Key Points
- The festival of birth of life
- Last year's cancellation due to pandemic
- Celebration by thousands of community members in Sydney
Every year and in the first day of April, Assyrians celebrate the new year which is also called Akitu. Akitu or Akitum is a spring festival in ancient Mesopotamia. The Babylonian and Assyrian. But traditionally it has been carried on for generations in homeland and in diaspora.
The humbling of the King Source: AAA.jpg
assyrians in ALkosh-Northern Iraq celebrating Akitu Source: Assyrian news.jpg
In Australia, it is celebrated both in Sydney and Melbourne. In Sydney, the festival takes place at the Fairfield showground on the closest Sunday to the first of April each year. Only last year and due to the Pandemic, the festival was cancelled, just one week before.
SBS stand at the festival Source: SBS
The festival is organised and run by the Assyrian Australian National Federation.
Mr David David is the President of the federation and manager of the Akitu festival program. He told SBS that approval and license has been granted for this year's festival which will be held on Sunday 28/3/2021 and at the Fairfield showground.
He says this year, the organisers are expecting a crowd of at least twenty thousand people who will be participating throughout the day.
There will be singers, bands, folk dancing groups entertaining the crowd during the twelve hours celebration.
David David in front of the banner at Fairfield Centre Source: David.jpg
The centre stage Source: AANF.jpg
Members of Federal, State and local governments have been invited and the organisers expect not less than 20 officials will be attending.
President of the federation Mr David David says we also invited all the Assyrian parties, organisations and church leaders.
Previous festival's dignitaries Source: SBS
Mr David explains that unfortunately, much expenses of last year's cancelled festival were written off because all Banners, Pamphlets, Signs and any written materials were useless because the date printed on them could not be changed.
The organisers lost many of their deposits for booking of children games, rydes and many other payments allocated for last year's festival.
But Mr David David is still optimistic that despite the monetary loss, the organisers are happy to see the festival back again with bigger and better arrangements.
More than 20 thousand are expected to attend Source: AANF.jpg
Usually the festival ends with a big fireworks that lights the sky of Fairfield showground while thousands of community members sing Assyrian national songs.
The big finale Source: AANF.jpg
