Public holidays in Iran

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Iran uses three official calendar systems, including the Solar Hijri calendar as the main and national calendar, the Gregorian calendar for international events and Christian holidays, and the Lunar Hijri calendar for Islamic holidays.

Contents

In 2008, the Iranian government's English-language newspaper Iran Daily wrote that "[the] problem of too many annual public holidays has perpetually been a subject of concern," [1] pointing out that the government would often declare "unofficial holidays [...] to allow extended weekends" around the national holidays. "[I]f official and unofficial holidays are added to weekends, almost half the year the country is holidaying! The serious issue of so many holidays should not be tolerated [...]" [1]

Iran is one of the countries with the most public holidays in the world,[ citation needed ] with 28 holidays. Many holidays' exact dates are determined by the Islamic calendar, and therefore their Gregorian dates vary from year to year.

Events

Solar Events
DateEventLocal NameRemarks
Farvardin 1–4 Nowruz (March 21–24)نوروز – NowruzIranian New Year
Farvardin 12 Islamic Republic Day (April 1)روز جمهوری اسلامی – Ruz e Jomhuri ye Eslāmi
Farvardin 13 Sizdah Bedar (April 2)سیزده بدرCommonly pronounced and spelled Sizdah Bedar
Khordad 14Death of Khomeini (June 4)مرگ روح‌الله خمینی – Rehlat e Xomeyni
Khordad 15 Revolt of Khordad 15 (June 5)قیام ۱۵ خرداد – Qiām e Pānzdah e Xordād
Bahman 22 Anniversary of Islamic Revolution (February 11)انقلاب اسلامی پنجاه و هفت – Enqelāb e EslāmiOfficially the Islamic Revolution
Esfand 29 Nationalization of the Iranian oil industry (March 20)ملی شدن صنعت نفت – Melli Šodan e Saneat e Naft
Lunar Events
DateEvent
Muharram 9 Tasua
Muharram 10 Ashura
Safar 20 Arbaeen
Safar 28Death of Muhammad and Hasan ibn Ali (Mujtaba)
Safar 29 or 30Death of Ali al-Rida
Rabi'-ul-Awwal 8Death of Hasan al-Askari
Rabi'-ul-Awwal 17Birth of Muhammad and Ja'far al-Sadiq
Jamaad-ath-Thaanee 3Death of Fatima
Rajab 13Birth of Ali
Rajab 27Mission of Muhammad
Sha'aban 15Birth of Mahdi
Ramadhan 21Death of Ali
Shawwal 1 Eid ul-Fitr (End of Ramadhan)
Shawwal 2 Eid ul-Fitr (End of Ramadhan)
Shawwal 25Death of Ja'far al-Sadiq
Dh-ul-Hajja 10 Eid ul-Adha (Ghurban)
Dh-ul-Hajja 18 Eid al-Ghadeer

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic calendar</span> Lunar calendar used by Muslims

The Hijri calendar, or Arabic calendar also known in English as the Muslim calendar and Islamic calendar, is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to determine the proper days of Islamic holidays and rituals, such as the annual fasting and the annual season for the great pilgrimage. In almost all countries where the predominant religion is Islam, the civil calendar is the Gregorian calendar, with Syriac month-names used in the Levant and Mesopotamia but the religious calendar is the Hijri one.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunar New Year</span> Beginning of a year in a lunar calendar

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The Hijri year or era is the era used in the Islamic lunar calendar. It begins its count from the Islamic New Year in which Muhammad and his followers migrated from Mecca to Yathrib in 622 CE. This event, known as the Hijrah, is commemorated in Islam for its role in the founding of the first Muslim community (ummah).

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar Hijri calendar</span> Official calendar of Iran

The Solar Hijri calendar is a solar calendar and one of the various Iranian calendars. It begins on the March equinox as determined by the astronomical calculation for the Iran Standard Time meridian and has years of 365 or 366 days. It is the modern principal calendar in Iran and Afghanistan and is sometimes also called the Shamsi calendar and Khorshidi calendar. It is abbreviated as SH, HS or, by analogy with AH, AHSh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adoption of the Gregorian calendar</span> Transition to "New Style" dating system

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References

  1. 1 2 "Always on Holiday!". Iran Daily . 2008-11-11. Archived from the original on 2009-05-15. Retrieved 2017-06-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)