Sema
The General Directorate of Ezidi Affairs at the Ministry of Endowments in the Kurdistan Regional Government issued a clarifying statement today, Sunday, April 13, 2025, directed to the relevant authorities, including media outlets, regarding the Ezidi New Year.
Saud Masto, the General Director of Ezidi Affairs, told Sema Media Channel:“First, we extend our congratulations to all Ezidis in Kurdistan, Iraq, and around the world on the occasion of the Ezidi New Year. We kindly request that no other terms be used for this holiday except ‘Ezidi New Year.’”
He added:“For this purpose, we submitted an official letter to the Directorate of Media and Information in the Kurdistan Regional Government. In that letter, we clarified that in previous years, many media outlets referred to this holiday as ‘Red Wednesday.’ Today, we officially declare that this name has no connection to the Ezidi faith, and the correct name is ‘Ezidi New Year.’”
The Ezidi New Year will be celebrated on Wednesday, April 16, with festivities held at the sacred Lalish Temple. The event will be attended by the Prince of the Ezidis, the Ezidi Supreme Spiritual Council, and a large number of Ezidis from various regions and countries. The celebration will include several traditional rituals.