The beauty of interracial/interfaith relationships is that one has the ability to celebrate all the holidays between the two cultures.

In addition to our Christmas festivities, we also celebrated Shab-e Yalda, which is basically the winter solstice. Persians celebrate the longest night of the year by eating reddish colored fruits, which symbolize the sun, as well as nuts, chocolates, candies and many other delicious goodies.

Families gather together and the elders beguile the others with folkloric tales and personal anecdotes. It’s a holiday steeped in family and togetherness, which is why I love it so much.

Here was our Shab-e Yalda spread.