Islamic New Year 2013

Islamic New Year is based on the lunar calendar, which has 354 days. The lunar calendar has 11 days less than the solar calendar and for this reason; the Islamic New Year falls on different dates in different years. Islamic New Year 2013 will be observed on 26 November. Muharram is the first day of Islamic calendar and the New Year celebrations also start on Muharram. During the New Year, they remind migration or Hiraj of Prophet Muhammad when he moved from Mecca to Medina. This migration took places in the third month of the calendar. For this reason, the New Year is also significant for the Muslims to remember the migration of the Prophet.

The celebrations of New Year of Islam are quite different from other New Year observances. Islamic New Year 2013 celebrations mainly concentrate on religious practices. They visit the mosques and offer special prayers together. On the New Year prayers, the mosques offer special prayers along with a special reading from the Holy Koran. They listen to the narration of Prophet migration from Mecca to Medina. If someone is unable to turn up at the mosque, he or she can listen to these over the radio.

There is another popular tradition of reflecting on the lives. After offering prayers and listening to the reading from Koran, they reflect on their lives. They judge their life style, good deeds, bad deeds, and morality. Traditionally, Muslims do not celebrate the New Year except for visiting to mosques. However, these days, many Muslims send gifts and greetings card to their family and friends. The traditional celebrations of Islamic New Year are known as Maal Hijra.

Giving gifts and cards is common among many Muslim communities. However, the Shia Muslims strictly concentrate on Maal Hijra. They do not take any kind of participation in New Year celebrations, rather they celebrate it in a sober way. They observe the day by giving honor to the Battle of Karbala, which followed by a month of remembrance. The bereavement ends on the 10th day of Muharram month. However, unlike the Shia community, Sunni Muslims do not participate in any kind of celebration, since the first Caliph Abu Bakr died on that day. It can be said that Islamic New Year 2013 will be celebrated calmly throughout the whole world.

There are a number of Islamic countries in the world and each of the nations celebrates Islamic New Year in their traditional way. In all the countries, Egypt observes the New Year with utmost vigor and grandeur. In other words, the tradition of celebrating New Year in a sober way does not match with the Egyptian New Year celebrations.

In Egypt, New Year is a public holiday. It is celebrated with a festive mood all over the country. Moon is visited before starting the celebration. The religious leader announces New Year and the celebrations begin. Everyone is dressed his or her best with the colorful dresses. Families take their dinner together. Giving sweets to children is an important custom. The boys are given sweets of the shape of a boy on a horseback while the girls are given the sweets of the shape of a girl. The adults visit the places of their near and dear ones.