Assyrian New Year Observed at the Parliament of Victoria

MELBOURNE— In the presence of numerous dignitaries, the ACSYA Inc., the Australian Assyrian Arts and Literature Foundation, Beth-Nahrain Assyria Association, and the Assyrian Australian Social Development Club co-hosted an Assyrian New Year celebration at the Parliament of Victoria.

The event, a first of its kind in any parliament in Australia, was hosted on Wednesday, 29 March 2023. Attendees were welcomed to the Queen’s Hall to experience two ACSYA Inc.-designed exhibits, one titled Assyria and the Assyrians: An Illustrated Post-Empire Timeline and the other dedicated to the Garments of Assyria.

Among the distinguished guests were His Grace Mār Benyamin Elya, Bishop of the Assyrian Church of the East; the Hon. Natalie Hutchins MP, Minister for Education and Women; The Hon. Enver Erdogan MP, Minister for Corrections, Youth Justice & Victim Support; Dr. Samantha Ratnam MP, Leader of the Victorian Greens; Ms. Bronwyn Halfpenny MP, State Member for Thomastown Parliamentary Secretary for Jobs, Ms. Kathleen Matthews-Ward MP, State Member for Broadmeadows; Mr. Iwan Walters MP, State Member for Greenvale; Mr. Evan Mulholland MP, State Member for Northern Metropolitan Region, Shadow Cabinet Secretary, as well as local members of Hume City Council.

In his address, His Grace Mār Benyamin Elya emphasised on the importance of giving back to the community and not to forget “our ancestral homeland of Assyria.”

His Grace expressed hope that Indigenous Assyrians may one day celebrate “our feasts and festivals in our own country, governed by our people, again being on the world map, as Assyria.”

Speaking at the event, Stephanie Basdekis, Vice President of the ACSYA Inc. and Lead for the organisation’s Victoria Division said: “my message to my fellow Assyrians here today is let us carry this spirit of rebirth and renewal with us at all times not only in the month of Nīsān.”

Basdekis added: “today’s event serves to demonstrate our capabilities as a community when we come together as one”.

Nīsān is the Syriac name for the first month of the Assyrian calendar, corresponding to the month of April and thus, marking the beginning of the year. The first day of the month is commonly known by the term Ḵa b-Nīsān “1 April” or Rēsh-Shētā— a combination of the words rēsh “head” and shētā “year”, literally meaning “head of the year” or “New Year”.

The New Year is a spring festival that is held annually in the countries that constitute the Traditional Homelands of the Indigenous Assyrians as well as the Assyrian Diaspora. Though today, this festival is a largely secular rite; it is often associated with and influenced by earlier traditions, in which it was considered a religious holiday by the ancients.