Afghanistan Holidays and Islam Calendar
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Fixed Public Holidays
21 March Noruz
28 April Loss of the Muslim Nation
1 May International Labor Day
4 May Remembrance Day for Martyrs & Disabled
19 August Independence Day
30 or 31 August Pashtoonistan Day
Moveable Public Holidays
Feast #Days 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Islamic New Year 1 8May 28Apr 18Apr 6Apr 26Mar 15Mar
Ashoora
(Shi'a minority only) 2 17May 7May 27Apr 15Apr 4Apr 24Mar
Prophet's Birthday 1 17Jul 7Jul 26Jun 15Jun 4Jun 25May
Start of Ramadan
(not a holiday) - 11Jan 31Dec 20Dec 9Dec 27Nov 17Nov 6Nov
Eid Al Fitr 2-4 9Feb 30Jan 19Jan 8Jan 27Dec 16Dec 6Dec
Arafat Day 1 17Apr 7Apr 27Mar 16Mar 5Mar 22Feb
Eid Al Adha 2-6 18Apr 8Apr 28Mar 17Mar 6Mar 23Feb
Weekend: Friday
Time Zone: GMT+4:30. There is no summer time clock change.
The time zone data above is from the tz Database, an explanation of which can be found at Sources for Time Zone and Daylight Saving Time Data.
Religion: Muslim
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The Islamic Calendar
holidayfestival.com
The Islamic or Hijra calendar is made up of 12 lunar months. The Hijra year is therefore 354 11/30 days long, which means that it migrates through the solar year, starting about 11 days earlier each (Gregorian solar) year. The Islamic year is considered to have started at sunset of Thursday, July 15, 622 in the Julian calendar and has twelve months of alternately 29 and 30 days, the last month having 30 days only in leap years:-
Month Days
1 Muharram 30
2 Safar 29
3 Rabi' I 30
4 Rabi' II 29
5 Jumada I 30
6 Jumada II 29
7 Rajab 30
8 Sha'ban 29
9 Ramadan 30
10 Shawwal 29
11 Dhu al Qa'da 30
12 Dhu al Hijja 29/30
The leap year occurs in the 2nd, 5th, 7th, 10th, 13th, 16th, 18th, 21st, 24th, 26th and 29th years of a 30 year cycle. The beginning of a new month is commonly defined, however, by physical observation by the religious authorities of the new moon. Thus the calculated dates may be off by a day or two and may even vary from country to country. In practice this is most important for the beginning and end of Ramadan, the month of fasting and for the feast of 'Id al Adha.
Friday is the day of rest. In many countries, shops and offices may be found open after midday prayers are finished but government offices and so on are invariably closed for the whole day.
Major observances, festivals, holidays and fasts.
1 Muharram Hijra New Year A holiday in many countries.
10 Muharram Ashura' Shi'a holiday celebrating the martyrdom of Imam Hussein. Devout Shi'a beat themselves with chains and even barbed wire in memory of the martyrdom.
12 Rabi' I Mawlid an Nabi The birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him).
27 Rajab Lailat al Miraj The Ascent of the Prophet (PBUH).
15 Sha'ban Lailat al Bara'a
Ramadan (Month of fasting)
Believers take no food, drink or tobacco from sunrise to sunset, and abstain from sexual relations. In many cities, the start of the fast is marked each day by a drummer who beats the bounds of each district and the end of the fast by the firing of a cannon. Technically, the fast begins each day at dawn, which for Muslims comes nearly two hours before sunrise. Sunrise marks the end of the first period of prayer. Dawn is reckoned as the time when the sun's first light is seen on the horizon, or, according to a Hadith, when a white cord may be distinguished from a black cord. Traditionally, the fast is broken with a date (Hadith has it that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon Him, broke his fast with a date), some milk and water and then a bowl of soup and a special salad (fattoush) but the evening breakfast ('iftar) is often an opportunity for revelling which may go on late into the night.
Ramadan is not a holiday, but work schedules may be seriously disrupted or altered. It is known as Hari Rayah in Asia.
27 Ramadan Lailat al Qadr Evening of destiny, revelation of the Qur'an. Muslims pray that Allah will grant them a good destiny.
Last Friday in Ramadan Quds Day A recent addition to the calendar, in memory of Jerusalem.
1 Shawwal 'Id al Fitr - This feast marks the end of Ramadan. It commonly lasts 3 days. Known as Seker Bayram in Turkish, Hari Raya Puasa in South East Asia.
9 Dhu al Hijja Arafat Day The eve of Adha.
10 Dhu al Hijja 'Id al Adha Festival of sacrifice. The culmination of the Hajj or holy pilgrimage. Commonly a 4 day holiday. Known as Kurban Bayram in Turkish, Hari Raya Hajj in South East Asia and Tabaski in parts of Africa.
Holiday dates
As the Muslim day begins at sunset, so do the holidays. The Gregorian dates given in this site are for the day of the feast, so in Western calendar terms, the feast can be said to begin at sunset on the evening before the date given.
