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Liven up your home for Kha b’Nissan

Mar. 22

The first of April—or Kha b’Nissan—marks the Assyrian New Year, also known as Akitu. In ancient Assyria, the new year was celebrated for a period of twelve days. Now, after thousands of years, Assyrians are spread all over the globe but continue to honor the holiday annually.

As a tribute to the twelve-day custom, we’re sharing unique ways to honor Akitu no matter where you are in the world.

Liven up your home with this fresh decorating idea. Flowers are an important symbol in the celebration of Akitu. The new year marks the start of spring—representing life and revival.  Regardless of the weather outside your window (there’s still some snow on the ground in Chicago), it’s easy to bring the spirit and beauty of the Assyrian New Year into your home.

We stopped at our local Jewel to pick up flowers; their floral department is always stocked with tons of market bunches, giving you plenty of room for creativity without breaking your budget. See our bouquets below for inspiration as you build your own Akitu-themed bouquet.

Here’s our quick how-to: 

  1. Decide on your color scheme. We went with the colors of the Assyrian flag: red, blue, white, and yellow. This is optional. Note: We spray-painted flowers to get that vivid blue you see in our pictures. It’s tough to get a good blue; blue hydrangeas are beautiful but too light for what we were trying to achieve and sometimes look purple. There is special floral spray paint that you might choose to use. We really wanted a blue that pops. Here’s a quick tutorial video that gives you a look at how it’s done.
  2. Choose a strong primary flower. This will be the focus of the piece. We suggest limiting primary flowers to two or three, otherwise they might clash with one another and your bouquet will look too busy.
  3. Choose secondary flowers to compliment your primary flowers. This is a great way to add some color. Don’t be afraid to use greens, even if you’re doing the flag’s colors.
  4. Decide on a size. The vase you decide to use should be your guide when determining your bouquet’s size. Mason jars are always a great choice—and you can get them for a dollar at Michael’s Craft Store. Michael’s also offers many different inexpensive vases that will fit any floral design. (Don’t forget your coupon.)
  5. Trim down your stems before starting. Keep flowers in a bucket of cool water until you’re ready to build your bouquet.
  6. Build your bouquet around your primary flowers. Check out our pictures below for inspiration, or look online.
  7. Consider adding bows to bring in some more color, or maybe throw in a small Assyrian flag to give it a touch of Kha b’Nissan.
  8. Snap pics and share your photos with us using #12DaysofAkitu.

Don’t miss our Kha b’Nissan Flower Workshop this Saturday! There are several spots still remaining. Click here to register.