US Iranian community quietly observe Shab-e Yalda in light of struggles in homeland

The ancient Zoroastrian holiday of Shab-e Yalda, which marks the solstice and the beginning of 40 days of winter, is being observed quietly by Iranian Americans this year out of respect for those in their homeland demonstrating for democracy and women's rights.

The holiday that typically involves traditional autumn and winter food, festive clothing, outdoor markets with decorations, music and poetry, is much more subdued in Iran and in its diaspora communities than in previous years.

Across the US, many student-organised and public celebrations of Shab-e Yalda have been cancelled, while those observing the holiday this year have done their best to keep those in their homeland in mind.

"It's a way of keeping that connection to your roots, to the homeland, the history that's behind it. I feel like it's a connection to my ancestors. I feel in a strange way even more responsible for passing it along now that I live in the US as a small minority. People have kept this light on for millennia – through wars, politics and invasions"

"Normally for Yalda, we'd be getting together. It's a cheery, happy time with family. We sit together and read poetry and eat nuts," Mina Jafari, a Washington-based artist, tells The New Arab. "No one is in that mood right now."

Still, she and other Iranian Americans feel a duty to carry on the tradition for their community and to educate non-Iranians.

At her shop, Kucheh, which she co-owns with her husband, she recently held a day-long market, in which they informed shoppers about the holiday as well as information on what is happening in Iran.

"We want to share our stories, not just our culture," she says.

For Negar Mortazavi, who hosts The Iran Podcast, the holiday can feel lonely outside of Iran, part of what drives her to carry on the tradition.

"It's not like Christmas is in the air. We're the only ones celebrating it. It kind of feels lonely," she says.

"It's a way of keeping that connection to your roots, to the homeland, the history that's behind it. I feel like it's a connection to my ancestors. I feel in a strange way even more responsible for passing it along now that I live in the US as a small minority. People have kept this light on for millennia – through wars, politics and invasions."

The Iranian community in the US is relatively small, estimated at around a million, with most of the population concentrated in southern California.

However, a smaller but significant community in Washington, DC has been able to raise awareness among government officials of their major holidays, Nowruz and Shab-e Yalda, which are celebrated by more than 300 million around the world, including Afghans and others from Central and Western Asia and Eastern Europe. 

This past spring, the Washington, DC Council, with input from Mortazavi, passed a resolution recognising Nowruz, the celebration of the beginning of spring, which was drafted by local members of the Iranian community. The federal government regularly commemorates the Persian holidays with public statements.

On Wednesday 21 December, when Shab-e-Yalda is traditionally celebrated, the State Department issued a statement:

"Tonight on Shab-e Yalda, we mourn with the people of Iran, and we reiterate our commitment to the Iranian people: the United States will continue to confront Iranian authorities' human rights abuses and hold the perpetrators accountable for employing violence against their own population through unilateral and multilateral measures, together with our allies and partners... We will continue to support the Iranian people as they stand up to their government’s state-sponsored violence against women and girls... The eyes of the world are on Iran. We once again take this opportunity to implore Iran’s leadership to listen to its people rather than violently suppress them."

Elaheh Haeri, a writer who grew up in Iran before the revolution and now lives near Washington, where she is sitting out this year's celebrations in light of the situation back in Iran.

She recalls her childhood when she would sit with her family eating seasonal foods while her father would read poems. 

"He's read Ferdowsi and Hafez. There were all sorts of fruits, especially pomegranates, dried fruits and nuts. It was a lovely festival," she says.

"They believed if we sat together and talked about our dreams, eventually that would be our future. Our future would be sunny and warm and light."

For Jafari, the spirit of Shab-e Yalda, even without many of the traditional celebrations this year, resonates with the current situation in Iran.

"It's very symbolic in that it's about resilience," she says. "Going through darkness and making it through. That's the hope for many people right now."

Brooke Anderson is The New Arab's Washington, DC correspondent. She did her BA in Geography of the Middle East at the University of London, SOAS, where she wrote a dissertation on water policy in Syria and Turkey. She previously spent five years in Damascus, where she studied Arabic and worked as a journalist and eight years in Beirut, where she mainly worked as a journalist. She has won awards for writing about police brutality in the US and Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

Follow her on Twitter: @Brookethenews