The origins of Newroz are ancient enough that historians debate them. The celebration is closely associated with Zoroastrian traditions predating Islam, and the specific mythology attached to it — the story of the blacksmith Kawa defeating the tyrannical ruler Dehak — appears in Kurdish oral tradition as a parable about resistance to oppression. Whether or not the historical details are exact, the story has been told and retold for so long that it has become part of the cultural foundation of Kurdish identity.

Across Kurdish regions, the celebration takes different forms. In areas of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran where Kurds have historically faced restrictions on cultural expression, Newroz has also functioned as a public assertion of identity. Gathering to celebrate it was, at various times in various countries, a political act as much as a cultural one. That history gives the holiday a resonance that purely seasonal celebrations rarely carry.

In the diaspora, Newroz has adapted. The bonfires are sometimes replaced by candles or symbolic fires at indoor events. The food varies by region of origin. But the core meaning — renewal, identity, community — remains intact wherever Kurdish people gather to mark the 21st of March.