Seharane

Seharane, also spelled Seharaneh, is a multi-day festival celebrated by Kurdish Jews. 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 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 dances), and made music with the zurna 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. 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, 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.

In popular culture

In September 2019, the Israel Postal Company issued a series of stamps commemorating Seharane.