The Night Of Yaldā

Yaldā Night – A Timeless Tradition of Warmth and Light

Derived from the Syrianic word for “birth,” Yaldā (یلدا) is a celebration of renewal and hope. This enchanting night marks the winter solstice—the longest and darkest night of the year—falling on December 20th or 21st.

What Happens on Yaldā Night?

Savor the Flavors of Tradition: Indulge in seasonal fruits like pomegranates and watermelons, symbolizing life and renewal.
Dive into Timeless Literature: Share poetry from Hafez or epics from the Shahnameh, fostering reflection and connection.
Cherish the Company of Loved Ones: Spend the evening sharing laughter, stories, and memories until well past midnight.
Yaldā Night isn’t just an evening—it’s an experience that bridges the past and present, lighting the way for brighter days ahead.

Rooted in ancient Iranian traditions, Yaldā Night symbolizes the triumph of light over darkness and celebrates the birth of Mithra, the Sun God. Families and friends gather to welcome the new season with warmth, joy, and togetherness.

The Persian New Year

Norouz is one of the ancient and national celebrations of Persia that was initiated during the period of Jamishid Shah. The Iranian new year starts on the first day of spring. The tradition of this celebration is only for the enjoyment and originality including Chahar Shanbe Souri that occurs at the dusk of the last Tuesday of the old year. It is celebrated by making bonfires and jumping over the fire while chanting. This is mainly originated because of the importance of fire in the Zoroastrian religion, which is the first religion Iranians adopted. Spring cleaning is also important since everything needs to be cleaned in the house and if there are old and non-functional appliances they should be replaced with newer ones. The Haft Seen table consists of 7 items that are plants or products of plants and all start with an S in the Persian language such as grown wheat or grown lentil, apples, Senjed fruit, Hyacinth, Samanou (a sweet pudding made of germinated wheat), Sumac and garlic. In this day, which is the first day of the solar year everyone wears new clothing and the elders give gifts to children. In get togethers, fruits, pastries and tea are served. On the thirteenth day of “Farvardin”, the first month of the year, families spend the day outdoors and play games, sing and dance. This day coincides with April 1st and ironically Iranians, too, play practical jokes on each other on that day.

Women In Iran

With the recent happenings in Iran, which raise the underlying question of why we ended up here, one might ask what really the identity of Iranian women is. It is obvious that the government of Iran is trying to change the way women see themselves and who they identify with. This is actually a very good question.

Research shows that Iranian women had a higher place in society and were treated as equal to men in the ancient Persia. The King’s mother and Principal wife led an autonomous life.

“The Principal wives had their own court, could sign agreements with their own seal, and had unlimited access to the King. Women could choose their own husbands, and did so when they were not asked to marry for political purposes. Concubines were often non-Persian women and, accordingly, could not marry into royalty but were still respected as women of high rank. Xerxes I (r. 486-465 BCE) added a harem building at Persepolis close to his palace, suggesting the elevated status of the women.” (See Women In Ancient Persia)

During the Achaemenid Period, women could serve in the military. “Scholar Kaveh Farrokh notes that ‘tombs attesting to the existence of Iranian-speaking women warriors have [been found in Iran and] also been excavated in Eastern Europe’ (128).’’ (See Women In Ancient Persia) Wealthy businesswomen existed and had their own entourage and commanded their own workforce.

“Women labored alongside men in the workforce and were often supervisors and managers. There was no difference in pay based on gender; one’s salary was based solely on one’s level of skill and experience in the job. Pregnant women, however, received higher wages as did new mothers for the first month after the birth of their child.”(See Women In Ancient Persia)

So why are we still struggling to define the identity of Iranian women?

Farsi Translation Center Receives 2022 Best of Caldwell Award

It was four pm on a Thursday when I received an email from a client. He had a large number of Persian (Farsi) court documents to translate into English. He was frustrated because the court needed the translations promptly at 9:00 am the following Monday. My team and I began working right away. Our first challenge was the subpar resolution of the documents. My associate came up with a plan and began communicating with the client directly to have the problem solved. Soon after, we started working on the translation. We completed the translations by the end of the weekend.

A few days later the client called to let us know that the judge had accepted the documents and that the case was ruled in his favor. We couldn’t be happier for him. “Thank you for your insights and for bringing such professionalism and expertise to the task. We appreciate the quick turnaround time and attention to details”, he wrote. I am honored to accept the 2022 Best Of Caldwell Award. The Caldwell Award Program identifies companies that are believed have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. We are grateful for being noticed for the work we do in the Tri-State area. We owe this achievement to the hard work and dedication of our team of translators and our developer, Olga Trubnikova.

