Newroz and Kurdish Mythology: Fire, Freedom and the Defeat of Tyranny
- Dala Sarkis
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
Introduction
Newroz (Kurdish: Newroz, 'new day') is the Kurdish New Year and the most important festival in the Kurdish calendar. Celebrated at the spring equinox around 21 March, it welcomes the return of spring with bonfires on the mountains, dancing and feasting. But for Kurds it carries a meaning far deeper than the changing season: it is the night the tyrant fell and the people were set free.
Newroz belongs to the wider Iranic world and is shared by many peoples, from Persians (who call it Nowruz) to communities across Central Asia. What makes the Kurdish Newroz distinct is the legend attached to it, the story of Kawa the Blacksmith, and the way the festival has become a living symbol of Kurdish identity, resistance and hope.
Contents
What Is Newroz?
Newroz is the Kurdish celebration of the new year and the first day of spring. At its heart is fire: communities light great bonfires on hillsides and in city squares, and people leap over the flames. In Kurdish tradition the festival commemorates the defeat of the tyrant Zahhak by the blacksmith Kawa, making Newroz both a celebration of nature's renewal and of freedom from oppression.
Key Takeaways
Newroz means 'new day' and marks the Kurdish New Year at the spring equinox, around 21 March.
Fire is its central symbol: bonfires and torches stand for light defeating darkness and freedom defeating tyranny.
In Kurdish tradition it commemorates Kawa the Blacksmith's revolt against the tyrant Zahhak.
It is shared across the Iranic world (Persian Nowruz) but holds a uniquely political meaning for Kurds.
Long banned in Turkey and elsewhere, Newroz has become a powerful act of Kurdish identity and resistance.
Quick Facts
Name: Newroz (the Kurdish New Year)
Meaning: 'New day' (Kurdish: Newroz)
Other names: Nowruz (Persian), Nawroz, Nevruz (Turkish spelling)
Type: New Year and spring festival; national Kurdish holiday
Date: Spring equinox, around 21 March (fires lit on the eve of 20 March; celebrations 18-24 March)
Tradition: Kurdish; wider Iranic and Zoroastrian heritage
Central symbol: Fire: bonfires, torches and leaping the flames
Associated with: Kawa the Blacksmith, the fall of Zahhak, spring, freedom
Kurdish calendar year (2026): 2726, counted from around 700 BCE
Attestation: Oral and ritual tradition; noted in Kurdish literature (Ehmede Xani, 17th century)
The Story: Kawa and the First Newroz
The legend behind Newroz is the story of Kawa the Blacksmith. In it, the land suffers under Zahhak, a tyrant with two serpents growing from his shoulders that must be fed the brains of two young people every day. Under his rule, it is said, spring itself stopped coming.
Kawa, a blacksmith who has lost his own children to the serpents, forges weapons, gathers the oppressed and leads an uprising. He strikes down the tyrant and frees the people.
To carry the news of freedom across the land, Kawa climbs a mountain and lights a great fire. Its light leaps from peak to peak, and the long winter of Zahhak's reign finally breaks into spring. That fire is what Kurds light again every Newroz.
You can read the full legend, and how the Kurdish and Persian versions differ, in our article on Kawa the Blacksmith.
Origins and History
The Kurdish Newroz Legend
For Kurds, Newroz is inseparable from the Kawa story. The festival is understood as the anniversary of the people's liberation, which is why its fires are not only about spring but about freedom. The 17th-century Kurdish poet Ehmede Xani, author of Mem u Zin, already describes people young and old leaving their homes to gather in the countryside for Newroz.
Ancient Zoroastrian and Iranic Roots
Beneath the Kurdish legend lies a much older festival. Newroz is rooted in ancient Iranic and Zoroastrian tradition, where fire is a symbol of light, goodness and purification, and the new year marks the renewal of the world. The reverence for fire that defines Kurdish Newroz reaches back to these pre-Islamic beliefs.
The Medes and the Kurdish Calendar
Many Kurds trace Newroz to the time of the Medes, an ancient Iranian people often regarded as ancestors of the Kurds, who are said to have marked the new year with fire ceremonies. Kurds also keep their own calendar counted from around 700 BCE, so the year that begins at Newroz in 2026 is 2726. The historical link between the Medes and modern Kurds is debated by scholars, but it remains central to how Kurds understand the festival's antiquity.
