Winter Solstice Celebration Food - for Persian Yaldā Night, and Persian Poet Hafeez

 The Date of December 24th for Christmas Eve and Dec 25th for Christmas Day was formalised by Roman Emperor Constantine who had established Christianity as the official religion in the 

Yaldā Night

The ancient soltice celebrations date back more than 2000 years. The occasion was and still is celebrated in Persia (now Iran) 

In which countries is it celebrated. According to Wiki Iran,^[1][2] Azerbaijan, Iraqi Kurdistan,^[3][4] Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan,^[5] Turkmenistan, Dagestan and Turkey.

It is called Yaldā Night or Chelle night. 

Yaldā  means birth. Chelle means fortieth.

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Yaldi's Delightful Food

The food eaten is red such as water melon, pomegranate or other fruit symbolising the sunrise.They also makes cakes resembling a red watermelon with a green skin. The shape can be a disc or a quarter dome

 Celebrating the triumph of light over darkness, poems are read, composed by the Persian Sufi lyric poet Hafeez (1325-90).

'A shirt of leaves on the trees;

like the festival clothes of fortunate people.'

Wikipedia

Fear is the cheapest room in the house. I would like to see you living in better conditions.

What do sad people have in common? They have all built a shrine to the past.

 A-Z Quotes

A dream about Hafeez inspired another poet, Daniel Ladinskyy,  to write

Even
After
All this time
The Sun never says to the Earth,

"You owe me."

Look
What happens
With a love like that,
It lights the whole sky.

You can see a monument to Hafeez in Germany

On Yalda night families gather and, in addition to Persian poetry, stories are told, and music is played. 

In London at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), Westminster and other places have music and other events to celebrate.

To visit a Persian style Restaurant or try Persian dishes.

Tripadvisor and Time Out rate the Persian or Iranian restaurants in London.

What is the Solstice

The winter Solstice is the longest night. The shortest day. The syllable sol means sun.

Useful Websites

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/507656/Yalda-Night-a-celebration-of-light-and-togetherness

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186338-d28003682-Reviews-Chef_Javad-London_England.html