Seharane, also spelled Seharaneh, is a multi-day festival celebrated by

Kurdish Jews Kurdistani Jews are the Mizrahi Jewish communities from the geographic region of Kurdistan, roughly covering parts of northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey. Kurdish Jews lived as closed ethnic communities ...

. Although traditionally observed following Passover, in Israel today the festival is observed during the intermediate days of Sukkot.

Etymology

There are several theories as to the etymology of Seharane. One theory says it derives from the

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

word ''sayran'', meaning to see nature. Others relate it to ''sahar'', meaning crescent moon.

Origins

Seharane is thought to derive from Navruz, also called Sayeran, a similar spring festival observed by Kurdish Muslims.

Traditional observance

The festival was traditionally celebrated for multiple days, with event preparations beginning the first night after Passover ended. Traditionally, Kurdish Jews would travel to the countryside and set up camps for the festival celebrations. Communities would hire guards to protect the camps for the festival's length. Families would bring food, which they cooked or reheated over campfires and shared with each other. Seharane observances were joyful and social occasions, in which people wore their best clothes and sang, danced (especially in group

circle dance Circle dance, or chain dance, is a style of social dance done in a circle, semicircle or a curved line to musical accompaniment, such as rhythm instruments and singing, and is a type of dance where anyone can join in without the need of Partne ...

s), and made music with the

zurna The zurna is a double reed wind instrument played in Central Asia, West Asia, the Caucasus, Southeast Europe and parts of North Africa. It is also used in Sri Lanka. It is usually accompanied by a davul (bass drum) in Armenian, Anatolian and Ass ...

and dahola. Young men and women also were able to spend time more freely with each other, leading to social connections and engagements. Another aspect of the holiday was to visit the graves of "righteous elders".

Contemporary observance

The Kurdish Jewish community was almost entirely relocated to Israel in the early 1950s, through

Operation Ezra and Nehemiah From 1951 to 1952, Operation Ezra and Nehemiah airlifted between 120,000 and 130,000 Iraqi Jews to Israel via Iran and Cyprus. The massive emigration of Iraqi Jews was among the most climactic events of the Jewish exodus from the Muslim World ...

. Following this, observance of Seharane largely stopped for the next twenty years, due to the community being scattered across the country. The festival was revived in the 1970s, as part of a larger move to revive cultural traditions and festivals, by the newly formed National Council of the Association of Kurdish Jewry. The council decided to move the festival from its traditional timing after Passover to the intermediate days of

Sukkot Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths, is a Torah-commanded Jewish holiday celebrated for seven days, beginning on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. It is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals on which Israelite ...

, in order to avoid conflicts with Mimouna, a Sephardic festival which also takes place after Passover. A Seharane festival was established in 1972, which has been held annually. The festival offers an opportunity for Israeli politicians to interact with the community, as well as a way for Kurdish Jews to connect to the rest of the Kurdish diaspora; multiple times over the years, non-Jewish Kurds have been invited to participate. In the years since, the occasion has led to public celebrations, during which many people choose to

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event su ...

In popular culture

In September 2019, the

Israel Postal Company The Israel Postal Company (), formerly called the Israel Postal Authority and currently doing business as Israel Post, is a government-owned corporation that provides postal services in Israel. Israel Post has 5,000 employees,

issued a series of

stamps Stamp or Stamps or Stamping may refer to: Official documents and related impressions * Postage stamp, used to indicate prepayment of fees for public mail * Ration stamp, indicating the right to rationed goods * Revenue stamp, used on documents to ...

commemorating Seharane.

Etymology

Origins

Traditional observance

Contemporary observance

In popular culture

References

Further reading