read from and into the leaves of his knowledge is that each and every element in the humane arms of nature is constantly going through change and studying the subtleties of this process, its intricacies which reveal a complex essence behind even the most simple things is perhaps a door to understanding the self and the creator of the self. Each minute feature can lead to the revelation of another and yet another for the one who is willing to see and to learn. As the leaves of nature begin to fall, there is a desire to leaf through the pages of our being and find words that can express the dawn of new experiences.

Iranian Muslims are known for their love of the Prophet and his Infallible Ahl al-Bayt, as well as other pious descendants of the Prophet, whose shrines dot the country, and most make it a point to visit these holy places on such nights.

AS/ME