ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Akitu

Okay kiddo, so Akitu is a special festival celebrated by the people of ancient Babylon. The festival happens during the start of the new year, which is usually around March or April. During Akitu, people would have lots of food, music, and dancing to celebrate the start of a new year.

Now, you might be wondering why people celebrated the new year. Well, in ancient Babylon, people believed that the new year was a time to start fresh and leave all the bad things behind. It was also a time to thank their gods for everything good that happened in the past year.

During the Akitu festival, people would also have a special ceremony where they crowned their king. The king would make a speech and promise to be a good ruler for his people. This was very important because people believed that the king was chosen by the gods, and so they had to make sure he was a good leader.

In summary, Akitu is a special festival celebrated in ancient Babylon to mark the start of the new year and to thank the gods for the past year's blessings. People would have lots of food, music, and dancing, and they would also crown their new king during the festival.
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