Symbolism
Fire is the beating heart of Newroz. Its flames stand for the victory of light over darkness, of freedom over tyranny and of hope over despair, and their timing at the equinox ties them to rebirth and the return of life after winter.
The festival's other symbols carry the same themes: the colours green, yellow and red worn in traditional dress; spring flowers such as tulips and hyacinths; and the mountains where the fires are lit, long a place of Kurdish refuge and resistance.
How Newroz Is Celebrated
Celebrations usually begin on the evening of 20 March, when bonfires are lit and young people leap over the flames. Families and friends dress in colourful traditional clothes, gather in the countryside and mountains for picnics, and dance the govend (a line dance) to music, with poetry, songs and fireworks late into the night.
Foods such as dolma and kofta are shared, spring flowers are gathered, and in some regions pottery is smashed for good luck. In the days that follow, families visit one another and the graves of relatives, and old quarrels are traditionally set aside so the new year can begin in peace.
Today the celebrations range from the town of Akre in the Kurdistan Region, often called the 'capital of Newroz' for its torch processions up the hillsides, to diaspora gatherings in cities such as Cologne that draw tens of thousands.
Newroz as a Symbol of Resistance
Because Newroz binds spring to the idea of freedom from tyranny, it has long been political. The first large public Newroz festivities in Turkey were organised in Diyarbakir (Amed) in 1970, and by 1991 the celebrations had grown into mass gatherings across the Kurdish southeast.
The response was often violent. Newroz was outlawed in Turkey until 1992, and that year security forces killed dozens of Kurds during the festivities. After partial legalisation, the state imposed a Turkified spelling, 'Nevruz', and promoted the idea that the holiday's origins were Central Asian and Turkic rather than Kurdish. Even the Kurdish spelling 'Newroz', with its letter 'w', became a point of conflict, since 'w' is not part of the Turkish alphabet.
Despite the bans, Newroz squares became arenas of Kurdish self-assertion, marked by speeches and demands for recognition. The festival's political weight continues to shift: in 2026, according to Kurdish news outlets, Syria officially permitted public Kurdish Newroz celebrations for the first time, a notable change after a long history of suppression.
Debates and Misconceptions
Is Newroz Kurdish or shared? Both. Newroz is celebrated by many peoples across the Iranian cultural world and beyond, and no single nation owns it. What is distinctly Kurdish is the Kawa legend attached to it and the political meaning it has taken on. Claims that the holiday is essentially Turkic or Central Asian in origin are generally rejected by scholars, who place its roots in the Iranic and Zoroastrian world.
Even the date varies. Although Newroz falls on the spring equinox, usually 21 March, Kurdish bonfires are traditionally lit on the evening of 20 March, and public celebrations are often held across several days between 18 and 24 March.
Related Myths and Topics
Kawa the Blacksmith: the hero whose revolt Newroz remembers
Zahhak: the serpent-tyrant whose defeat the festival celebrates
Fereydun: the king who, in the Persian version, overthrows Zahhak
Fire in Kurdish mythology: purification, freedom and renewal
The Derafsh-e Kaviani: the banner born from Kawa's revolt
Mem u Zin: the epic by Ehmede Xani, who wrote of Newroz
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Newroz?
Newroz is the Kurdish New Year, celebrated at the spring equinox around 21 March. It welcomes spring with bonfires and, in Kurdish tradition, commemorates the defeat of the tyrant Zahhak by Kawa the Blacksmith.
Why do Kurds light fires at Newroz?
Fire is the central symbol of Newroz. It represents light defeating darkness and freedom defeating tyranny, and recalls the fire Kawa is said to have lit on the mountains to announce the people's liberation.
What is the difference between Newroz and Nowruz?
They are the same festival. 'Nowruz' is the Persian name and 'Newroz' the Kurdish one. It is shared across the Iranic world, but Kurds attach the Kawa legend to it and give it a distinct political meaning.
When is Newroz celebrated?
Newroz falls on the spring equinox, usually 21 March. Kurdish bonfires are traditionally lit on the evening of 20 March, and celebrations often run across several days between 18 and 24 March.
Why is Newroz political for Kurds?
Because its story is about overthrowing a tyrant and winning freedom, Newroz became a symbol of Kurdish identity and resistance. It was banned in Turkey until 1992 and at times met with violence, which only deepened its political meaning.
References and Further Reading
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