Today is the Çarşema Ser (Red Wednesday) holiday. The Yazidi community sees this day as the day of the creation of the world, the beginning of the new year, and the feast of Melekê Tawis (the Peacock Angel), and celebrates it with great enthusiasm. In Shengal, the Çarşema Sor holiday has merged with the goodness and abundance of spring, which has further increased the enthusiasm of this year’s celebrations compared to previous years.
One of the places where Yazidis in Shengal gather in masses to celebrate Çarşema Sor is the entrance of Kers Valley. This year’s celebration in Kers Valley was organized by the Shengal Culture and Arts Center and the Stiya Nexşa Center.
Yazidi community blends its color with the colors of spring.
After celebrating the holiday together in the morning, thousands of women, children, youth, and people of all ages flocked to the celebration area at noon with the joy of spring. The Yazidi community proudly expressed its existence, identity, and belief by blending its color with the colors of spring.
This year’s Çarşema Sor program is also organized as a cultural and arts festival; the celebration area includes a photo exhibition, a book tent, and a Jineology (Women’s Science) stand.
No celebration in Laleşê Nûranî for security reasons
As celebrations in Laleşê Nûranî were canceled this year for security reasons, many Yazidis from camps in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq) and the Şêxan region came to Shengal to celebrate the holiday.
In addition, a group of guests from Qandil, Sulaymaniyah, Maxmur and Baghdad also came to Shengal for the celebrations and joined the festivities in Kers Valley.
The event began with the recitation of a section from the Qewl of Çarşema Nîsanê, followed by a one-minute moment of silence for all martyrs of the 74 genocides suffered by the Yazidis and for the martyrs of the freedom struggle.
At the festival, messages sent from outside and from delegations participating from different cities of South Kurdistan and Iraq were read. Along with these messages, two important messages also reached the celebration area. The religious authority of the Yazidis, Bavê Şêx, sent an audio message to the celebration in Kers Valley. KCK Executive Council member Sozdar Avesta also sent a special message to Shengal and all of Êzîdxan (Yazidi land) for the occasion.
‘We celebrate this holiday for all martyrs’
Speaking on behalf of the Shengal People’s Council, Azad Husên congratulated all Yazidis in Shengal and around the world on the holiday and stated: “We celebrate this holiday for all martyrs. On behalf of the Shengal People’s Council, we welcome you all. Our hope is that this holiday will contribute to unity and equality for all peoples. If the people of Shengal can come together and celebrate their holiday today, this in itself is a great achievement. You see the situation in the Middle East, and you also see the peace in Shengal. We hope this holiday becomes a celebration of unity and solidarity. Long live the resistance of Shengal, long live the resistance of the Yazidi people.’
‘Our struggle is united with Shengal’
The Co-Mayor of the Maxmur People’s Municipality also conveyed a message to Shengal on behalf of the Şehîd Rustem Cûdî Camp, stating: “Our arrival from Maxmur is a source of happiness for us. We feel the attacks against the people of Shengal and consider them as attacks against ourselves. The struggle we carry out in Maxmur is a struggle united with Shengal. Celebrating this holiday at the foothills of Mount Shengal is a source of pain and sorrow for the enemy.’
A congratulatory message on behalf of the PYD (Democratic Union Party) from Rojava Kurdistan said: “With great pride and honor, we celebrate Çarşema Sor, the Yazidi New Year, for all of you. All respect and thanks go to our mothers, our children, our grandmothers and grandfathers, and our leaders.’
‘We see the pain and joy of the people of Êzîdxan as our own’
The message from the Binarê Qendîl People’s Council said: “Çarşema Sor is not only a religious holiday; it is also a symbol of historical roots, authenticity, and the preservation of national and cultural identity. On behalf of Binarê Qendîl, we once again emphasize that we see the pain and joy of the people of Êzîdxan as our own.”
Another message celebrating the holiday was delivered on behalf of the Baghdad delegation.
After the reading of the messages, the artistic program began. The Shengal Hope Group affiliated with Stiya Nexşa, many dengbêjs, artists, and the Yazidi Saz Collective consisting of Yazidi tembûr artists, as well as the Stiya Nexşa Bêrîvan Group and artist Hemîd Qîranî, heightened the enthusiasm of the celebration with their songs and melodies.
The Çarşema Nîsanê celebration continues with great enthusiasm with the songs of the Shengal Hope Group.
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