Nowruz and Akitu in northeast Syria

In northeast Syria spring opens with two new years. Nowruz, on 21 March, is the Kurdish festival that greets the spring, and since 2026 it has been a public holiday across the country. Akitu, on 1 April, is the Assyrian and Syriac new year and is not on the list of public holidays. Both are celebrated in the open air, and both affect travel in the region that week. This page covers which day is which, where and how people celebrate, and what restrictions a visitor may run into.

Which day, and which one is a public holiday

Nowruz falls on 21 March. Decree No. 13 of 16 January 2026 made the day a public holiday, so government offices and banks are closed. The celebrations start the evening before, on 20 March.

Akitu falls on 1 April. The decree that rewrote the list of public holidays in October 2025 left Akitu off it, and Syriac and Assyrian organisations in Qamishli and Hasakah protested. On 1 April offices are open and the celebration follows the community’s own programme. The country’s other holidays are on the public holidays page.

How Nowruz is celebrated

The festival opens with fire. In 2026 the Nowruz torch was lit in Hasakah on the evening of 20 March. Over the following days the celebrations move out into open ground: families gather in the countryside, music plays, people dance in long lines, and there are sports matches. Qamishli held its town celebration on 24 March, and there was a separate festival in the village of Julbistan in the countryside around al-Darbasiyah.

March weather on these plains is unsettled. In 2026 bad weather postponed the Nowruz celebrations in several towns. If you are heading to one out in the fields, come ready for rain and mud, and leave a day or two of slack in the plan.

How Akitu is celebrated

Akitu is the Assyrian-Babylonian new year, rooted in the spring festival of ancient Mesopotamia. On 1 April 2026 Assyrians and Syriacs celebrated in Hasakah and in Tell Tamer on the Khabur river. The celebration takes the form of a procession and a gathering, and it is smaller than Nowruz. The Assyrian villages around Tell Tamer are the festival’s real setting.

Travelling in the region that week

In 2026 Nowruz and Eid al-Fitr fell in the same week, and Hasakah brought in security measures for both. When Nowruz was postponed the measures were extended: lorries and tankers were barred from entering towns, all motorcycle traffic was stopped, military bikes included, and firing into the air was banned. Authorised medical and aid transport was allowed through.

In the same days there was tension in parts of the country, and a curfew was declared in one area of the Aleppo countryside. Before heading to a celebration, check that year’s security announcement and the current picture on the where it is safe to travel page. Getting to the region is covered on the how to get to Qamishli and Hasakah page.

How to behave at a celebration

The open-air celebrations are open to everyone, and a foreign visitor is usually met with tea and conversation. Ask before photographing people in the crowd; flags, banners and portraits are sensitive in this region. The general rules are on the photography page.

Confirm before you set out. Venues, dates and security measures are announced again each year.