21^st December will be observed by Zoroastrians as Yalda and soon after, follows Christmas. Yalda is the longest night of the year in the Northern hemisphere and marks the winter solstice. This festival was formally included in the ancient Iranian calendar since at least 502 BCE under the reign of Darius the Great. Many of its core customs have remained largely unchanged since more than two and a half millennia.

While Christmas is celebrated on 25^th December, Zoroastrians celebrate Mithrakana or the birth of Mithra (Meher Yazata – the Divinity associated with the cleansing rays of the sun.) The feast of Mithrakana involves giving gifts to family, friends and the poor and generally spreading the light or merriment. On 25^th December, Zoroastrians can wish their Christian friends ‘Merry Christmas’ and wish ‘Mithrakana Mobarak’ to their fellow Zoroastrians.

Significance Of Yalda And Mithrakana

The first night of winter, on 21st December, is the longest of the year, after which daylight slowly returns and the sun’s warmth increases. This celestial turning point was seen as the rebirth of the sun. Aryan communities across India, Iran, and Europe marked this symbolic moment with reverence. In Mithraism, which later spread through Rome and Europe, 21st December was celebrated as the birth of Mithra, known to Zoroastrians as Meher Yazata. For Zoroastrians, prolonged darkness was considered inauspicious. To resist darkness and Ahriman’s influence, people gathered communally, lighting bonfires and spending the night together with music, poetry, dance, and festive feasts of fruits, pomegranates, dry fruits, and delicacies.

Yalda and Mithrakana symbolically inspire us to believe that there will always be light despite the temporary gloom of darkness. As the saying goes: “No winter lasts forever, every spring is sure to follow!”

The Yalda Tree And The Christmas Tree

In ancient Iran, Yalda celebrations centred around the evergreen tree, commonly the cypress, juniper, pine or fir, symbolising life and renewal. Young Iranian girls would tie colourful silk ribbons to these trees while making heartfelt wishes, a tradition that continues even today. Red pomegranates, fresh or dried, were also hung on the green branches as symbols of health and long life, while sweets or small gifts were placed beneath the tree for family members, friends, or those in need. These trees, often set up in courtyards and village squares, would be covered in snow. At dawn, after the long, dark night, sunlight reflecting off the icy branches created a star-like glow, marking the birth or rebirth of the sun. Inspired by the Yalda tree, Germans in the eighteenth century adapted it as the Christmas tree, which later spread across Europe.

Even today, for Iranian Zoroastrians worldwide, the winter solstice signifies more than the longest night; it marks the triumph of Meher Yazata, the divinity of light over darkness. Known as Shab-e-Yalda, the “night of the sun’s birth,” it is observed with poetry, especially verses of Hafez, and sacred hearth fires, even as Christians celebrate Christmas with carols and Midnight Mass.

How Did Yalda Become Christmas?

Before Emperor Constantine embraced Christianity in 313 AD, Christmas did not exist as an established religious feast. For more than three centuries after the time of Christ, there was no formal celebration of his birth, and no historical or scriptural evidence confirms that Jesus was born on 25th December. Some scholars suggest alternative dates, including 6th January. During the fourth century AD, as Christianity gradually replaced Mithraism within the Roman Empire, early Christians adopted existing rituals and symbolic dates.

Mithraism itself was influenced by older Zoroastrian beliefs. Without a clearly defined ritual calendar, the early Church absorbed familiar customs to ease religious transition. The birth of Mithra, linked to the unconquered Sun and the winter solstice, was later observed on 25th December due to calendar miscalculations involving leap-year adjustments. The word Yalda itself signifies birth. Historically, Emperor Aurelian proclaimed 25th December as the festival of Natalis Solis Invicti in 274 AD, celebrating the rebirth of the Sun after the solstice. By 336 AD, the Church in Rome formally fixed this date as the commemoration of Christ’s birth. Encyclopaedia Britannica notes this alignment with pagan sun festivals, while Encyclopaedia Americana suggests it helped pagan converts embrace Christianity. Both traditions honour light.

Season Of Gratitude

On comparing seasons with life, one realizes that happiness and sadness both have their cycle. Nothing in nature or in life lasts forever, and learning to accept each season while savouring it is an essential life lesson. Just as nature moves through cycles, life too unfolds in phases, reminding us that even the darkest periods carry the promise of light. Gratitude, therefore, must extend to every season, pleasant or painful. The intense heat of summer draws in the monsoon winds that cleanse, cool and rejuvenate the land. Without that harshness, renewal would not be possible. In the same way, when life becomes difficult, like a freezing winter night, it serves a deeper purpose by cultivating humility, resilience and inner strength.

Gratitude in times of comfort reinforces our awareness of blessings, while gratitude during hardship nurtures humility and wisdom. Challenging phases reveal our limitations, clarify our hopes and highlight where change is needed. Pain, though unwelcome, often becomes a catalyst for transformation. How we perceive and manage suffering determines whether it leads to growth or bitterness.

Experiencing pain can awaken empathy, helping us understand the struggles of others and respond with compassion. As Dr. Robert Emmons, author of ‘The Little Book of Gratitude’, observes, gratitude is easy in good times, but its true strength reveals itself during adversity. In demoralization it energizes, in despondency it heals, and in despair it restores hope. During hardships, whether financial, emotional, physical or spiritual, it may be hard to sense the presence of the Divine at work. Yet, as Khalil Gibran reminds us, “One who has not known sorrow cannot truly recognise joy’. Darkness allows us to value light, just as sorrow teaches us the meaning of joy.

Acts of generosity are widely known to boost happiness and emotional well-being, producing what behavioural economists call a “warm glow.” Scientific studies increasingly confirm that selfless giving activates brain regions linked to joy and contentment. Yet generosity reaches its highest form when it becomes compassion. Donating money reflects kindness, but offering time and presence to the sick, elderly, or distressed reflects true compassion. It means stepping into another’s reality and easing suffering with sincerity.

Gift-giving traditions during Yalda, Mithrakana, and Christmas carry this deeper meaning. They provide a spiritual way to express love and gratitude, reflecting nature’s limitless generosity itself. In the words of the mystic poet Hafez, “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!” Let your words and acts of kindness and giving this season light us many hearts!