Coronavirus prevents Yazidi New Year’s celebrations in Aleppo’s northern countryside

Center of Yazidis Union in Afrin before the Turkish control over the region

Northern Aleppo – North-Press Agency
Dejla Khalil

 

Suad Hesso, head of the Yazidis Union in Afrin region in the northern countryside of Aleppo, said that they canceled all celebrations and religious rituals of Çarşema Sor – the Yazidi New Year (Red Wednesday), which occurs on the first Wednesday of April according to the eastern calendar (Julian calendar), which is 13 days later than the western one, as a precautionary measure to prevent the outbreak of coronavirus.

In a special statement to North Press, Hesso explained that they were satisfied with greetings via phone calls only, without visiting graves or holding ceremonies, while some families were satisfied with coloring eggs, as a ritual of the occasion.

According to Yazidi mythology, on Wednesday, "the Lord pumped blood into the body of Adam and finished creating the universe, and began to resurrect life in it." Therefore, they called it Red Wednesday.

 

One of the New Year's rituals is that families bring eggs, which symbolize the sphericity of the earth, boil them to symbolize the Earth freezing, and then peel them as a sign of the melting of the ice layer on the face of the earth. After that, they throw the crusts on their agricultural lands as a blessing. They also color them, which indicates Spring and the beginning of life.

 
Hesso indicated that before Turkey took control over Afrin region, they were holding celebrations and exchanging visits.

The Yazidis in the Afrin region are distributed in 22 villages, and there are no accurate statistics for their numbers in Syria, but according to unofficial statistics, there are about 25,000 of them.

In Afrin region, there are more than 15 shrines for the Yazidis, most of which have been destroyed by Turkish forces and their armed opposition groups.

Since the entry of the Turkish forces, only 15% of them remained in the Afrin region, according to the report by the Human Rights Organization in Afrin.  

In a related context, the Yazidi House in al-Jazira region also canceled the festivities this year in compliance with the decision of the Crisis Committee in the Autonomous Administration, explaining in a statement issued on Wednesday that the Yazidi House will not be opened to receive guests.