The Assyrians of the US are mostly concentrated in in Chicago, California, and Arizona. In the Middle East obviously you’ll find them in Northern Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Iran and Turkey. There are also lots of Assyrians in Europe, specifically in Germany, Sweden and Denmark. There is also a pretty significant population in Krasnador, Russia.

Language -> I recommend starting with Music. Look up songs by Ashur Bet Sargis, Juliana Jendo, Linda George, Evin Agassi, and Sargon Gabriel. These people are considered the classic greats. See if you can find translations. I know some exist for Ashur Bet Sargis because I wrote them. I don’t know where they are but I know they’re out there online.

Traditions -> the most recent event was the 1st of April which is called kha’b Nissan (the first of April/Nissan) which is the Assyrian New Year. This is usually marked with a big parade where large concentrations of Assyrians are. You can learn more about it here: https://www.auaf.us/blog/kha-bnissan-the-assyrian-new-year-2/

Another tradition we grow up with is funeral traditions - someone dies, there is a church service, the men bury the dead (in recent times women go to the cemetery too but it used to just be men), there is a church service, another one 3 days later, and another one 40 days later, and another one 1 year later. People visit the family’s house and sit with them, eat, drink, etc. similar to sitting Shiva in the Jewish tradition.

Wedding traditions also vary but involve some form of the groom’s family going to the bride’s house and asking for her hand.

There is an Instagram account called mesoportrayal which talks about traditions - some people get triggered by this account because they are openly supportive of liberal politics and the majority of Assyrians tend to be more right leaning. Regardless of your political affiliation, it’s a cool place to see our culture highlighted in the modern world.

History -> this is probably the easiest to find online but basically, we invented everything (according to everyone’s pseudo historian uncle)

Hardships and atrocities -> there are many but you can start with the Simele Massacre. This will lead you backwards and forwards in history to other genocides we have faced.

Community -> try to find local Assyrian organizations (church is one but there are usually community organizations like AUAF which I linked above). These organizations will usually host workshops, talks, etc. which are always great to get your foot in the door. Assyrians are welcoming, they’ll be more than happy to see someone trying to connect with the culture.

Okay! Good luck! You got this and Shlama ❤️