SOHR: 4 Syrians killed for celebrating Nowruz

At least four people were killed and three others were wounded by Turkish-backed fighters in an attack on a family of Syrian Kurds celebrating the festival of Nowruz in northern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Kurdish men lit a fire near their home to celebrate Nowruz, the Persian New Year.

The fighters then “opened fire on the citizens in cold blood, ” killing four people and wounding three others, “all from the same family.

The shooting happened at a village near the town of Jindayris, Aleppo province, in an area outside of the Damascus government’s control that was badly hit by last month’s devastating earthquake.

 

What is Nowruz celebration ?

More than 300 million people celebrate Nowruz every year, Nowruz is the Iranian or Persian New Year celebrated by various ethnicities worldwide.

It is a festival based on the Iranian Solar Hijri calendar, on the spring equinox on or around March 21 on the Gregorian calendar.

The countries that celebrate are Iran, Afghanistan, and the Kurdish regions of Iraq, Turkey and Syria, and throughout Central Asia.

Related customs include jumping over bonfires in the streets while chanting: “Give me your red color, take my yellow color.”

This symbolizes how the fire takes away the yellow of sickness and gives back the red of health and warmth.

In recent years, firecrackers have become more frequent, much to the annoyance of some participants.