Charsema Sor: The Yazidi New Year and the Day of Creation
- Daniel R
- 9 hours ago
- 13 min read
Introduction
Charsema Sor, the Yazidi New Year, also called Sere Sal and Red Wednesday, is the great spring festival of the Yazidi faith: a joyous feast of creation and renewal, marking the completion of the creation of the world and the descent of Tawuse Melek to the earth to bless it with life, beauty, and fertility.
Held on the first Wednesday of the Yazidi April, it is one of the oldest festivals of the region, celebrated with the lighting of many lamps in the holy valley of Lalish, the dyeing of eggs in the colours of spring, and the red flowers of the season, a beautiful festival of the new year and the renewal of life.
To know Charsema Sor is to encounter the joy and the beauty of the Yazidi vision of creation and renewal: the festival of the new year, when the Yazidis remember the making of the world and the blessing of the earth, and welcome the return of spring and the new cycle of life.
Contents
What Is Charsema Sor?
Charsema Sor, meaning Red Wednesday, also called Sere Sal, the Head of the Year, is the Yazidi New Year, the great spring festival of the Yazidi faith. It is held on the first Wednesday of April in the Yazidi calendar, which falls in the latter part of April in the common calendar, and it marks the beginning of the Yazidi new year. The festival commemorates the completion of the creation of the world and the descent of Tawuse Melek, the Peacock Angel and chief of the holy beings, to the earth, to bless it with life, beauty, and fertility, and is bound up with the joyous return of spring and the renewal of the cycle of life. It is among the oldest surviving festivals of the whole region, a feast of creation, fertility, and renewal, celebrated with the lighting of lamps at the holy valley of Lalish, the dyeing of eggs, and the red flowers of spring. Distinct from the great autumn pilgrimage festival, the Feast of the Assembly, Charsema Sor is the festival of the new year and the spring, the joyous celebration of creation and renewal. As the Yazidi New Year and the feast of the day of creation, it holds a beloved and central place in the Yazidi calendar and the life of the Yazidi people.
Red Wednesday and the Day of Creation
The festival is called Red Wednesday because, in the Yazidi understanding, it was on a Wednesday that the creation of the world was completed and the sun's light first touched the earth, turning the sky red; Wednesday is the most sacred day of the Yazidi week.
The name Charsema Sor means Red Wednesday, and it holds the heart of the festival's meaning. In the Yazidi understanding, the creation of the world, begun by the one God, was completed on a Wednesday in the spring, when the sun's rays first touched the newly made earth and bathed the sky in a reddish glow, the red of the dawn of the world; from this the festival takes its name, Red Wednesday. Wednesday is, in the Yazidi faith, the most sacred day of the week, a day of rest and reverence, believed to be the day on which Tawuse Melek comes to the earth to bring blessing, much as other faiths keep a holy day of the week. Charsema Sor, the first Wednesday of the Yazidi April, is the holiest and most joyous of these Wednesdays, the very day of the completion of creation and the descent of the Peacock Angel, kept as the new year and the day of creation. This understanding, of Red Wednesday as the day of the completion of creation and the first touch of the sun upon the earth, is the heart of the festival. It reflects the deep bond, in the Yazidi faith, between the new year, the spring, and the sacred memory of the making of the world. It is as the day of creation that Charsema Sor is most deeply understood.
Key Takeaways
Charsema Sor, Red Wednesday, is the Yazidi New Year, also called Sere Sal.
It is held on the first Wednesday of April in the Yazidi calendar.
It marks the completion of the creation of the world and the day the sun first lit the earth.
It commemorates the descent of Tawuse Melek to bless the earth with life and fertility.
It is one of the oldest surviving festivals of the region, a feast of creation and renewal.
It is celebrated with the lamps of Lalish, the dyeing of eggs, and the red flowers of spring.
