SHAFAQNA- In a ceremony attended by the President and Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament in Sulaymaniyah, the Nowruz/Norooz flame was ignited.
In this ceremony, which was held in Sulaimaniyah, the President of Iraq, Abdul Latif Rashid, and the Speaker of the Parliament, Mohammad Al-Halboosi, were present.
According to the myths of the Kurdish people, Nowruz commemorates Tahmuras’ victory over the devil. At the beginning of the battle, he ordered his troops to light towers of fire on the sides of mountains and on top of hills and passes in case of victory over the enemy and the devil, so that it was both a sign of victory and a command for the army to return to him from the fronts. Finally, the fight with the devil ended with the victory of Tahmuras’ army, and the fires spread on the top of the mountains, and with the rays of the flames, the victory of truth over falsehood and the defeat of the devil announced to the public.
On this occasion, flames are lit during the Kurdish Nowruz celebration. The celebration of Nowruz has gained national and ethnic importance among Iraqi Kurds, especially in the present era. As it has become an annual event through which Kurds emphasize their identity, rights and demands. Nowruz rituals among Kurds start from the evening of March 20 with the ignition of Nowruz fire.