Event
Hijra New Year 09 May 1997 28 Apr 1998 17 Apr 1999
06 Apr 2000 26 Mar 2001 15 Mar 2002
05 Mar 2003 22 Feb 2004 10 Feb 2005
31 Jan 2006 20 Jan 2007 10 Jan 2008
29 Dec 2008 18 Dec 2009 18 Dec 2010
27 Nov 2011 15 Nov 2012 05 Nov 2013
25 Oct 2014 15 Oct 2015 03 Oct 2016
22 Sep 2017 12 Sep 2018 01 Sep 2019
20 Aug 2020
Ashura' 18 May 1997 07 May 1998 26 Apr 1999
15 Apr 2000 04 Apr 2001 24 Mar 2002
14 Mar 2003 02 Mar 2004 19 Feb 2005
09 Feb 2006 29 Jan 2007 19 Jan 2008
07 Jan 2009 27 Dec 2009 27 Dec 2010
06 Dec 2011 24 Nov 2012 14 Nov 2013
03 Nov 2014 24 Oct 2015 12 Oct 2016
01 Oct 2017 21 Sep 2018 10 Sep 2019
29 Aug 2020
Mawlid an Nabi 18 Jul 1997 07 Jul 1998 26 Jun 1999
15 Jun 2000 04 Jun 2001 24 May 2002
14 May 2003 02 May 2004 21 Apr 2005
11 Apr 2006 31 Mar 2007 20 Mar 2008
09 Mar 2009 26 Feb 2010 16 Feb 2011
05 Feb 2012 24 Jan 2013 14 Jan 2014
03 Jan 2015 24 Dec 2015 12 Dec 2016
01 Dec 2017 21 Nov 2018 10 Nov 2019
29 Oct 2020
Lailat al Miraj 28 Nov 1997 17 Nov 1998 06 Nov 1999
26 Oct 2000 15 Oct 2001 04 Oct 2002
24 Sep 2003 12 Sep 2004 01 Sep 2005
22 Aug 2006 11 Aug 2007 31 Jul 2008
20 Jul 2009 09 Jul 2010 09 Jun 2011
17 Jun 2012 06 Jun 2013 27 May 2014
16 May 2015 05 May 2016 24 Apr 2017
13 Apr 2018 03 Apr 2019 22 Mar 2020
Lailat al Bara'a 16 Dec 1997 05 Dec 1998 24 Nov 1999
13 Nov 2000 02 Nov 2001 22 Oct 2002
12 Oct 2003 30 Sep 2004 19 Sep 2005
09 Sep 2006 29 Aug 2007 18 Aug 2008
07 Aug 2009 27 Jul 2010 27 Jun 2011
05 Jul 2012 24 Jun 2013 14 Jun 2014
03 Jun 2015 23 May 2016 12 May 2017
01 May 2018 21 Apr 2019 09 Apr 2020
Ramadan starts 31 Dec 1997 20 Dec 1998 09 Dec 1999
28 Nov 2000 17 Nov 2001 06 Nov 2002
27 Oct 2003 15 Oct 2004 04 Oct 2005
24 Sep 2006 13 Sep 2007 02 Sep 2008
22 Aug 2009 11 Aug 2010 01 Aug 2011
20 Jul 2012 09 Jul 2013 29 Jun 2014
18 Jun 2015 07 Jun 2016 27 May 2017
16 May 2018 06 May 2019 24 Apr 2020
Lailat al Kadr 05 Feb 1997 26 Jan 1997 15 Jan 1998
04 Jan 1999 24 Dec 2000 13 Dec 2001
02 Dec 2002 22 Nov 2003 10 Nov 2004
30 Oct 2005 20 Oct 2006 09 Oct 2007
28 Sep 2008 17 Sep 2009 06 Sep 2010
07 Aug 2011 15 Aug 2012 04 Aug 2013
25 Jul 2014 14 Jul 2015 03 Jul 2016
22 Jun 2017 11 Jun 2018 01 Jun 2019
20 May 2020
Quds Day 07 Feb 1997 23 Jan 1998 15 Jan 1999
07 Jan 2000 22 Dec 2000 14 Dec 2001
29 Nov 2002 21 Nov 2003 12 Nov 2004
28 Oct 2005 20 Oct 2006 12 Oct 2007
26 Sep 2008 18 Sep 2009 03 Sep 2010
05 Aug 2011 17 Aug 2012 02 Aug 2013
25 Jul 2014 17 Jul 2015 01 Jul 2016
23 Jun 2017 08 Jun 2018 31 May 2019
22 May 2020
'Id al Fitr
09 Feb 1997 30 Jan 1998 19 Jan 1999
08 Jan 2000 28 Dec 2000 17 Dec 2001
06 Dec 2002 26 Nov 2003 14 Nov 2004
03 Nov 2005 24 Oct 2006 13 Oct 2007
02 Oct 2008 21 Sep 2009 10 Sep 2010
11 Aug 2011 19 Aug 2012 08 Aug 2013
29 Jul 2014 18 Jul 2015 07 Jul 2016
26 Jun 2017 15 Jun 2018 05 Jun 2019
24 May 2020
Waqf al Arafa 16 Apr 1997 06 Apr 1998 26 Mar 1999
14 Mar 2000 04 Mar 2001 21 Feb 2002
10 Feb 2003 31 Jan 2004 19 Jan 2005
08 Jan 2006 29 Dec 2006 18 Dec 2007
07 Dec 2008 26 Nov 2009 15 Nov 2010
16 Oct 2011 24 Oct 2012 13 Oct 2013
03 Oct 2014 22 Sep 2015 11 Sep 2016
31 Aug 2017 20 Aug 2018 10 Aug 2019
29 Jul 2020
--- 'Id al Adha 18 Apr 1997 08 Apr 1998 28 Mar 1999
16 Mar 2000 06 Mar 2001 23 Feb 2002
12 Feb 2003 02 Feb 2004 21 Jan 2005
10 Jan 2006 31 Dec 2006 20 Dec 2007
09 Dec 2008 28 Nov 2009 17 Nov 2010
18 Oct 2011 26 Oct 2012 15 Oct 2013
05 Oct 2014 24 Sep 2015 13 Sep 2016
02 Sep 2017 22 Aug 2018 12 Aug 2019
31 Jul 2020 |
