Çarşema Sor (Red Wednesday) marks the beginning of spring and the first day of the new year in the Yazidi faith. It is celebrated on the third Wednesday of April as the day when both the universe and the world are fermented.

In a decree dated April 18, the Executive Council of the Autonomous Administration of North and East of Syria (AANES) recognized Çarşema Sor as an official holiday.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Democratic Society Movement (TEV-DEM) said: "We celebrate the holiday of our Kurdish and Yazidi people and welcome Çarşemba Sor, the beginning of the Yazidi Kurds' new year."

The statement said: "We also congratulate Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan who revived this ancient religion which has a cultural and historical heritage among the people of Kurdistan and the region.

We congratulate the families of all martyrs, fighters and guerrillas, the Free Women's Troops (YJA-STAR), the People's Defence Units (YPG), the Women's Defence Units (YPJ), the Shengal Resistance Units (YBŞ) and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that they played a major role in the protection of the people of Shengal and this ancient heritage.

The beginning of the year for the Yazidi Kurds, or Çarşema Sor Feast, is celebrated at the beginning of April according to the eastern calendar. This is the holiest month of the year when the creation of the universe is completed, and life is renewed.

Çarşemba Sor is of great historical importance. It represents mutual respect, justice, peace, common life and the fraternity of the peoples of the Mesopotamian region. It reflects the current situation in Kurdistan and the unity of the components in North and East Syria.

At a time when the people of the region celebrate Çarşemba Sor, the resisting Yazidi community in Shengal is facing sorrow and difficulties. An embargo is imposed on the will of the Yazidis in Shengal, and the will of hundreds of thousands of Yazidis in the camps run by the KDP is suppressed. The Bashur (South Kurdistan) government does not allow the Yazidis to return to free Shengal. We consider it a violation of the rights of the Yazidi community and denial of their will.

We congratulate all the components and peoples in the region, especially the Yazidi Kurds. We celebrate this holy and historical day. We call on the political, national and Kurdish forces, as well as civil and legal organizations to protect the will of the Yazidis under the Autonomous Administration in Shengal and to prevent policies that violate the rights of the Yazidis."

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.