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Iranians throughout the world celebrated the longest night of the Iranian calendar year, Yalda, in a tradition welcoming the birthday of the Goddess of Love, Mitra. Yalda Night (شب یلدا ) Shab-e Yalda or Shab-e Chelleh (شب چله), is the last night of autumn and the beginning of winter.
On Yalda night, members of the family stay together, narrate old stories told by ancestors, play traditional games and eat dried and fresh fruits symbolizing various things.

يلدا بلندترين شب سال، شب تولد مهر، شب استقبال از روشنايي و پيروزي اهورا (نور) بر اهريمن (تاريکي)، يکي از قيميترين جشنها در دنيا بر شما شاد باد

Pomegranates, placed on top of a fruit basket, are reminders of the cycle of life — the rebirth and revival of generations. The purple outer covering of a pomegranate symbolizes “birth” or “dawn” and their bright red seeds the “glow of life.”

Watermelons, apples, grapes, sweet melons and persimmon are other special fruits served on Yalda night and all are symbols of freshness, warmth, love, kindness and happiness.

Shab e Cheleh (Yalda Festival)
Yalda, a Syriac word imported into the Persian language by the Syriac Christians means birth (tavalud and melaad are from the same origin). It is a relatively recent arrival and it is refereed to the “Shab e Cheleh Festival,” a celebration of Winter Solstice on December 21st. Forty days before the next major Persian festival “Jashn e Sadeh”, this night has been celebrated in countless cultures for thousands of years. The ancient Roman festivals of Saturnalia (God of Agriculture, Saturn) and Sol Invicta (Sun God) are amongst the best known in the Western world.

Week 51-2011, Weekly Photos Selection, from IranMap-Flickr group

Gheshm (Qeshm) - جزيره قشم

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Gheshm (Qeshm) Island, Hormuz Strait, Persian Gulf, Iran - by ngh131

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Fars Province (استان فارس) known as Cultural Capital of Iran with Shiraz as capital. It has an area of 122,400 km with three distinct climatic regions. First, the mountainous area of the north and northwest with moderate cold winters and mild summers. Secondly, the central regions, with relatively rainy mild winters, and hot dry summers.
The third region located in the south and southeast, has moderate winters with very hot summers.

Fars is located in the south of Iran. It neighbours Bushehr Province to the west, Hormozgan Province to the south, Kerman and Yazd provinces to the east, Isfahan province to the north and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province to the northwest.

The etymology of the word “Persian (parsian)” (پارسیان) is derived from the cultural capital of Iran and found in many ancient names associated with Iran. The ruins of Persepolis and Pasargadae, two of the four capitals of the Achaemenid Empire, are located in Fars.
Fars passed hand to hand through numerous dynasties, leaving behind numerous historical and ancient monuments; each of which has its own values as a world heritage, reflecting the history of the province, Iran, and western Asia. The ruins of Bishapur, Persepolis, and Firouzabad are all reminders of this.
The ancient Persians were present in the region from about the 9th century BC, and became the rulers of a large empire under the Achaemenid dynasty in the 6th century BC.

Persepolis (پرسپوليس – تخت جمشيد), Photo by hossein babaei

Fars counties

Cities and towns in this province:
Abadeh, Ardakan , Arsanjan, Bavanat, Darab, Eqlid, Estahban, Farashband, Fasa, Firuzabad, Gerash, Jahrom, Kavar, Kazerun, Khonj, Khorrambid, Lamerd, Larestan, Mamasani, Marvdasht, Neyriz, Pasargadae, Qir and Karzin, Rostam, Sarvestan, Shiraz and Zarrin Dasht

Saadieh, Photo by dynamosquito

Due to the geographical characteristics of Fars and its proximity to the Persian Gulf, Fars has long been a residing area for various Iranian People and Semites who were under the influence of Persian culture. However, the tribes of Fars including Qashqai Turks, Mamasani Lurs, Khamseh and Kohkiluyeh have kept their native and unique cultures and lifestyles which constitute part of the cultural heritage of Iran attracting many tourists. The province has a population of 4.4 million approximately.

Margoon Waterfall (آبشار مارگون), by zhegeleh

Fars nature (طبیعت فارس), by Behzad No

Naqsh-e Rustam (نقش رستم), by Pedram Veisi