Kha b'Nisan

What it is

The name means the first of Nisan, and Nisan is the old month that now answers to April, which is why the feast sits on 1 April. Assyrians also call the day Resha d-Sheta, the head of the year, or simply Akitu, or the Assyrian New Year. It is a spring holiday and a national one more than a religious observance. Those who keep it live in the Middle East and in towns far from it. Children, grandparents and everyone between take part.

Origins and the calendar

The festival reaches back to the religion of ancient Mesopotamia and to Akitu, the spring rite kept there. That older faith faded as Syriac Christianity spread, somewhere between the first and fourth centuries AD, and the festival changed with it. In the old Assyrian, Akkadian and Babylonian calendars, Nisan stood at the head of the year, which is why a first-of-Nisan feast counted as a new year. The month once sat near the spring equinox, around 21 March; in Greater Iran the same season is kept as Nowruz. The modern observance began in the 1960s, during a period of Assyrian intellectual revival.

Poetry, costume and greenery

Old customs sit alongside new ones. In villages, girls pick flowers and herbs; the bunches are hung from the roof or turned into a garland for the front door, and people call them Deqna d-Nisan, the beard of April. Clubs and social halls hold evenings where poets recite the story of creation. Some wear traditional dress and poppies; others dress as ancient Assyrian royalty. Dancing can run for hours. Parties are loud with music and food. Because the date now lands on April Fool's Day, much of the modern mood is playful, lighter than the old rite behind it.

Today and change

Politics has shaped the feast as much as spring has. Public marking was banned in Turkey for decades after the republic was founded, and organisers only won permission again in 2005. Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq allowed no public celebration either; that changed with the Iraq war, and a parade in 2008 drew between 45,000 and 65,000 people. Syria's Assyrians kept the day going without official recognition, though the pandemic cancelled the 2020 events. In diaspora towns the day has taken new forms: a flag raised at a city hall, a parade along a street named for an Assyrian king.

How Kha b'Nisan is kept

The day is open to the whole community. It usually starts with greetings exchanged in Syriac, then moves to a parade or a party. Organisers book halls and clubs; families come in traditional dress, some with poppies pinned on. Poets recite, musicians play, and dancing goes on for hours. In villages, girls are sent out for flowers and herbs to hang or garland. In diaspora cities the programme may include a flag-raising at a civic building or a street parade. Food is served at the parties, and the mood stays light.

When and where

Kha b'Nisan falls on 1 April, the first day of the month of Nisan. In the ancient Assyrian, Akkadian and Babylonian calendars, Nisan opened the year, and the month once fell near the spring equinox, around 21 March. The date is fixed, the same day each year, so no lunar counting is needed.

The heartland is the Assyrian homeland, the region Assyrians call Assyria, which runs through Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. Syria's Assyrians have kept the day most visibly. Celebrations also happen elsewhere in the Middle East, and diaspora communities in Europe, Canada, the United States, Australia and the Caucasus hold their own.

What Kha b'Nisan means

At its heart the day is a beginning: the head of the year, the first month, the return of spring. Assyrians use it to hold on to a name and a history that older empires and later borders did not protect. The parades and costumes are a claim to a long memory, from Akitu to the present, and the greeting passed between people is a blessing for the year ahead. For diaspora families it also marks belonging, a day when the community is visible to its neighbours.

Days Kha b'Nisan is marked

Questions people ask about Kha b'Nisan

See also

HanukkahAn eight-day Jewish festival marking the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the miracle of a single day'Christmas EveThe evening before Christmas, marked by church services, family meals, and gift preparations across Christian cultures.April Fools' DayAn annual day of lighthearted pranks, hoaxes and teasing kept on the first of AprilSaint Patrick's Day in the United StatesAn annual celebration of Irish heritage across America with parades, feasts and green dye

Good reading and sources

• Kha b-Nisan on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.