The Caldwell Award Program is an annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the Caldwell area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value. It was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. Its mission is to recognize the small business community’s contributions to the U.S. economy.

Parvin E’tesami

April 4 was the Remembrance Day of Parvin E’tesami. Parvin is known as “The most famous” 20th Century Iranian female poet (1907–1941).

She grew up in an intellectual environment, under supervision of her father Yusuf Etesami who had a literary background. Women’s lives were very restricted during that time in Iran, and poetry was the only art in which a woman could express her thoughts and feelings. In such an atmosphere, Etesami and other early modern women writers in Iran provided a strong feminist claim for women’s rights.

In one of her poems, “A Twig of a Wish”, she asserts women’s importance by pointing out that women are in charge of nurturing and educating all children (both male and female), they should have greater respect and an equal chance for education as men.
She was a member of the Kanoun-e-Banovan and supported the Kashf-e hijab reform against compulsory hijab (veiling).

Her father died in 1938, and she died only three years later of Typhoid fever. She was buried near her father in Qom, near the Masumeh shrine.

Parvin Etesami’s house became an Iranian national heritage site on October 19, 2006.

Languages Are Fluid

Did you know that:

In France ‘entrée’ stands for ‘hors d’oeuvre’ or ‘appetizer’ and not the main course?

And so the ‘manicure’ comes from the French word ‘manucure’?

It is interesting how languages change over time when they travel from mouth to mouth. But if we look at the origins of words we can learn a lot!

As an example, there is neighborhood in Abadan, Iran that is called Kafisheh (کفیشه or
Kafeesheh). Abadan (Persian: آبادان Ābādān, pronounced [ʔɒːbɒːˈdɒːn]). It is a city and capital of Abadan County, Khuzestan Province, which is located in the southwest of Iran. It lies in Abadan Island and has a history intertwined with the British exploitation of the rich oil fields in the region.

It was not until the 20th century that rich oil fields were discovered in the area. On 16 July 1909, after secret negotiation with the British consul, Percy Cox, assisted by Arnold Wilson, and Sheik Khaz’al agreed to a rental agreement for the island, including Abadan. The Sheik continued to administer the island until 1924. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company built their first pipeline terminus oil refinery in Abadan, starting in 1909 and completing it in 1912, with oil flowing by August 1912 (see Abadan Refinery). Refinery throughput numbers rose from 33,000 tons in 1912–1913 to 4,338,000 tons in 1931. By 1938, it was the largest in the world.

So the British presence in Abadan brought Western language and culture into the city.
Consequently, a coffee shop opened in one of the neighborhoods. So the coffee shop became a landmark and the neighborhood became known as the “Coffee Shop”. The locals who were unfamiliar with English pronounced the word differently. And so over time, the word Kafisheh or کفیشه was born.

Chaharshanbeh Souri (چهارشنبه سوری) or ‘The Scarlet Wednesday’

Also called Charshanbe Soori is an Iranian festival celebrated on the eve of the last Wednesday of the year. It is the first festivity of the Noruz Celebrations festival (the Iranian New Year). The last eve between Tuesday and Wednesday of the year, before the vernal equinox. Also observed by Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iraqi Kurdistan, Tajikistan, Turkey (by Azeris, Kurds and Persians).

Jumping over the fire
Before the start of the festival, people gather brushwood in an open, free exterior space. At sunset, after making one or more bonfires, they jump over the flames, singing sorkhi-ye to az man, zardi-ye man az to, literally meaning “[let] your redness [be] mine, my paleness yours”, or a local equivalent of it. This is considered a purification practice.

Taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaharshanbe_Suri

Mehregan (مهرگان), The Celebration of Autumn

Mehregan is a Zoroastrian and Persian festival celebrated to honor the yazata Mithra (Persian: Mehr‎). Mehr is responsible for friendship, affection and love. It is also widely referred to as the Persian Festival of Autumn. In Persian calendar, Mehr is the first month of Autumn. This month starts from September 21st through October 21st.

Some scholars believe that the month of Mehr was the beginning month of the calendar year during the Achaemenian era. The Mehregan feast celebrated the beginning of a new year. Later, Mehregan was especially important for the people of southern Iran who considered it still to be their Norouz.

