Kha b-Nisan, the Assyrian New Year, marks 1 April 2026 on the Gregorian calendar and the start of year 6776 on the Assyrian one. Sydney's biggest celebration happens a few days earlier: the Assyrian New Year Festival draws more than 10,000 people to Fairfield Showground, 443 Smithfield Road, Prairiewood NSW 2176, on Sunday 29 March 2026 from 10 am to 10 pm. For a dessert table shared across an entire community festival, or a smaller family gathering the same week, Num Num's Bakery makes every cake, every flavour, 100% eggless as standard, from either Harris Park or Riverstone.
Fairfield local government area has one of the largest Assyrian communities anywhere in the Assyrian diaspora — roughly one in every ten residents identifies as Assyrian, according to a profile.id.com.au Fairfield City ancestry profile drawing on the 2021 Census. Nationally, 60,000 Australians identified Assyrian or Chaldean Neo-Aramaic ancestry at the same census — 40,218 Assyrian and 21,166 Chaldean. For a community this size, a genuinely egg-free bakery near the festival's own home suburb answers a real, recurring need.
- Kha b-Nisan 2026 falls on 1 April; Sydney's festival is 29 March at Fairfield Showground.
- All 15 flavours are 100% eggless as standard, not a substitution.
- Fairfield LGA is home to one of the largest Assyrian communities in the diaspora (profile.id).
- Custom green-and-gold spring designs available on request.
- Pick up from Harris Park or Riverstone — WhatsApp +61 425 697 725.
What Is Kha b-Nisan and When Is It Celebrated?
Kha b-Nisan translates roughly as "the first of Nisan," the opening spring month of the ancient Assyrian calendar. According to background on the festival, it traces back over 6,700 years to Mesopotamian agricultural New Year traditions, predating both Christianity and Islam in the region. In 2026 it lands on 1 April and opens year 6776 of the Assyrian calendar. Sydney's community festival, hosted by the Assyrian Australian National Federation with the Assyrian National Council, is held a few days ahead of the calendar date, on 29 March 2026 at Fairfield Showground.
One of the best-known Kha b-Nisan customs is Deqna Nissan, or "April's beard": girls and women gather flowers, herbs, and grass to weave into garlands, then hang them from rooftops or front doors to welcome spring. It's a tradition that translates naturally into cake design — green and gold buttercream work, wheat-sheaf piping, and floral garland motifs all echo the same seasonal symbolism guests already recognise from the festival itself.
Fairfield local government area is home to one of the largest concentrations of Assyrians anywhere in the global diaspora, with roughly one in ten residents identifying as Assyrian (profile.id.com.au, Fairfield City ancestry profile, 2021 Census). The Fairfield Showground festival site sits inside Prairiewood, a suburb where Assyrian ancestry alone accounts for close to 15% of residents.
Is Num Num's Bakery Certified for Assyrian Christian Dietary Needs?
No, and it's worth saying plainly. Num Num's Bakery is 100% egg-free, but that isn't the same as any formal church or dietary certification. We are not certified by any specific religious body, and we don't claim such status on any product. Eggs are one of eight priority allergens under Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) rules — that's the allergen framework our kitchen is built around, separate from any religious dietary law.
We've had customers explain that certain Assyrian Church of the East fasting periods — including stretches before Easter — traditionally exclude eggs and dairy. Our egg-free kitchen happens to meet the egg-free half of that observance, though we're not affiliated with any church and can't advise on the full fasting calendar. Customers observing a fast should confirm the specific rules with their own church community.
What Makes a Cake Genuinely Egg-Free for a Festival Gathering?
A cake is only reliably egg-free when the whole kitchen is egg-free, not just the recipe. Under the FSANZ allergen framework, eggs sit alongside milk, peanuts, tree nuts, and five other substances as a priority allergen requiring careful handling. A bakery that removes eggs from one recipe still risks cross-contamination if it cracks eggs anywhere else on the premises. Shared benches, mixers, and trays carry that risk regardless of what a single recipe card says.
At Num Num's Bakery, eggs never enter the building. Every flavour, every base, every filling is formulated egg-free from the ground up, and no egg product is stored, prepared, or handled on-site. For a festival as large as the Fairfield Showground gathering, where cakes are often shared buffet-style among extended family and friends, that structural guarantee matters more than a single-recipe substitution ever could.
One pattern we've noticed around Kha b-Nisan orders specifically: customers are more likely than average to order a cake in advance for a home gathering the same week as the Fairfield Showground festival, rather than on the festival day itself. Most families treat the public festival as the big communal celebration and keep a smaller, more personal cake for immediate family later in the week.
What Cake Flavours and Designs Suit Kha b-Nisan?
From our internal order data across the Fairfield corridor, Tiramisu, Ferrero Rocher, and Butterscotch are the flavours most requested for formal Assyrian family gatherings, alongside Chocolate for younger guests. Green and gold decorating themes are the most common request, echoing both the Deqna Nissan spring garlands and the festival's own visual identity.
Popular Kha b-Nisan Cake Ideas.
- Wheat-sheaf piping — a simple buttercream wheat-sheaf border on a Tiramisu or Chocolate base, echoing the agricultural roots of the festival.
- Garland topper — an edible or non-edible floral garland circling the top tier, a direct nod to the Deqna Nissan tradition.
- Green and gold ombré — a layered green-to-gold buttercream finish that reads as festive without needing custom fondant work.
- Flag or emblem detail — a simple piped Assyrian flag colour palette or star-and-sun emblem for a community or family gathering.
See the full Our Cakes page for photos of every flavour and general design inspiration, then send us your own reference image via WhatsApp for a custom Kha b-Nisan quote.
