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The other name of the festival, ‘Yaldā’, is ultimately borrowing from Syriac-speaking Christians.According to Dehkhoda, “Yalda is a Syriac word meaning birthday, and because people have adapted Yalda night with the nativity of Messiah, it’s called the name; however, the celebration of Christmas (Noël) established on December 25, is set as the birthday of Jesus. Yalda is the beginning of winter and the last night of autumn, and it is the longest night of the year”. In the 1st century, significant numbers of Eastern Christians were settled in Parthian and Sasanian territories, where they had received protection from religious persecution.
