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

 

December 21st - was the December solistice and the first day of winter - planning your seasonal trips and outings

 

December 21st was the first day of winter and the solstice. What does that mean?

For travellers, it means that in the UK the 21st is the shortest day. That is good news. From now onwards, every day there is a little more light. 

Is there anything good for travellers about short days? Early dusk means more of the darker evenings on which to enjoy the Xmas lights in the streets, the lights up the lamp posts in high streets (Americans say main street), and the Christmas trees. Now is a good time to dash and take photos of the local lights. 

How long will the lights be up?

I looked it up in Wikipedia. Which was very illuminating. 

UT date and time of
equinoxes and solstices on Earth^[1][2]

event	equinox		solstice		equinox		solstice
month	March[3]		June[4]		September[5]		December[6]
year	day	time	day	time	day	time	day	time
2017	20	10:29	21	04:25	22	20:02	21	16:29
2018	20	16:15	21	10:07	23	01:54	21	22:22
2019	20	21:58	21	15:54	23	07:50	22	04:19
2020	20	03:50	20	21:43	22	13:31	21	10:03
2021	20	09:37	21	03:32	22	19:21	21	15:59
2022	20	15:33	21	09:14	23	01:04	21	21:48
2023	20	21:25	21	14:58	23	06:50	22	03:28
2024	20	03:07	20	20:51	22	12:44	21	09:20
2025	20	09:02	21	02:42	22	18:20	21	15:03

The day is the same every year. But the time of sunrise and sunset varies. The length of time between dawn and dusk stays the same, but the times of dawn and dusk vary. (Well I never. Who knew? Maybe you. Not me. Well, we all know now.

Why would the dawn times affect travellers? If would affect you if you wanted to see dawn at Stonehenge or any landmark which is supposed to have been constructed to look special on the day of the Solstice.

This chart seems odd to me.

Dusk on Dec 22 in London is just before 4 pm. That was an awkward time for lighting Hanukah lights for a dinner event starting at 6.30 pm. Fortunately the hosts were not so religious that they insisted on lighting the candles at dusk.

Earlier in the week for day three of Hanukkah, we had three hanukiahs, one lit by the lady from each of three couples. 

Current Time:	22 Dec 2022, 12:10:52
Next Equinox:	20 Mar 2023 21:24 (Vernal)
Sunrise Today:	08:04↑ 128° Southeast
Sunset Today:	15:53↑ 232° Southwes

Sunrise at Stonehenge. Photo by Mark Grant in Wikipedia.

Centuries ago, in fact, as recently as our great grandparents time, (I am writing in 2022) there was no TV. Street lighting came in in the 1800s, house lights, later. So the time of dawn and dusk affected your travel. 

Scottish Winter Food

Dawn and dusk also affected meal times. Up north in England they had high tea, a combination of tea and supper, with a savoury course or grill followed by filling sweet cakes or buns.  Christmas pudding and Christmas cake contained dried fruit and often alcohol as a preservative, with hot custard. Almonds might be added, arranged in a circular, concentric, pattern on top as in Dundee cake.

Stonehenge Summer solstice from Wikipedia on Solstice

The Soltice - meaning

The word solstice is derived from the Latin sol ("sun") and sistere ("to stand still").

Why? Because at the solstices, the Sun's declination appears to "stand still"; that is, the seasonal movement of the Sun's daily path (as seen from Earth) pauses at a northern or southern limit before reversing direction.

When I am planning a trip, I check on the temperature of the destination in the month I will be travelling. You also want to check the season and school holidays.

Australians visit the UK for Christmas, which is their long, summer holiday. We used to go skiing in New Zealand 

Museums

Many museum opening days vary with the seasons. Some museums close for winter and open in spring. Others have last admission half an hour before closing time. 

The food served varies. Hotel and restaurant prices may be high for Christmas and New Year, and the whole of December, or including the first week of January. Sign up for your favourite restaurants and hotels. One year in the Lake district we stopped at a famous restaurant, the Miller Howe, and signed up for their newsletter. In the spring we received an offer for three nights for the price of two, or two for the price of one. Whatever it was, it made the difference between never going, and a once in a lifetime experience. 

I visited Harrow School in England in the winter. The school had a guided tour which I read about in the local newspaper. I was surprised that they had a tour in winter. They had the winter tours because Australians came over and joined the tours. I met an Australian teacher who was on her summer break during my winter in the UK.

Useful Websites

For the time of dusk

https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/uk/london?month=12

Winter Solstice, Christmas and Last Chance to Enjoy Stanmore lights

Twelve Days of Christmas

Lights traditionally come down in the UK on the twelfth day of Christmas. The twelve nights and days days run from Dec 25 to Jan 6th.  Remember the Shakespeare play Twelfth Night.

When and Why Shoppers Are Out

From the point of view of the shop keepers and shoppers, it's too late to buy presents for presenting at Christmas but some people are still on holiday. (They may be visiting family or friends or just touring the area). Other shoppers are taking a break from work, or shopping in the post-Christmas January sales with vouchers or Christmas gift money or just hoping for a bargain. 

Winter Nights and Winter Lights

We still benefit from the lights in dark wintery days. Although the New Year started January 1st, it's still dark. 

Solstice

The days started getting longer from the date of the solstice in December, usually noted as December 21 but some say 22, it's a particular second when the north pole is furthest from the son my scientific family members tell me. I suggest you check a science source for more detailed and reliable technical information. 

Equinox

(The equinox is mid spring and mid autumn meaning day and night are equal - not the middle of the year, our calendar is totally arbitrary!)

Most of the lights in Stanmore are more abstract. The lights on the right are topped by two five-point stars in white.

Two styles of lights in one street. 

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.