Tülay Hatimoğulları, Co-Vice Chair of HDP in charge of the Peoples and Faiths Commission, celebrated Yazidi people's holy feast Çarşema Sor (Red Wednesday) in a written statement on April 20.

“Carşema Serê Nîsanê, or Çarşema Sor, which marks the beginning of spring and is celebrated as the first day of the new year by the Yazidi people, is the day when the world was fermented by God and life on earth started,” Hatimoğulları said.

“The Yazidis have been massacred 73 times because of their language, culture, identity and belief. The last one was carried out in Shengal. The whereabouts of thousands of women and children who have been held captive by ISIS since 2014, when the Yazidi genocide took place, is still unknown. On April 18, before the Çarşema Sor Feast, the Yazidis were attacked once again. We feel the pain of the Yazidi people. We will get rid of this spiral of violence together in solidarity with them.

We hope that Çarsema Sor, which represents absolute goodness for the Yazidis, will pave the way for the liberation of Yazidi women and children and the freedom of the Yazidi people.

We hope that the Çarşema Sor Feast will lead to peace, freedom, justice and equality for all humanity, and we celebrate the holiday of the ancient Yazidi people.

Cejna pîroz Çarşema Sor ya Gelê Êzidî piroz!”

Red Wednesday

"Çarşema Sor" in Kurdish means "Red Wednesday". "Çarşem" consists of the Kurdish words "çar" for four and "şem" for week, meaning the "fourth day of the week", which is Wednesday. "Sor" means red. The day is also called "Sersal" (Kurdish "ser": up, head and/or top; and "sal": year), meaning "New Year".

New Year time

The Yazidi New Year is celebrated on the first Wednesday in April, which, according to the Yazidi calendar, is always the first day of April and the New Year. Since the Yazidi calendar follows the Gregorian calendar by 13 days, the New Year is celebrated on the first Wednesday in April, which falls on or after April 14th in the Gregorian calendar. In Kurdish, the month of April is called "Nîsan". The first day of the month "Nîsan" is the "Çarşema Sor".

Mythology

According to Yazidi mythology, the "red Wednesday" is the day on which the creation of the earth was completed: The sun's rays reached the earth for the first time, turning the firmament red. The name "Red Wednesday" comes from this. Furthermore, it was the day on which the head of the Yazidi archangels, Tawisî Melek (God's angel), first came to earth. Tawisî Melek is the center of the seven archangels, so he represents Wednesday, the middle of the week or the center of the seven archangels. Wednesday is the rest day of the Yazidis, similar to Sunday for Christians.