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Assyrian Celebrations
Premta d-Simele; Martyr's
The Simele massacre (Assyrian: ܦܪܡܬܐ ܕܣܡܠܐ: Premta d-Simele) was the first of many massacres committed by the Iraqi government during the systematic targeting of Assyrian of Northern Iraq in August of 1933. The killing spree that continued among 63 Assyrian villages in the Dohuk and Mosul districts, led to the deaths of an estimated 3,000 Assyrians.
August 7 officially became known as Martyrs Day or National Day of Mourning by the Assyrian community in memory for the Simele massacre, as it was declared so by the Assyrian Universal Alliance in 1970. In 2004, the Syrian government banned the Assyrian political organization and the Assyrian community of Syria from commemorating the event, and threatened arrests if any were to break the ban.
On August 7, Assyrians in the homeland and in the diaspora get together in local community clubs get together and share poems about the incident, revial new art work, etc.
Somikka; Holy Halloween
Somikka is a religious event that begins on February 26 and ends on Easter Sunday. Somikka shares some common themes with the American festival of Halloween, but its meaning is very much different. The main purpose of Somikka is to motivate and discipline Assyrian children to fast during Lent. This is done by scaring children into the discipline of observing lent, when people would abstain from eating eggs, meat and any dairy or animal products for the seven weeks preceding Easter.
The evening before the fast began, or what is called "Somikka night" (Syriac: Leletd Somikka), small groups of young men would dress in scary Halloween like clothes, wearing masks and also carry accessories such as wooden swords and shields. These men then would knock on Assyrian homes and scare the children into fasting. The parents in return would give the "Somikka" money (food items in the old times) and tell their children that this was to bribe Somikka off them. They would also warn them that if they broke their fast during Lent, Somikka would come and punish them. To the permissive Western mind, this might seem a little abusive, or even cruel. But in the East discipline was the hallmark of raising children to grow up into God-fearing and upright adults.
Assyrian Villages in Urmia had another custom relating to Lent. The head of every family would stick seven colored feathers into a large onion, the feathers representing the seven weeks of fasting. He would then tie the feathered onion with a string and hang it from the ceiling of their living room, where it would spin every time there was a draft when the door was opened. This attracted attention and served to remind the children of the fast. Every Sunday night he would remove, ceremoniously, one feather to indicate that one week of fasting was over, until all the feathers were gone by Easter night, the last day of fasting, before celebrating the Lord’s Resurrection.
The Simele massacre (Assyrian: ܦܪܡܬܐ ܕܣܡܠܐ: Premta d-Simele) was the first of many massacres committed by the Iraqi government during the systematic targeting of Assyrian of Northern Iraq in August of 1933. The killing spree that continued among 63 Assyrian villages in the Dohuk and Mosul districts, led to the deaths of an estimated 3,000 Assyrians.
August 7 officially became known as Martyrs Day or National Day of Mourning by the Assyrian community in memory for the Simele massacre, as it was declared so by the Assyrian Universal Alliance in 1970. In 2004, the Syrian government banned the Assyrian political organization and the Assyrian community of Syria from commemorating the event, and threatened arrests if any were to break the ban.
On August 7, Assyrians in the homeland and in the diaspora get together in local community clubs get together and share poems about the incident, revial new art work, etc.
Somikka; Holy Halloween
Somikka is a religious event that begins on February 26 and ends on Easter Sunday. Somikka shares some common themes with the American festival of Halloween, but its meaning is very much different. The main purpose of Somikka is to motivate and discipline Assyrian children to fast during Lent. This is done by scaring children into the discipline of observing lent, when people would abstain from eating eggs, meat and any dairy or animal products for the seven weeks preceding Easter.
The evening before the fast began, or what is called "Somikka night" (Syriac: Leletd Somikka), small groups of young men would dress in scary Halloween like clothes, wearing masks and also carry accessories such as wooden swords and shields. These men then would knock on Assyrian homes and scare the children into fasting. The parents in return would give the "Somikka" money (food items in the old times) and tell their children that this was to bribe Somikka off them. They would also warn them that if they broke their fast during Lent, Somikka would come and punish them. To the permissive Western mind, this might seem a little abusive, or even cruel. But in the East discipline was the hallmark of raising children to grow up into God-fearing and upright adults.
Assyrian Villages in Urmia had another custom relating to Lent. The head of every family would stick seven colored feathers into a large onion, the feathers representing the seven weeks of fasting. He would then tie the feathered onion with a string and hang it from the ceiling of their living room, where it would spin every time there was a draft when the door was opened. This attracted attention and served to remind the children of the fast. Every Sunday night he would remove, ceremoniously, one feather to indicate that one week of fasting was over, until all the feathers were gone by Easter night, the last day of fasting, before celebrating the Lord’s Resurrection.
Latest page update: made by juliet1987
, May 22 2008, 10:18 AM EDT
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Edited by juliet1987
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Edited by juliet1987
160 words added
536 words deleted
view changes
- complete history)
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