The Yazidi Kurds celebrate the first Wednesday of April, according to the Muslim calendar, as ‘Çarşema Sor’ (Red Wednesday). Yazidi children living in a tent city in Batman celebrated the festival by painting eggs red.

The Yazidis celebrate Çarşema Sor as a spring festival. However this year’s festival is a cheerless one, as the Yazidis from Sinjar who survived last year’s massacre remember those who died.

Şêx Selman provided information regarding the festival, saying that the Yazidis accept the day as commemorating the first day of life after the thawing of the glaciers. “When eggs are heated they boil like the world, this is what we believe. If only we could be celebrating our festival in  Sinjar. Last year our community suffered a massacre at the hands of ISIS and therefore our festival this year is cheerless.”

‘We thank those who are cleansing our lands of terrorists’

A religious leader, Pir Şemo, said the festival was the day of the peacock angel, Melek-i Tawus, adding that although Batman was in their homeland, they hoped to return to their holy land soon. We dedicate this Çarşema Sor to our freedom fighters, to the HPG, YPG and Sinjar People’s Defence Units who are cleansing our lands of terrorists.”

‘No one marries in April’

Şeyma Heci said young people dressed in red, yellow and green garments on Çarşema Sor and because in the month of April nature was bedecked like a bride, it would accept no one else as a bride. She added that although this year the festival was not being celebrated in the usual way, they had prepared food and eggs so that the children would enjoy it.