Akitu (Kha Nison) declared an official holiday in Syriac private schools in Gozarto Canton, North and East Syria

BETH ZALIN, North and East Syria — The Community Council overseeing the Syriac private schools in the Gozarto (Jazira) Canton has officially designated Akitu, or Kha Nison (1 April), as an official holiday in its affiliated schools. The schools are under the jurisdiction of the Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese of Gozarto and Euphrates, of which the Community Council is the lay representative body.  

Yesterday, Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Maurice Amsih signed off on the decision. The proposal was submitted by Community Council member in Beth Zalin Gabi Shamoun. 

The Akitu festival marks the Babylonian-Assyrian New Year, celebrated for thousands of years in Beth Nahrin (Mesopotamia). It is a national celebration for the Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) people, observed on 1 April. 

Since its establishment in 2014, the Democratic Autonomous Administration of the Region of North and East Syria (DAARNES) has recognized Akitu as a national holiday for the Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) people and declaring it an official day off in all its institutions.  

Under the former Baath regime, Akitu celebrations were not allowed as the regime refused to officially recognize it as an official holiday of the Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) people.