Mr. Speaker, today the Yazidi people celebrate their New Year. Every year it falls on a particular Wednesday in April, also called Red Wednesday. While this occasion is the celebration of a new year and new life, it is also a time to pay respects to those who have passed away. This year it may be difficult, because there has been so much loss for the Yazidi people, yet the resilience of this community is incredibly inspiring.
While many Yazidis have suffered greatly in recent years, members of the diaspora community, such as those right here in Canada, have brought with them rich cultural traditions and the hope born in a new year. Much of their religion is unwritten and their traditions are passed down orally, including the recipes they cook on holidays. Yazidis around the world today will celebrate with a banquet of traditional foods, coloured eggs, dancing, singing, and red flowers.
I wish all Yazidis in Canada and around the world a very happy New Year.
[Member spoke in Kurmanji Kurdish as follows:]
Sari Sali piroze bet