Erbil, Kurdistan - Iraq (KRG.org) - As the people of the Kurdistan Region and millions of Kurds around the world prepare to celebrate Newroz, the traditional Kurdish
new year, the Kurdistan Regional Government welcomes the UN General Assembly’s recognition of this ancient celebration.

Kurds in the Kurdistan Region and other countries have been celebrating Newroz, which means New Day, for at least three thousand years. Newroz falls on the Spring Equinox, the first day of spring, and represents hope, unity and renewal.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) also welcomes the UN’s decision to include the Newroz new year as an Intangible Heritage of Humanity. The decision to include Newroz in the list of humanity’s heritages was made by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

The text of the UN General Assembly resolution notes the festival’s ‘affirmation of life in harmony with nature, the awareness of the inseparable link between constructive labour and natural cycles of renewal and the solicitous and respectful attitude towards natural sources of life’.

The UN Assembly called on member states that celebrate the festival to study the history and traditions of Newroz, to spread this knowledge among the international community and organise annual commemoration events. The KRG is already including its international friends in the new year festivities. Last year the KRG Department of Foreign Relations hosted many ambassadors and diplomats based in Baghdad to a major Newroz celebration in Erbil, and this year the KRG UK Representation in London hosted a Newroz reception for its international friends and the Kurdish community in the UK.

Newroz is celebrated not only in Kurdistan but also in Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin and the Caucuses. For the Kurds, Newroz has an additional significance: The large fires that Kurds light on new year’s day represent the triumph of good over evil and freedom from oppression. The Newroz myth recounts the Kurdish struggle against an evil ruler. When Kawa the blacksmith defeated the tyrant, the people lit fires to transmit the good news throughout the Region. Across the Kurdistan Region, people will celebrate by wearing their finest colourful Kurdish dress, picnicking in the countryside, singing and dancing.

Below: Newroz fires on the hillsides of Akra, Kurdistan Region