Yalda Night and Winter Solstice

From the photographer: “Iranians celebrate Yalda night like Nowruz with an astronomical event. Yalda night coincides with an event called the winter solstice. The moment the sun reaches a certain point in the sky and winter officially begins in the Northern Hemisphere. The whole story is related to the 23.5 degree deviation of the Earth’s axis. This deviation is the main reason for creating the seasons and increasing and decreasing the length of night and day. When the earth rotates around the sun, due to the deviation of 23.5 degrees and the direction of the deviation being constant, the angle of the sun’s radiation changes to two hemispheres.

During the first six months of the year, the Northern Hemisphere receives more sunlight than the Southern Hemisphere. During the second six months of the year, the Southern Hemisphere gets more sunlight. On the first day of winter or the winter solstice, the sun in the northern hemisphere has the lowest height compared to the horizon, so that we see the shortest day and the longest night of the year. We celebrate Yalda that night. Red pomegranate is one of the symbols of Yalda night and reminds of the sun and a sign of blessing, happiness and birth. Eating pomegranate on this night can increase energy and strengthen the body’s immune system. In addition, according to legends, pomegranate is the ‘fruit of the gods‘ and is considered sacred in the Zoroastrian religion.”

Technical details:
Canon 6d mod; sigma 35mm
Single-exposure
exp. 10”, f 2.2, iso 4000