Feast of Ezid (

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

: ''Cejna Êzî/Êzîd'' or ''Eyda Êzî/Êzid'') is a

Yezidi Yazidis or Yezidis (; ku, ئێزیدی, translit=Êzidî) are a Kurmanji-speaking endogamous minority group who are indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. The majo ...

festival that commemorates

Sultan Ezid Sultan Êzîd (or sometimes Êzî or Siltan Êzîd) is a divine figure in the Yazidi religion. Although many scholars consider his name to be derived from that of the second Umayyad caliph Yazid I, many Yazidis consider him to be a separate figur ...

Rojiyên Êzî

The Feast of Ezid is preceded by Rojiyên Êzî (The

fasts Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see "Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after com ...

of Ezid), which are the three days of fasting in honor of Êzî/Ezid one of the names of God and also considered to be the name of God's earthly manifestation in Yezidism. '' Êzî'' is one of the names of God and at the same time namesake of the Yezidis (Êzidî). The name Êzidî therefore means “Follower of God”. Unlike the fasting days of Rojiyên Sêşims and Rojiyên Xwudan during the preceding weeks, the three fasting days of Rojiyên Êzid are compulsory for every Yezidi with exception of children, the sick and elderly. The fastings begin on Tuesday and end on Thursday, starting after sunrise and ending after sunset each day.

Winter solstice

This festival takes place on the Friday before

winter solstice The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winte ...

, it marks a turning point in the solar cycle. As the days get longer after the winter solstice, believers believe that the Sun is being reborn. The

is also associated with the appearance of divine figures. The Yazidis associate winter solstice with the appearance of

Siltan Ezid Sultan Êzîd (or sometimes Êzî or Siltan Êzîd) is a divine figure in the Yazidi religion. Although many scholars consider his name to be derived from that of the second Umayyad caliph Yazid I, many Yazidis consider him to be a separate figur ...

, an important religious figure who is considered as God's earthly manifestation.

References

Sources

Yezidis Russia
Yazidi holy days Yazidi religion {{holiday-stub