Quick Facts
Name: Charsema Sor (Red Wednesday); also Sere Sal (Head of the Year)
Festival: The Yazidi New Year
When: The first Wednesday of April in the Yazidi calendar
Marks: The completion of creation and the descent of Tawuse Melek
Sacred day: Wednesday, the holiest day of the Yazidi week
Holy place: Lalish, where the festival lamps are lit
Customs: Lighting lamps, dyeing eggs, red spring flowers
Symbol of the egg: The world and the creation; linked to the Pearl
Sacred month: April (Nisan), the Bride of the Year
Character: A joyous feast of creation, fertility, and renewal
The Descent of Tawuse Melek
Charsema Sor commemorates the descent of Tawuse Melek, the Peacock Angel and chief of the holy beings, to the newly made earth, to bless it with life, beauty, and the colours of spring.
At the heart of Charsema Sor is the descent of Tawuse Melek, the Peacock Angel, the chief of the Seven Holy Beings, to the earth. In the Yazidi understanding, when the creation of the world was completed, Tawuse Melek descended to the newly made earth to bless it, to bring it order, life, and beauty, and to adorn it with the colours of the spring; in the tradition, as the Peacock Angel descended, the seven colours of the rainbow shone forth, and the earth was blessed with fertility and the renewal of life. This descent of the Peacock Angel, the beloved chief of the holy beings to whom the one God entrusted the care of the world, is the joyous heart of the festival, celebrated each spring as the earth is blessed anew and life returns after the winter. The festival thus joins the memory of the completion of creation with the descent of the holy one who blesses and tends the world, in a single feast of creation and renewal. The descent of Tawuse Melek to bless the earth is the beautiful and central event commemorated at Charsema Sor. It reflects the Yazidi vision of the world as blessed, tended, and renewed by the holy beings of the one God. It is a vision of joy, beauty, and the renewal of life.
The Customs of the Festival
Charsema Sor is celebrated with beloved customs: the lighting of many lamps at the holy valley of Lalish, the dyeing of eggs in bright colours, the adorning of homes with red flowers and coloured eggshells, and the visiting of graves and the sharing of food.
Charsema Sor is celebrated with a wealth of beloved and joyous customs. The celebrations begin on the Tuesday evening, when the glow of many lamps and candles fills the holy valley of Lalish to welcome the new year, and at the holy place the Yazidi religious leaders light the sacred lamps, in the tradition many in number, for the days of the year, filling the valley with light. Among the most beloved customs is the dyeing of eggs in bright colours, red, yellow, green, and blue, the colours of the spring and the rainbow; the eggs and their coloured shells, together with the red flowers that bloom in April, adorn the homes and doorways, to bring blessing, protection, and good fortune for the new year and fruitfulness to the household. On the eve of the festival, families visit the graves of their loved ones, and the days are marked by the sharing of food, the wearing of bright and festive clothing, the singing of the sacred hymns, and joyous gathering. Many Yazidis make the journey to Lalish, the holiest place of the faith, to mark the new year there. These beautiful customs of light, colour, and gathering make Charsema Sor a joyous feast of the new year and the spring. They reflect the festival's deep themes of creation, fertility, and the renewal of life.
The Egg and the Pearl
The dyed eggs of Charsema Sor carry a deep meaning: the egg represents the world and the creation, and in the Yazidi understanding it is linked to the radiant Pearl of the creation story, which burst forth into the many colours of the made world.
The dyeing of eggs, among the most beloved customs of Charsema Sor, carries a deep and beautiful meaning bound up with the Yazidi vision of creation. The egg, in the understanding of the festival, represents the earth and the creation of the world, and the cracking of the egg the beginning of life; its bright colours represent the colours of nature, the spring, and the rainbow that shone forth at the descent of the Peacock Angel. Scholars note that the painted eggs are understood to symbolise the very process of creation as told in the Yazidi creation story: how the radiant white Pearl, in which the world lay enclosed, burst forth and brought forth the many colours of the made world. The coloured egg of Charsema Sor is thus a small and beautiful image of the cosmogony itself, the world coming forth from the Pearl in all its colours, fitting for the festival of the day of creation. This deep meaning of the egg, as an image of the creation and of the Pearl from which the coloured world came forth, is among the most beautiful features of Charsema Sor. It binds the joyous custom of the dyed eggs to the sacred heart of the Yazidi vision of creation. The egg and the Pearl together hold the meaning of the festival.
