Iranian Yalda night

Iranians celebrate the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, by eating, singing and being together. I was honoured to be invited to this celebration last night.

From here

The music was amazing. I did not know any of the instruments before, but I did recognize the sound of the music. It reminded me of the music in the movie 'Incendies'. It also made me think of 'Aladdin' and being in the desert with camels under a tent, though I think these are some stereotypes I need to get rid of. The man who was singing had an incredible voice, and though I don't understand Persian, I could tell the songs were all about love. They also read from the poet 'Hafez', who writes about love and existence and the meaning of life, as my friends told me.

From here

The food was good too. There was watermelon, pomegranate and oranges. There was also cake, nuts and chips.

I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in a different culture. I felt as though I was travelling, although I was still in Montreal. It definitely made me want to visit Iran though. Maybe one day I will go with my friends!