Persians celebrate today as Yalda. They read poetry to each other and eat pomegranates and watermelon. Yalda is the day when it is said, Mithras was born. It is also the earliest day for the winter solstice in the Northern hemisphere. Mithras was the god of contracts and bonds and this has been used to promote the bonds of fellowship and friendship ever since.
– Posted by Douglas Racionzer (seremdipiday.blogspot.com)