Not long ago we were introduced to Samhain, a new old holiday which extends Halloween over two days. Being always in favor of more rather than fewer holidays, here’s another reason to take off work, this time it’s Newroz and Kurdish people in Iran and Syria are being killed just for celebrating it. (I wonder would I be so passionate about celebrating Super Bowl if I knew it could get you shot doing it?)
With Newroz you get two holidays in one. Newroz is the Kurdish celebration of not only spring but also the new year. Doesn’t it make more sense celebrating new year when the Earth agrees with you? I like this Newroz already. Besides, something as auspicious as the spring equinox deserves celebrating with a bang, but not the bang of bullets.
In Iran, “thousands of Kurds defied security crackdowns and threats to celebrate Newroz by singing songs and waving the flag of Kurdistan,” the Washington Kurdish Institute reports. But in Saqqez, the Newroz celebrations morphed into protests against the Iranian regime and in Dehgoian the dreaded Iranian Revolutionary Guard opened fire on the celebrating protestors.
In Afrin, Syria four Kurdish men celebrating Newroz were shot and killed by Turkish-backed al Sharqia, the Institute said in their weekly newsletter.
In Istanbul, Turkey 224 people were arrested for celebrating Newroz. Arrests were also made in the Turkish capital Ankara. But in Turkey they celebrated Newroz on March 19th, so if they can be too early, maybe we’re not too late.
It’s really easy to celebrate Newroz. All you do is light a fire around sunset on either March 21st or March 20th. This year it was the 20th, so if you missed another Newroz you might want to mark your calendar for next year or, as mentioned earlier, do it this evening.
It isn’t necessary to know your Zoroastrianism tradition to light the fire but if you’re so inclined you might consider the fire as a living symbol of light, goodness and purification. “The new world ascending, the old world is ending.”
Kurdish celebrations eliding into political statements is not new. Newroz also celebrates the Kurds being delivered from a tyrant. To Kurdistan that could be Turkey’s Erdogan, Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, or Iran’s Raisi, take your pick. Tyrant-wise, Kurds are opulent.
As a hip new American thing, I’m not sure this qualifies, but President Biden brought Newroz to the White House this year by hosting a special celebration. He vowed to hold Iran “accountable” for attacking its people, Kurdish or otherwise.
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