The Sacred Month of April
The whole month of April, Nisan, is held sacred in the Yazidi faith, honoured as the Bride of the Year, the holy season of creation and the renewal of nature, during which certain activities are set aside out of reverence.
Charsema Sor falls within, and opens, the sacred month of April, called Nisan in the Kurdish tongue, which is held especially holy in the Yazidi faith. April is honoured as the Bride of the Year, the holy and beautiful season in which the earth was created and in which, each year, nature is renewed, the flowers bloom, and life returns after the winter. So sacred is this season of creation and renewal that, in the tradition, certain activities are set aside out of reverence during the holy month, such as the holding of weddings and engagements, and, in some understandings, the tilling of the soil, that the season of the earth's own renewal and fruitfulness be honoured and not disturbed. This reverence for the sacred month of April reflects the deep Yazidi sense of the spring as the holy season of creation and renewal, of which Charsema Sor, at its opening, is the great feast. The sanctity of the month of April, the Bride of the Year, frames and deepens the meaning of Charsema Sor as the festival of creation and the renewal of life. It reflects the beauty of the Yazidi bond with the sacred rhythms of the year.
Meaning and Significance
Charsema Sor embodies the joy and the beauty of the Yazidi vision of creation and renewal: the festival of the new year, when the Yazidis remember the completion of the making of the world and the descent of Tawuse Melek to bless the earth, and welcome the return of spring and the new cycle of life.
The festival embodies, too, the deep bond, in the Yazidi faith, between the sacred memory of creation and the living rhythms of the year, the new year and the spring kept as the feast of the day the world was made and blessed. It reflects the antiquity of the Yazidi faith and its festivals, Charsema Sor being among the oldest surviving feasts of the whole region, and the joy and resilience of the Yazidi people, who keep their beautiful feast of creation and renewal even through hardship. It stands alongside the great autumn Feast of the Assembly as one of the two great festivals of the Yazidi year, the one the feast of the new year and creation, the other the great pilgrimage of assembly. In all this, Charsema Sor is among the most beautiful and joyous of the festivals of the Kurdish world, the Yazidi New Year, the feast of creation, fertility, and the renewal of life. Its joy and its beauty are among the treasures of the Yazidi faith and the spiritual heritage of the Kurdish world.
Charsema Sor and the Kurds
Charsema Sor is the New Year of the Yazidi Kurds, one of the great festivals of the Yazidi faith, and a beautiful and joyous part of the spiritual heritage of the Kurdish world.
Charsema Sor is the New Year of the Yazidis, who are a Kurdish-speaking people and whose faith is one of the ancient native religions of the Kurdish world, and it forms a beautiful and joyous part of the rich spiritual heritage of the Kurdish people. In this festival of creation and renewal, the Yazidi Kurds celebrate the making and blessing of the world and welcome the return of spring, keeping one of the oldest feasts of the region with light, colour, and joy. It stands, in the wider Kurdish world, alongside the spring festival of Newroz, the Kurdish New Year of fire and freedom, as one of the beloved spring feasts of renewal of the Kurdish peoples, each with its own sacred meaning. In presenting Charsema Sor, we honour the Yazidi faith as a living religion and its New Year as a beautiful feast of creation and renewal, presenting it faithfully and with respect. It is a precious and joyous part of the spiritual heritage of the Kurdish world, reflecting the beauty, antiquity, and joy of the Yazidi faith and its vision of creation and renewal.
Debates and Misconceptions
Does Charsema Sor connect the Yazidis or Tawuse Melek to anything sinister? No, and any such claim is a slander born of misunderstanding. Charsema Sor is a joyous feast of the one God's good creation and its blessing and renewal, and Tawuse Melek, whose descent it celebrates, is a holy and benevolent being, the honoured chief of the Seven Holy Beings to whom the one God entrusted the care of the world, who descends to bless the earth with life and beauty. He must never be confused with any figure of evil; the long-standing slander that wrongly links the Yazidi faith or its holy beings to anything sinister is a grievous misunderstanding, rejected by the Yazidis and by all who understand their faith. Charsema Sor is a beautiful feast of creation, blessing, and renewal, and nothing else.
