This article was first published on the #FolkloreThursday,com website as Top Five Winter Solstice Celebrations Around the World by zteve t evans on 19/12/2019
The winter solstice has been celebrated in some form all around the world for centuries. Individual human cultures often mixed magic with religion in acknowledgement and celebration of this important astronomical event. Here we briefly look at five of these festivities from around the world, before discussing why they were so important to our ancestors and concluding with what science has to say today.
Yalda Night
For many Iranians and people living in central Asia, “Yalda Night” is a time when family and friends come together to eat and drink. They stay awake all night and traditionally eat nuts, watermelons and pomegranates. Eating watermelons on Yalda night is believed to be especially beneficial for health, well-being and in warding off disease. For entertainment, the poems of Divan-e Hafez and other poetry are read. There is a belief in the Khorasan region that eating pomegranates, carrots and green olives protects against scorpion stings and the bites of insects, while eating garlic on Yalda night protects against joint pain. In some parts of Iran it is customary for a young engaged man to send gifts and an arrangement of seven kinds of edible fruit to his fiancé. In some areas the girl and her family send gifts in return to her young man.
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Yalda Night
For many Iranians and people living in central Asia, “Yalda Night” is a time when family and friends come together to eat and drink. They stay awake all night and traditionally eat nuts, watermelons and pomegranates. Eating watermelons on Yalda night is believed to be especially beneficial for health, well-being and in warding off disease. For entertainment, the poems of Divan-e Hafez and other poetry are read. There is a belief in the Khorasan region that eating pomegranates, carrots and green olives protects against scorpion stings and the bites of insects, while eating garlic on Yalda night protects against joint pain. In some parts of Iran it is customary for a young engaged man to send gifts and an arrangement of seven kinds of edible fruit to his fiancé. In some areas the girl and her family send gifts in return to her young man.
Read More
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