Islamic/Hijri New Year Feast

Expected date. Islamic holidays follow the lunar Hijri calendar, so they move about 11 days earlier every year. Egypt confirms the exact day by moon sighting (Dar al-Ifta) shortly before, and the government may shift the day off. Last checked October 2026.

Timing

The feast falls on the first day of the Islamic New Year. The calendar counts from the Hijra, the migration of the Prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE, and the founding of the first Muslim community. The second Muslim caliph, Omar Ibn El-Khatab, began using this calendar, dated from the Hijra.

Celebrations

It is a public holiday in most Muslim countries. No specific rituals are performed on the day, but people enjoy a traditional plate of the Islamic dessert “Ashoura”. The custom dates back to the Fatimids, and the dish is still cooked in some popular neighbourhoods.

How it is celebrated

Compared with the two Eids, the Islamic New Year is a quiet holiday in Egypt. Most people simply enjoy a day off with family. Mosques hold sermons on the meaning of the Hijra, and television and radio carry religious programmes and talks.

Some families mark the start of the new year with a special meal at home, and friends and relatives send each other greetings. You will hear people wish each other “Kol sana wenta tayeb”, a phrase used for almost any happy occasion in Egypt.

The new year opens the month of Muharram, which many Muslims treat as a time for reflection and, for some, voluntary fasting on certain days.

What is open and closed

Government offices, banks and schools close for the day. Shops, restaurants and cafes are usually open, and most archaeological sites and museums usually keep their normal hours. If you need a bank or any official paperwork, sort it out a day or two before.

As the holiday has no big public events, it has little effect on travel. Streets can be quieter than usual in the morning.

Like all Islamic holidays, the date depends on the sighting of the new moon. The date above is the expected one; Dar al-Ifta confirms it shortly before, and the government then announces the official days off.