Celebrating Hafez poetry on the longest night

Let's shed some light on the longest night of the year, the winter solstice usually falls on the 21st December in the northern hemisphere and brings with it an age-old festival in Iran and the Persian speaking world. It's called Yaldā, where families and friends get together to eat, drink, be merry and read poems and proverbs of the 14th century poet Hafez. His collected works are a must-have book in many Iranian homes, and have a special place in the hearts of two of our colleagues, Pooneh Ghoddoosi and Rana Rahimpour of BBC Persian.