Iranians celebrate Yalda festival as economic woes bite

Iranians of all religions and walks of life mark the ancient Persian festival of Yalda, though many say economic hardships fanned by international sanctions will put a damper on this year’s celebrations.

Yalda falls on the winter solstice and is characterised by family gatherings and the eating of nuts, sweets and fruits.

“We mostly spend time with our families, our grandparents, aunts, cousins,” Maral Bagherpour, a smiling 16-year-old student, told AFP in northern Tehran’s Tajrish Bazaar.

“We take fal-e Hafez, we drink tea or coffee. My grandma sings for us sometimes,” she said.

An Iranian woman wearing traditional dress celebrate with Yalda decoration in northern Tehran on Sunday. AFP

“Taking fal-e Hafez” is a popular tradition that entails using the works of renowned 14th century Persian poet Hafez, an all-time favourite in Iran, to try to divine the future and deal with difficult situations.

“On Yalda night the whole family gets together in my grandparents’ house. We reminisce about the good old days and eat nuts and fruits that are in season,” said Mary Goudarzi, 37.

An Iranian woman during the Yalda festival celebration in northern Tehran. AFP

However, rampant inflation and a sharp depreciation of the national currency against the dollar have diminished people’s purchasing power to really push the boat out for Yalda.

In early December, the central bank announced annual inflation was running at 41 per cent.

On Sunday, the US dollar was trading at around 1.32 million rials on the informal market — almost double the rate at the same time last year.

“Unfortunately, because of recent events such as the war and the dollar price that’s rising sharply, people’s purchasing power has fallen a lot,” said Goudarzi, an interior designer. “That’s why you can’t really see many of the items we used to see in previous years on every table,” she said while shopping for Yalda.

Iranians celebrate with Yalda decoration in northern Tehran. AFP

Some shopping centres in Tehran put up decorations for Yalda, including artificial trees adorned with hanging pomegranates or displaying huge plates of fruits linked to the festivities.

“Yalda has been around for a long time for families to get together, but with these high prices it’s not like it used to be when people would invite the whole family,” said Aliakbar Mohammadi, a fruit vendor at a well-stocked stall. He said the price of pomegranates has doubled since last year, and sales are down markedly. On Saturday, the reformist Ham Mihan daily had a cartoon entitled “Yalda Night,” showing what appeared to be a poor man trying to grab at a basket of fruit hanging from the moon.

Agence France-Presse