Akitu

Akitu
Assyrians celebrating Akitu year 6769 Nisanu (April) 1st 2019) in Nohadra (Duhok), Iraq
TypeNational, ethnic
SignificanceNew Year holiday, Easter
Date1 April; varies between April 1–4
FrequencyAnnual

Akitu or Akitum (Sumerian: 𒀉𒆠𒋾, romanized: a-ki-ti) (Akkadian: 𒀉𒆠𒌈, romanized: akītu(m)) is a spring festival and New Year's celebration, held on the first day of the Assyrian and Babylonian Nisan in ancient Mesopotamia and in Assyrian communities around the world, to celebrate the sowing of barley. Akitu originates from the Sumerian spring New Year festival of Zagmuk.