Due to the Corona pandemic there will be no mass events for the Kurdish New Year Newroz this year. Instead of the central Newroz celebrations, every place, every house, every street, every quarter, every village and every mountain in Kurdistan will become its own festival place.

In the north-east Syrian city of Qamishlo ANF Rojava correspondent Ersin Çaksu captured today with his camera pictures of the first Newroz fire of the year.

Newroz

To welcome Newroz, people of Kurdistan traditionally light big fires. Since Kawa needed fire to forge the iron with which he put an end to centuries of oppression, this fire became an important symbol for Newroz. Kawa was a blacksmith who ended the tyranny of the evil ruler Dehak on March 21, 2632 years ago. According to legends from the time of the Median Empire, Dehak suffered from a disease whose only cure was the brains of boys. When Kawa's sons were also to be sacrificed, he decided to resist. The blacksmith slew the tyrant and lit a fire to signal to the people in the mountains that Dehak had been defeated. Since then, Newroz, the new day, is celebrated in Kurdistan as the day of a new beginning or rebirth. Every year on New Year's Day on March 21, Kawa’s fire is rekindled. It symbolizes the fight against tyranny and oppression by foreign invaders.

Also in the holy book "Zend Avesta" of the Zarathustrianism faith the fire has a great meaning. Thus, this old Kurdish faith with its positive attitude towards fire stands in contrast to Islam and also to Christianity, in which fire symbolizes hell.