Is Charsema Sor the same as the Yazidi pilgrimage festival? No. Charsema Sor, the New Year, is the spring festival of creation and renewal, held on the first Wednesday of the Yazidi April and celebrated in homes and at Lalish with the lamps, eggs, and flowers of the new year. The great autumn Feast of the Assembly, by contrast, is the seven-day pilgrimage to Lalish in honour of Sheikh Adi, when the community gathers in assembly. They are two distinct festivals, the two great feasts of the Yazidi year, the one of the new year and creation in spring, the other of pilgrimage and assembly in autumn.
Is Charsema Sor the same as Newroz? No, though both are spring festivals of the Kurdish world. Newroz, the Kurdish New Year, falls at the spring equinox in March and is bound to the legend of Kawa and the fire of freedom; Charsema Sor, the Yazidi New Year, falls on the first Wednesday of the Yazidi April and is the Yazidi feast of creation and the descent of the Peacock Angel. They are distinct festivals, each with its own date and sacred meaning, though both are beloved spring feasts of renewal in the Kurdish world.
Related Topics
Tawuse Melek: the Peacock Angel whose descent the festival celebrates
The Yazidi Creation Story: the cosmogony the festival commemorates
Lalish: the holy valley where the festival lamps are lit
The Feast of the Assembly: the great autumn pilgrimage festival
The Heft Sirr: the Seven Holy Beings, led by Tawuse Melek
Sacred Fire: the holy flame and lamps of the Kurdish world
Newroz: the Kurdish New Year of fire and freedom
Sheikh Adi: the great saint honoured at Lalish
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Charsema Sor?
Charsema Sor, meaning Red Wednesday, also called Sere Sal, the Head of the Year, is the Yazidi New Year, the great spring festival of the Yazidi faith. Held on the first Wednesday of April in the Yazidi calendar, it marks the completion of the creation of the world and the descent of Tawuse Melek to bless the earth with life, beauty, and fertility. It is one of the oldest surviving festivals of the region.
Why is it called Red Wednesday?
The festival is called Red Wednesday because, in the Yazidi understanding, the creation of the world was completed on a Wednesday in spring, when the sun's rays first touched the newly made earth and bathed the sky in a reddish glow. Wednesday is the most sacred day of the Yazidi week, believed to be the day Tawuse Melek comes to the earth to bring blessing, and Charsema Sor is the holiest of these Wednesdays, the day of creation.
When is the Yazidi New Year?
Charsema Sor is held on the first Wednesday of April in the Yazidi calendar, which runs somewhat behind the common Gregorian calendar, so that the festival falls in the latter part of April in common reckoning. The whole month of April, called Nisan, is held sacred as the season of creation and renewal, honoured as the Bride of the Year.
Why do Yazidis dye eggs at Charsema Sor?
The egg, in the festival, represents the earth and the creation of the world, and its bright colours represent nature, spring, and the rainbow. Scholars note that the painted eggs symbolise the process of creation as told in the Yazidi creation story: how the radiant white Pearl, in which the world lay enclosed, burst forth and brought forth the many colours of the made world. The coloured egg is thus a beautiful image of the cosmogony itself.
How is Charsema Sor celebrated?
The celebrations begin on the Tuesday evening, when many lamps and candles fill the holy valley of Lalish to welcome the new year. Beloved customs include the dyeing of eggs in bright colours, the adorning of homes and doorways with red spring flowers and coloured eggshells for blessing and good fortune, the visiting of the graves of loved ones, the sharing of food, festive clothing, and the singing of sacred hymns. Many Yazidis journey to Lalish to mark the new year.
Is Charsema Sor different from the Yazidi pilgrimage festival?
Yes. Charsema Sor, the New Year, is the spring festival of creation and renewal, celebrated in homes and at Lalish with the lamps, eggs, and flowers of the new year. The great autumn Feast of the Assembly, by contrast, is the seven-day pilgrimage to Lalish in honour of Sheikh Adi, when the community gathers in assembly. They are the two great but distinct festivals of the Yazidi year.
References and Further Reading
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