This year's Yuletide has been a rather cold celebration. We've already has a few inches of snow and as I type this more is falling. On Monday, the Winter Solstice, I had a meeting with my advisor and a few others. My advisor ended with a “Merry Christmas!” It struck me as odd considering he is not Christian, the other professor is not Christian, and I am not Christian. Only one person on the call was Christian. Thus, I retorted with a “and a happy Solstice!”
That was more relevant. As it turns out, in Iran the Winter Solstice is called Yalda Night and it is widely celebrated to this day. Similar to other cultures, the celebration is in honor of the longest and darkest night of the year, when recognized, protects the layfolk from evils in the world. On this night, Iranian families gather to burn candles, eat fruits and nuts, read poetry aloud. Pomegranates and watermelon are favorites, or so I'm told. Cheers to that!