Forget 2007: for Iraqi Assyrians this is 6757

0 Comments | AFP, April, 2007

ARBIL, Iraq (AFP) — Descendants of Iraq's ancient Assyrians are enjoying 12 days of parties and parades to celebrate their New Year, a pagan rite that glorifies resurrection and life and dates back millennia.

Forget 2007 -- this is 6757 for Assyrian Christians whose ancestors carved the cradle of civilisation, ruling the magnificent Assyrian and Babylonian empires before scattering into an ever-dwindling minority across the Middle East.

Flocking to the relative haven of Iraqi Kurdistan rather than the ancient capitals of Nineveh and Babylon, which are awash with violence in modern-day Iraq, Assyrians began the most important event in their calendar on April 1.

Wearing colourful traditional dress, men, women and children parade through the streets and dance,...