Holiday

Holiday

A Holiday is a day designated as having special significance for which individuals, a government, or a religious group have deemed that observance is warranted. It is generally an official or unofficial observance of religious, national, or cultural significance, often accompanied by celebrations...

s in Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

have many classifications. There are a set of public holidays celebrated by the entire population. Since Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 is the state religion, the Islamic holidays are observed by all Egyptians. Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 holidays are not national holidays (except eastern Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

), however the Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

s are permitted to observe these holidays.

National holidays

The following holidays are celebrated across the country, with the government offices and ministries closed. These holidays are either national secular holidays or important religious holidays.

Date	English Name	Description
January 7	Christmas Christmas Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...  (Old Calendarists Old calendarists The term Old Calendarist refers to any Orthodox Christian or any Orthodox Church body which uses the historic Julian calendar , and whose Church body is not in communion with the Orthodox Churches that use the New Calendar... )	Celebrates the nativity Nativity of Jesus The Nativity of Jesus, or simply The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus in two of the Canonical gospels and in various apocryphal texts....  of Jesus Christ, according to the Oriental Coptic Orthodox Church  (Old calendarist Old calendarists The term Old Calendarist refers to any Orthodox Christian or any Orthodox Church body which uses the historic Julian calendar , and whose Church body is not in communion with the Orthodox Churches that use the New Calendar... )
January 25	National Police Day National Police Day (Egypt) National Police Day is a national holiday in Egypt that occurs each year on January 25.The holiday commemorates and is a remembrance for 50 police officers killed and more wounded when they refused British demands to hand over weapons and evacuate the Ismaïlia Police Station on 25 January 1952...	Celebrates the Egyptian National Police Law enforcement in Egypt Law Enforcement in Egypt is the responsibility of the Ministry of Interior of Egypt.-National organization:The Ministry of Interior divides the functions of the police and public security among four deputy ministers of interior while the Minister of Interior himself retained responsibility for... , and commemorates the deaths of 50 Egyptian policemen defending the Ismailia Ismaïlia -Notable natives:*Osman Ahmed Osman, a famous and influential Egyptian engineer, contractor, entrepreneur, and politician, was born in this town on 6 April 1917....  police headquarters from British United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...  troops in 1952.
April 25	Sinai Liberation Day	Celebrates the final withdrawal of all Israel Israel The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea... i military forces from the Sinai Peninsula Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai is a triangular peninsula in Egypt about in area. It is situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south, and is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia as opposed to Africa, effectively serving as a land bridge between two...  in 1982.
May 1	Labour Day Labour Day Labour Day or Labor Day is an annual holiday to celebrate the economic and social achievements of workers. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for...
July 23	Revolution Day	Celebrates the Egyptian Revolution of 1952
October 6	Armed Forces Day Armed Forces Day Several nations of the world hold an annual Armed Forces Day in honor of their military forces. - Armenia :Բանակի օր is celebrated on 28 January to commemorate the formation of the armed forces of the newly independent Republic of Armenia in 1992....	Celebrates the crossing of the Suez Canal Suez Canal The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...  by Egyptian forces during the October War

Some government-related offices, including most universities

Egyptian universities

Universities in Egypt are generally either state-funded or privately funded. Education in Egypt is free by law, however there are very small fees paid for enrollment. Public institutions, with few exceptions are generally overcrowded with a student body of several thousands...

, are also closed on the Coptic Orthodox date of Epiphany, 19 January.

Movable holidays

The following days are public holidays but the date on which each occurs varies, according to its corresponding Coptic or Islamic calendar, and thus has no set date. In order in which they occur:

English Name	Description
Sham El Nessim Sham el nessim Sham ennisim is an Egyptian national holiday marking the beginning of spring. It always falls on the day after the Eastern Christian Easter...  (Spring festival)	The Monday following Orthodox Orthodox Christianity The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...  Easter Easter Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
Islamic New Year Muslim New Year The Hijri New Year, also known as Islamic new year is the day that marks the beginning of a new Islamic calendar year, and is the day on which the year count is incremented...	The first day of the year based on the lunar Islamic calendar Islamic calendar The Hijri calendar , also known as the Muslim calendar or Islamic calendar , is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to date events in many Muslim countries , and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic...  (1 Muharram Muharram Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year in which fighting is prohibited... )
Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad Mawlid Mawlid or sometimes ميلاد , mīlād is a term used to refer to the observance of the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad which occurs in Rabi' al-awwal,...  (Sunni Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites.... )	The birthday Birthday A birthday is a day or anniversary where a person celebrates his or her date of birth. Birthdays are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with a gift, party or rite of passage. Although the major religions celebrate the birth of their founders , Christmas – which is celebrated widely by...  of the Prophet Muhammad Muhammad Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts... , according to the Sunni account (12 Rabi al-Awwal Rabi' al-awwal Rabi' al-awwal is the third month in the Islamic calendar. During this month, Muslims around the world celebrate Mawlid - the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Sunni Muslims believe the exact date of birth of Muhammad to have been on the twelfth of this month, whereas Shi'a Muslims believe... )
Eid al-Fitr	Breaking of the fast of Ramadan Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and... , for three days (1-3 Shawwal Shawwal Shawwāl is the tenth month of the lunar Islamic calendar. Shawwāl means to ‘lift or carry’; so named because she-camels normally would be carrying a fetus at this time of year.-Fasting during Shawwāl:... )
Eid al-Adha	End of the Hajj Hajj The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...  and commemoration of the Sacrifice of Abraham, for four days (10-13 Dhu al-Hijjah Dhu al-Hijjah Dhu al-Ḥijjah is the twelfth and final month in the Islamic calendar.This is a very sacred month in the Islamic calendar, marking the end of the year. It is in this month in which the Hajj takes place.... )

Other holidays

These holidays are widely celebrated, yet government offices, public institutions and ministries remain open.

Date	English Name	Description
January 1	New Year's Day New Year's Day New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...	The New Year according to the Gregorian calendar Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
March 3	Sportsmen's day	Celebrates all Egypt's sportsmen
March 21	Mother's Day Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring mothers and celebrating motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, yet most commonly in March, April, or May...	Celebrates all mothers
June 18	Evacuation Day (Eid el-Galaa)	Celebrates the final withdrawal of all British forces from Egypt on this date in 1956.
August 15	Flooding of the Nile Flooding of the Nile has been an important natal cycle in Egypt since ancient times. It is celebrated by Egyptians as an annual holiday for two weeks starting August 15, known as Wafaa El-Nil. It is also celebrated in the Coptic Church by ceremonially throwing a martyr's relic into the river, hence the name, Esba`...  (Wafaa Elnil)	Celebrates the beginning of the Nile Nile The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...  floods
October 21	Egyptian Naval Day	Celebrates the sinking by the Egyptian Navy of the Israeli destroyer Eilat in 1967
October 24	Suez Day / Popular Resistance Day	Celebrates the resistance of local citizens in Suez Suez Suez is a seaport city in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez , near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boundaries as Suez governorate. It has three harbors, Adabya, Ain Sokhna and Port Tawfiq, and extensive port facilities...  during the October War.
December 23	Victory Day Victory Day Victory Day is a common name of many different public holidays in various countries to commemorate victories in important battles or wars in the countries' history.- April 30 in Vietnam :...	Celebrates the ending of the Tripartite Aggression Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,... in 1956.