In Photos: Chicago Assyrians soak up Nusardel tradition

Pictured: Assyrians gather to celebrate Nusardel, a surviving holiday with ancient roots, at a church-sponsored celebration outside Chicago. (Photos/Yasmeen Altaji)

Yasmeen Altaji | July 25, 2022

Sunday marked the annual celebration of Nusardel for Assyrians around the world, and at one nature preserve nestled in a suburb of Chicago, men, women and children relished in the festivities.

At St. Paul Woods in Morton Grove, Ill., a couple of hundred members of Chicagoland’s Assyrian community gathered at a church-sponsored in celebration of the holiday with music, dancing and the holiday’s characteristic water fights.

Also called Musardeh, the celebration is believed to have its roots in an ancient ritual marking the end of a drought spawned by a feud between the ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love and war, Ishtar, and her partner Tammuz, the god of agriculture. Water-based Nusardel activities carry on to mark the holiday today.

Chicago is home to one of the world’s largest Assyrian communities. Estimates of the city’s Assyrian population range from 80,000 to 100,000, according to census data and local nonprofits.

Hear more about the origins of the festival in Episode 81 of The Word’s weekly podcast.