Şeva Zistanê (Night of Winter) is an unofficial holiday celebrated throughout Kurdistan on the night of the Winter Solstice.

Ancient tribes in the Kurdistan assumed the Winter Solstice was the night when the evil spirit was at the peak of his strength. But from this point, as the days got longer and the nights shorter, light would prevail over darkness and the Sun would be reborn. “Going into spring,” Hiwa Tase from Rojhelat explained, “you have defeated winter and come alive again.”

Modern Kurds still observe the night as a holiday. Families and communities gather to celebrate and exchange gifts; special foods like dolma, pomegranates and dried fruit, pistachios and almonds are served; the children play games and eat sweets.