Mehr was also considered as a symbol of the sun. There again, Mehr was considered to be a God of heroism and warfare. With expansion of Achaemenian Empire, the worship of Mehr was taken to other countries. The feast day of Mehregan has always been honored for many hundreds of years in Iran. Mehr is also the time of harvest.

For this celebration, the participants wear new clothes and set a decorative, colorful table. The sides of the tablecloth are decorated with dry wild marjoram. The holy book Avesta, a mirror and Sormeh Dan (antimony cellar) are placed on the table together with rose water, sweets, flowers, vegetables and fruits, especially pomegranates and apples. A few silver coins and senjed seeds (fruit of the lotus tree) are placed in a dish of pleasant smelling wild marjoram water. Almonds and pistachio are also used.

A burner is also part of the table setting for kondor (frankincense) and espand (rue seeds) to be thrown on the flames.

At lunch time when the ceremony begins, everyone in the family stands in front of the mirror to pray. Sherbet is drunk and then as a good omen, antimony is rubbed around their eyes. Handfuls of wild marjoram, senjed seeds and noghl (sugar plum) are thrown over each others heads while they embrace one another.

The following is a snippet of a poem by Rudaki, the famous Persian poet of the 10th century:

ملكا جشن مهرگان آمد / جشن شاهان و خسروان آمد

Mehregan celebration is upon us, My LORD / A celebration of Emperors and Monarchs

Stop Literalism

Recently, a client approached me with an editing job. The translated text was about the client’s organizational goals. They needed the Farsi translations to accurately convey the English materials and they suspected the current translation had some major flaws.

They were right. The translations were word for word, too literal. I have to admit, the translator had done a thorough job looking up the words in Google translate. What was missing, however, was meaningfulness and cohesion. Reading it felt as if you were stumbling from one word to the other. Unlike the English text, it had no depth and the meaning was obscured by an attempt to remain within the boundaries of the English structure. It was, after all, designed for Farsi speaking individual who did not have an understanding of English. I wonder how many of those would continue reading the translation after the first couple of sentences. Certainly, my client didn’t want this to happen.

Unfortunately, we encounter these types of translations way too often. For some reason, the bilingual translator’s goal is to become proficient in finding the right words rather than constructing a text that actually makes sense in another language. There is more to translation than understanding a language or knowing the vocabulary. For example, if a translator does not have deep understanding of both languages’ grammar, he or she cannot render an accurate translation and convey the right meaning.

I believe that the Farsi speaking individual has as much right to know the real meaning of a text, just as much as my client has a right to convey their full intention. In 2015, I started my work to establish an ATA Farsi Certification program to address this issue. I was hoping, and still am, that with such examination, a Farsi translator’s proficiency can be assessed. That at least we can begin working toward a higher standard for Farsi translations. Today, we are only months away from the very first ATA Farsi Certification Examination.

To learn more about our services and to find out if we can help with your project, please request a free quote.

A Tribute To Sa’di Shirazi

Today I came across this beautiful poem from Sa’adi Shirazi.

بنی آدم اعضای یکدیگرند

که در آفرينش ز یک گوهرند

چو عضوى به درد آورد روزگار

دگر عضوها را نماند قرار

تو کز محنت دیگران بی غمی

نشاید که نامت نهند آدمی

banī ādam a’zā-ye yekdīgar-and
ke dar āfarīn-aš ze yek gowhar-and
čo ‘ozvī be dard āvarad rūzgār
degar ‘ozvhā-rā na-mānad qarār
to k-az mehnat-ē dīgarān bīqam-ī
na-šāyad ke nām-at nahand ādamī

As it happens, April 21, is the great poet’s birthday and is registered in the Iranian calendar as Sa’adi’s commemoration day. It is interesting to note that a Persian rug presented to the United Nations in 2005 and currently on display at the entrance of the Hall of Nations at the UN Headquarters in New York, has an inscription of this poem.

There are many translations but below are two that capture the true meaning of this poem.

This is a verse translation by Ali Salami:

Human beings are limbs of one body indeed;
For, they’re created of the same soul and seed.
When one limb is afflicted with pain,
Other limbs will feel the bane.
He who has no sympathy for human suffering,
Is not worthy of being called a human being.

And by Richard Jeffrey Newman:

All men and women are to each other
the limbs of a single body, each of us drawn
from life’s shimmering essence, God’s perfect pearl;
and when this life we share wounds one of us,
all share the hurt as if it were our own.
You, who will not feel another’s pain,
you forfeit the right to be called human.

For more information about the translation and interpretation services offered by the Farsi
Translation Center, click here.