DID YOU KNOW? 📜🍇🍒🍉🍎🔴 The origins of Shab-e Yalda go back thousands of years—some say as far as 5000 years ago in ancient Balkh. This ancient night, also called Shabe Chellah, was once connected to sacred Zoroastrian ceremonies in Balkh honouring Mitra, the deity of light and truth. It is of humanity’s most longest traditions, marking the longest night of the year—the winter solstice. This celebration symbolises the rebirth of the sun (Mehr) and the eternal triumph of light over darkness. Balkh, the birthplace of Zoroastrianism, was the spiritual heart of ancient ‘Ariana’. Here, rituals dedicated to the sun and the cosmic balance of nature flourished. The festival’s association with Mitra, the deity of light, life, and truth, reflects a cultural legacy that predates written history. The word Yalda, meaning “birth” in Syriac, arrived during the Sassanid era, combining the celebration with the idea of the sun’s rebirth. Yet, it was in 502 BC, under Darius I, that Shab-e-Yalda ...