Yalda night (the longest night of the year) is one of the most popular traditions and ancient celebrations in Iran that the people of this land celebrate every year with great enthusiasm and joy.

Yalda night festivity has always been a sign of hope and happiness among the Iranian people. Togetherness, family gatherings, red and seeded fruits, a special table set with fruits, all kinds of nuts and sweets, chatting & laughing, and reading poetry are the significance of Yalda.

However, this year, Iran land had one of the most difficult nights of Yalda. You may think that COVID-19 was the cause of that, but you are wrong. Expensive prices have greatly bent people's backs and it has become difficult for lots of people to buy fruits and it is almost impossible to buy nuts in Iran for many of them.

Recent fruit market surveys show that fruit prices have increased significantly on the eve of Yalda night. The prices of pomegranates, persimmons, watermelons, apples, oranges, tangerines, cabbage, bananas, cucumbers, and many other items have fluctuated in recent weeks.

The price of nuts and dried fruits have increased by 50% to 100% compared to the same period last year in Iran.

The largest increase in this regard was related to pistachios, walnut kernels, and almonds, which are offered at an average price of 200 to 300 thousand tomans per kilo of these nuts. (You know what that means? that means a simple worker has to pay 1/10 of his/her monthly salary to buy just 1 Kg of nuts!) Among fruits, the highest price increase is related to bananas, oranges, and pomegranates.

Pomegranate along with watermelon are the two main fruits of Yalda's table.

I was in the store yesterday when a woman wanted to buy pomegranate. She bought one pomegranate for the Yalda table to make her children happy. One pomegranate  for a whole family! She could not afford to buy more than one pomegranate.

While US sanctions are putting pressure on the Iranian people from outside and the dictator government is putting pressure on the people from within, a society that is losing hope day by day, on Yalda night still set Yalda tables with all they had.  Although Yalda was much smaller than in previous years in Iran, perhaps with 2-3 pomegranates on the tables, it was still there…

Persian people kept their heads up and it is not clear how long they can continue this year …

This the cake I bought for Yalda night last year, this year though...