Holidays in Syria
The Friday is mostly Muslim Syria officially closed on . Authorities, banks and most shops are closed. Except in the Christian Quarter, where the shops are open on Fridays but closed on Sundays.
On national holidays, official offices and schools are closed in Syria, but shops are open (exception May 1st). Parades take place in the streets, and the state television program reports praise for the state.
Over 80 percent of the Syrian population are Muslim . The Islamic holidays are based on the lunar calendar . Christmas is also popular with non-Christians, but not as a religious festival. During the Islamic Festival of Sacrifice and the Feast of the Breaking of the Fast , all official offices and banks are closed.
In 2012, around 10 percent of Syrians were Christians of various denominations (see Religions in Syria ). Christians of the Western and Eastern Churches ( Syriacs ) celebrate Easter strictly separately. Christmas is celebrated on December 25th, and Armenian Christians celebrate Christmas on January 6th . There are also some local holy festivals of the Syrian Christians such as the anniversary of St. Thecla on September 24th in Maalula , which is celebrated by Greek Orthodox believers in a procession.
date | Surname | Arabic | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
January 1st | New Year | عيد راس السنة الميلادية / 'Īd Ra's as-Sanät al-Mīlādīyä | |
8th of March | Revolution day | ثورة الثامن من اذار / Ṯaurät aṯ-Ṯāmin min Āḏār | "Republic Day", the Baath Party took power in 1963 |
March 21st | Mother's Day | عيد الأم / 'Īd al-'Umm | |
17th April | Independence day | Id al-Jalaa /عيد الجلاء / 'Īd al-Ğalā' | Day of the withdrawal of the French colonial power, 1946 |
movable | Easter | عيد الفصح غريغوري / 'Īd al-Fiṣḥ Ġrīġūrī | According to the Gregorian calendar |
movable | Orthodox Easter | عيد الفصح اليوليوسي / 'Īd al-Fiṣḥ al-Yūliyūsī | According to the Julian calendar |
1st of May | Labor Day | Yom al-Umal /عيد العمال / 'Īd al-'Ummāl | |
May 6th | Day of the Martyrs | Id asch-Schuhada /عيد الشهداء / 'Īd aš-Šuhadā' | In 1916 the Ottomans hanged 21 Syrian nationalists in Damascus and Beirut |
October 6th | Veterans day | حرب تشرين التحريرية / Harb Teshreen Al-Tahririyyah | Beginning of the October War 1973 |
November 16 | Corrective Movement Day | ذكرى الحركة التصحيحية | To power of Hafez al-Assad in 1970 |
25 December | Christmas | عيد الميلاد المجيد / 'Īd al-Mīlād al-Mağīd | |
Islamic holidays according to the lunar calendar | |||
10. Dhu l-hijjah | Islamic Festival of Sacrifice | عيد الأضحى / 'Īd al-'Aḍḥà | 4 days |
1. Shawwal | Feast of Breaking the Fast | عيد الفطر / 'Īd al-Fiṭr | End of the fasting month of Ramadan , 3 days |
12. Rabīʿ al-awwal | Mawlid | المولد النبوي / al-Maulid an-Nabawī | Birthday of the Prophet Mohammed |
1. Muharram | Muslim New Year | عيد راس السنة الهجرية / 'Īd Ra's as-Sanät al-Hījrīyä |
Web links
- Public Holidays , Country Profile: Syria, April 2005, Library of Congress - Federal Research Division, p. 1 (PDF file; 174 kB)
- Holidays in Syria , Technical Information Center of Iran
- الأعياد والعطل الرسمية في الجمهوريـة العربيـة السوريـة (Festivals and Holidays in the Syrian Arab Republic), Dar'a , daraa-gov.org