Newroz Celebration

The History of a common celebration in Central Asia

by Sercan Yıldırım

Newroz is a celebration symbolized by each nation with its own cultural values and expresses the arrival of spring. It is celebrated with the local colours and beliefs in a wide region from Central Asia to the Balkans. Through celebrations vary, people generally gather together to welcome the coming of spring; they wear coloured clothes and dance together.

In Kurdish, the word “Newroz” means New (New) and Roz (Day, daylight) is a combination of the two words. Its original meaning is accepted as New Day Light in many sources. When it comes to the historical origins of Newroz, it is seen that it has a history that goes back about 4350 years. Nowruz is a sacred day especially for Zoroastrianism and Bahai community and, furthermore, it is celebrated as a holiday. The celebration coincides with the March equinox which usually falls on the 21st of March and or somewhere between the 18th and 24th of March. In addition, it is considered as the first day of the year in some Kurdish sources. Moreover, it is also believed to be based on the legend of the Blacksmith Kawa in Kurdish and Iranian mythology. The legend of the Blacksmith Kawa is mentioned as follows: According to the Kawa legend in Kurdish mythology, there was a blacksmith named Kawa who lived under a cruel king of Assyria named © http://yeniozgurpolitika.blogspot.com/2014/03/ onbinler-newroz-kutluyor-kurdistanda.html

Zuhak 2500 years ago. According to the legend, the king had a snake on both shoulders and he had two Kurdish young people brought to his palace every day to feed them and had them killed. Because of this savagery, the king also prevented the arrival of spring. Finally, two people, Armayel and Garmayel, who wanted to do something to get rid of this persecution, entered the king’s palace as a cook. They kill only one of the children to feed the king’s snakes and help others to sneak out of the palace. Thus, they mix a human with a sheep and give it to the snakes and save a child every day. It is believed that people who can escape from the palace are the ancestors of the Kurds, and they were secretly trained by the blacksmith named Kawa to become warriors. Thus, these warriors, led by Kawa, marched to the tyrant’s palace on March 20 and managed to kill the king with hammer blows. Kawa burns fires on all the hills around and celebrates this victory together. Thus, the Kurdish people would be freed from the cruel king and spring would come the next day. In Kurdish legend, the holiday celebrates the deliverance of the Kurds from a tyrant, and it is

© https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/let-s-join-newroz-with-the-spirit-of-the-contemporary-kawa-33733 The Newroz traditions

© http://beytussebapnews.blogspot.com/2015/03/beytussebapta-coskulu-newruz-kutlamas.htmlThe clothes for Newroz celebration

seen as another way of demonstrating support for the Kurdish cause. Kurds celebrate Newroz on 21, 22 and 23 March. With this holiday, Kurds often gather outside the city and in open spaces and celebrate the coming spring. Women wear colourful dresses and cover their heads with glittering cloths. As a tradition, a large fire is made in an open space, and people dance around the fire and jump over it. This tradition is still celebrated with enthusiasm for the arrival of spring in many countries and in various cultures that in turn provides the opportunity for the old traditions to persist. In addition, Newroz is celebrated as the World Newroz Day on 21 March every year. You can join this excitement by visiting the places where Newroz is celebrated and participating in the events.

The Newroz fire

© https://www.flickr.com/photos/conchimichurri/13328803324/