The most important Kurdish national festival is the New Year celebration which is held on March 21st. This long ceremony may continue for a week or more. Many specific foods and condiments are prepared in advance. Special flowers are grown for the occasion and branches covered with fresh buds are cut and made to adorn the feast. New clothes are worn, and some old pottery is broken for good luck.
People visit each other's homes, and old feuds and misunderstandings are reconciled.
Gifts are given by seniors to their juniors in age, and high ranking social figures are paid visits and brought gifts. Nearly all Kurds are Muslims, most being Shafiite Sunnis . They first embraced Islam after the Arab conquests of the seventh century. They look to Islam as a basis for social justice. However, despite being predominantly Sunnis, religion has created deep rifts among the Kurds.