Why Does Sydney's Fairfield Community Celebrate Kha b-Nisan So Widely?
Fairfield became a major settlement point for Assyrian refugees and migrants from Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey from the 1970s onward, and that history is why the community's biggest annual public gathering is still held at Fairfield Showground rather than anywhere else in Sydney. According to the Assyrian National Council – Australia, waves of displacement following conflict in the Middle East steadily grew the Fairfield-based community across four decades, well before the 2021 Census recorded its current concentration.
Customers ordering for the Fairfield Showground festival often mention it's the one weekend of the year their entire extended family, including relatives who've moved to other Sydney suburbs or interstate, comes back to the same few streets. That's a different kind of order for us than a typical birthday — bigger cakes, longer lead times, and a stronger preference for designs that photograph well outdoors.
That history also explains why so many of the suburb posts on this blog — Prairiewood, Fairfield, Fairfield Heights, Bonnyrigg — mention Assyrian ancestry alongside Vietnamese, Cambodian, Chinese, and Italian communities. Fairfield LGA absorbed successive waves of migration from very different parts of the world, and each community brought its own reason to want a genuinely egg-free bakery nearby, whether that's a fasting period, a Buddhist dietary practice, or simply a family allergy.
Curious how a cake holds together without eggs binding the structure? This walkthrough shows the same technique behind every Num Num's cake, Kha b-Nisan orders included.
How Do I Order a Custom Assyrian New Year Cake in Sydney?
From our experience taking festival orders across Sydney, the process is the same for Kha b-Nisan as for any other celebration. It takes under five minutes to place an order via WhatsApp, and we confirm everything in writing before you collect.
- Browse the flavours: Check the Our Cakes page for the full menu with photos. Shortlist two or three and we'll help you choose.
- Send a reference image: Message us on WhatsApp at +61 425 697 725 with your chosen flavour, cake size, a design reference photo if you have one, and preferred pick-up date.
- Give at least 48 hours notice: Every cake is made fresh to order. Around the late-March festival weekend, 4-5 days notice is strongly recommended.
- Confirm and collect: We'll confirm by WhatsApp. Collect from either Harris Park or Riverstone, whichever suits your route to Prairiewood or the wider Fairfield district.
Not sure what size to order? The Order Online page has a sizing guide. For a family gathering of 15-20 guests, an 8-inch round is typically enough. If you're bringing a cake to share at the Fairfield Showground festival itself, consider a sturdier, less delicate design that travels well in a car and holds up outdoors for several hours.
From our order history, the week surrounding the Fairfield Showground festival is consistently one of our busiest of the year for the Harris Park store specifically, given its proximity to Prairiewood and the wider Fairfield district. Customers who order by the Wednesday before the festival weekend almost always get their first-choice pick-up time; orders placed the day before compete directly with everyone else doing the same thing.
Message us on WhatsApp with your flavour, size, and pick-up date. 48 hours is all we need for most orders, more around the festival weekend. We'll confirm in writing before you collect.
What Other Sydney Festivals Does Num Num's Bakery Cater For?
Kha b-Nisan is one of dozens of festivals we cater for across Sydney's multicultural calendar. Because every cake is egg-free by default, families from any tradition can order without needing to explain or justify a dietary requirement first.
We regularly bake custom cakes for the Prairiewood community around the festival site, nearby Bonnyrigg, and other Sydney occasions including Lunar New Year and halal-friendly celebrations. If your celebration isn't listed on our blog yet, message us directly — we've almost certainly catered something similar before.
What we've learned running one eggless kitchen across all of these festivals is that the underlying request is nearly always the same, regardless of the calendar date. A host wants a cake that looks right for the occasion and tastes as good as anything from a conventional bakery, without an awkward conversation about what's actually in it. Kha b-Nisan orders are no exception — the colours and the customs change, but the need for a trustworthy, genuinely egg-free dessert doesn't.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Num Num's Bakery make cakes for Assyrian New Year?
Yes. We make custom Kha b-Nisan cakes in any of 15 eggless flavours, from either Harris Park or Riverstone. Order via WhatsApp at +61 425 697 725 with at least 48 hours notice, more during the late-March festival period.
What is Kha b-Nisan?
Kha b-Nisan is the Assyrian New Year, meaning the first day of Nisan, the Assyrian calendar's opening spring month. It falls on 1 April in 2026, marking the start of year 6776. Sydney's main community festival, at Fairfield Showground in Prairiewood, is held a few days earlier, on 29 March 2026.
Is Num Num's Bakery certified for a specific religious dietary requirement?
No. We are 100% egg-free, which suits many Assyrian Christian fasting periods, but that is not the same as any formal church or religious certification, and we do not claim such status on any product. If a specific certification is required for your gathering, please confirm directly with the relevant authority.
What cake designs suit Assyrian New Year?
Green and gold spring themes, wheat-sheaf or garland motifs echoing the Deqna Nissan tradition, and rich flavours like Tiramisu or Ferrero Rocher for a formal family gathering are all popular requests. Send a reference photo via WhatsApp for the most accurate custom result.
How much notice do I need for a Kha b-Nisan cake?
A minimum of 48 hours for standard orders. Because Sydney's Fairfield Showground festival draws over 10,000 attendees in a single weekend each year, we recommend 4-5 days notice for custom-decorated cakes ordered in the surrounding late-March week, especially for tiered or heavily detailed designs.
15 flavours, 100% eggless, made fresh to your order. Pick up from Harris Park or Riverstone. WhatsApp us at least 48 hours before your event.