Syrian New Year: The Oldest Celebration in Human Societies

Syrian New Year: The Oldest Celebration in Human Societies.

Akitu (in Sumerian: “Akiti Senunm”) is the New Year holiday celebrated by the Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Chaldeans. It begins on the first day of April and lasts for twelve days. The celebration dates back to the First Babylonian Dynasty, which originated in the early second millennium BC. Akitu is considered the oldest recorded festival in the history of the Near East, with the calendar reaching the year 6775, corresponding to the current year.

Linguistically, the term “Akitu” refers to the time of planting and harvesting barley. Discoveries in Syria and Iraq reveal that the first Akitu festival in history began as an agricultural harvest festival, held twice a year—once in April and another in October. Over time, the celebration evolved from a semi-annual agricultural event to a national annual New Year’s festival. It takes place during the time of the year when day and night are perfectly balanced, marking the spring equinox with the first appearance of the new moon in spring, typically at the end of March or the beginning of April, according to the lunar cycle.

This highlights shared beliefs among the Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Arameans of that era, where the annual movement of the moon was seen as a “closed circular motion,” ensuring nature’s immortality and the continuation of life.

The holiday transformed into a national celebration for the peoples inhabiting the lands stretching between Syria and Iraq during the Assyrian reign. It became a Syriac holiday, as the Syriac dictionary defines “Akitu Breikho” as fertility and abundance. It symbolized the role of the sacred priestess or queen, who was represented as the pine tree / the tree of Ishtar.

One of the ancient songs that was traditionally sung and is still chanted to this day is “Heihat Yam al-Zalfi.” Sources and studies highlight the historical depth of this song in the Syrian heritage.

During the spring festival and New Year’s celebrations, people recited its verses, praying for the arrival of this beautiful season when trees bloom, water springs erupt, roses blossom, wheat stalks revive, and life returns to its enchanting and natural beauty.

Assyrian, Akkadian, and Syriac communities in northeastern Syria, Iraq, and some Turkish villages, as well as diaspora communities in countries like Australia and Sweden, continue to celebrate this festival.