Celebrations for the Assyrian New Year were held on April 1st at Fairfield showground, here in Sydney Australia, and they celebrate it every year. The celebration is the rebirth of nature in spring, which is the beginning of spring. "This is their time to gather to celebrate together in one heart all the hurt and happiness they went through,” says Mariam David who attended the event. The event consists of music and traditional dance. The most common instruments used within the Assyrian music are the drums (Dawla) with Zurna like a clarinet, along with keyboard and acoustic they play the saz (Tamboura). “This generation produces more artistic songs, as we have better technology in our time,” says Narsay Bawal an Assyrian resident from Australia. The Assyrian people are an Indigenous minority ethnic group from the Middle East. They speak the Aramaic language and are found today globally in Australia, America, etc. The Assyrians created the first-ever university to teach philosophy, medicine, and theology. They were one of the most powerful and earliest ancient civilisations. The empire began in the 21st century in Mesopotamia modern-day Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran.
Music is a big part of the Assyrian culture and to celebrate their traditions music is used along with a variety of folk dancing styles. A non-Assyrian person named Deondray Calhoun says he enjoys the music and culture and while at a wedding the music brings everyone together and makes everyone dance no matter who you are or your nationality. “There are no similarities with Assyrian music it’s one in a kind,” Calhoun said. For many years the Assyrians celebrated their culture with a variety of iconic hit songs with the contribution of both male and female Assyrian singers. Some of the very well-known Assyrian artists are Juliana Jendo, George Homeh and Evan Agassi. Juliana Jendo and George Homeh starred in one of the most popular Assyrian romantic films Warde Deesheh in 1991. They recorded a music video together called Ya Atorya Ya Atoreta in Sydney Australia near the Harbour Bridge. The film depicted the lifestyle of lovers torn between the east and the west and the love that the Assyrians have for their lands. “When I forget my land, I will forget you,” Jendo said.
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