Yalda Night 2026: Mon., Dec. 21, Solstice at 12:20 a.m. in Tehran

Yalda Night 2026 is the night of Monday, Dec. 21 into Tuesday, Dec. 22, the last night of autumn, and the winter solstice that marks it falls at 20:50 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on Dec. 21, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO). That is 3:50 p.m. ET on Monday in the United States and 12:20 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 22 in Tehran. Zone-by-zone times and Tehran’s 14-hour night follow.

What date is Yalda Night in 2026?

Yalda is the last night of autumn, the eve of 1 Dey in the Iranian solar (Solar Hijri) calendar. By our arithmetic, 30 Azar 1405 is Monday, Dec. 21, 2026, and 1 Dey 1405 is Tuesday, Dec. 22. Yalda Night 2026 is therefore the night of Dec. 21 into Dec. 22. This date is computed by Fresh Calendars; Iran’s Calendar Council website could not be reached, so no official entry is quoted. The result fits the solstice: in Tehran it falls at 12:20 a.m. on Dec. 22, so the night of Dec. 21 is the last of autumn.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) inscribed Yaldā/Chella on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2022, at the 17th session of its intergovernmental committee in Rabat. The file, No. 01877, was submitted by the Islamic Republic of Iran and Afghanistan. UNESCO describes it as “a traditional celebration of the sun and the warmth of life.”

What time is the solstice on Yalda Night in each time zone?

USNO lists the December 2026 solstice at 20:50 Universal Time (UT) on Dec. 21, which is 20:50 UTC. The local times are computed by Fresh Calendars from that USNO time. USNO gives Tehran no daylight time in December, so Tehran is UTC+3:30.

Place	Local time of the solstice	Local date
Honolulu, Hawaii	10:50 a.m.	Monday, Dec. 21
Alaska	11:50 a.m.	Monday, Dec. 21
Los Angeles, U.S. Pacific Time (PT)	12:50 p.m.	Monday, Dec. 21
U.S. Mountain Time (MT)	1:50 p.m.	Monday, Dec. 21
U.S. Central Time (CT)	2:50 p.m.	Monday, Dec. 21
New York and Toronto, U.S. Eastern Time (ET)	3:50 p.m.	Monday, Dec. 21
London (Greenwich Mean Time)	8:50 p.m.	Monday, Dec. 21
Tehran (UTC+3:30)	12:20 a.m.	Tuesday, Dec. 22
Baku (UTC+4)	12:50 a.m.	Tuesday, Dec. 22
Kabul (UTC+4:30)	1:20 a.m.	Tuesday, Dec. 22
Dushanbe (UTC+5)	1:50 a.m.	Tuesday, Dec. 22

Why is the solstice on Monday afternoon in the U.S. and after midnight in Tehran?

The solstice is one instant, 20:50 UTC. Adding 3 hours 30 minutes moves it past midnight in Tehran, which turns Monday into Tuesday. Subtracting five hours gives Eastern Time (EST) its Monday afternoon. Our winter solstice 2026 story covers the U.S. view, and the Dongzhi Festival story shows the same moment in East Asia.

How long is Yalda Night in Tehran, New York and Los Angeles?

USNO’s sun tables give these times for Dec. 21, 2026. The daylight lengths are computed by Fresh Calendars.

City	Sunrise Dec. 21	Sunset Dec. 21	Daylight
Tehran	7:10 a.m.	4:55 p.m.	9 h 45 min
New York	7:17 a.m.	4:32 p.m.	9 h 15 min
Los Angeles	6:55 a.m.	4:48 p.m.	9 h 53 min

For Tehran, USNO also lists sunrise on Dec. 22 at 7:11 a.m. and sunset at 4:55 p.m. The night from sunset on Dec. 21 to sunrise on Dec. 22 is 14 hours 16 minutes, by our calculation. New York’s Dec. 22 sunrise is not given here.

What happens on Yalda Night?

UNESCO writes that families gather at the houses of elders on the last night of autumn. Its file lists red fruits “such as pomegranates, watermelons, beetroots, jujube and grapes” among the foods, and the evening includes “reciting poetry and storytelling.” No official source on public-holiday status for Yalda was found, so none is given.

Print the Yalda Night 2026 planner

The one-page sheet holds the Dec. 21 date, the USNO solstice moment, UNESCO’s description and a checklist for the table. Mark the night on the December 2026 printable calendar or the printable yearly calendar. For the next equinox festival, see our Nowruz 2027 story.