Newroz as celebrated by Kurds

Common card · No. 455342

Newroz (Kurdish: نەورۆز) is the Kurdish celebration of Nowruz; the arrival of spring and new year in Kurdish culture. The lighting of the fires at the beginning of the evening of March 20 is the main symbol of Newroz among the Kurds. Newroz is celebrated on or around the March equinox. In Turkey in particular, it became closely associated with Kurdish political mobilisation from the 1990s, and it is presented in Kurdish nationalist discourse as a national day. The festival draws on older Iranian new-year traditions, and its modern Kurdish form developed in the 20th century. In Kurdish legend, the holiday celebrates the deliverance of the Kurds from tyranny, with a blacksmith leading an uprising of villagers against a tyrannical king. It is seen as another way of demonstrating support for the Kurdish cause. The celebration usually falls on 21 March and is usually held between 18 and 24 March. The festival has an important place in terms of Kurdish identity for the majority of Kurds. Though...

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