Official holidays in Egypt are both designated by the Gregorian calendar, and the Muslim calendar. Because a year on the Muslim calendar, or hydra(it means "escape", comes from the escape of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 r. after Christ) is 11 days less than a year according to the Gregorian calendar (western), Islamic holidays are taking place 11 days earlier than the previous year.
This 11-day rule is not entirely precise - holidays may occur 10 or 12 days earlier. Exact dates are announced shortly before the holiday, because they depend on the phase of the moon.
Bank holidays:
– 1 January– New Year
– 22 February – Reunification Day
– 25 April – Sinai Liberation Day
– 1 May – Labour Day
– 23 July – Revolution Day
– 6 October – Armed Forces Day
– 23 October – Suez day
– 23 of December – Victory Day
Religious holidays:
Most religious holidays in Egypt last one or two days at most and should not get in the way of your vacation plans. The exception is Ramadan, Muslim fasting month. Many restaurants and cafes are closed during the day, while the bars completely shut down their activities for the entire month. The offices are also open part-time, and on top of that, weird hours.
Festivals and festivities in Egypt are primarily religious events, according to the calendar of Islamic or Coptic holidays, although they are celebrated by the entire population regardless of religion.
A) Islamic movable holidays
– Muslim New Year
– Maulid an-Nabi, Birthday of the Prophet
– Ramadan – it is the ninth month in the Muslim calendar., in which all the faithful fast during the day. Devout Muslims literally take nothing in their mouths throughout the day. Despite, that many Muslims do not obey this command so strictly, most adapt to it to some extent. The impact of long fasting is mitigated by delaying working hours during the day - many people get up until around noon, when there aren't too many fasting hours left to follow. You can eat from sunset to sunrise, which is also often the case. The combination of food restraint and lack of sleep causes, that people get nervous.
Despite, that non-Muslims are under no obligation to fast, eating and drinking in public places during daylight hours is considered inappropriate. Evening meal during Ramadan, called iftar ("Breaking the fast") it is always quite a celebration. In some parts of the city, tables laid out in a charitable act of helping the less fate are brought out to the streets.. The evenings are filled with a fun atmosphere, there are many possibilities to celebrate all night long until sunrise.
– Id al.-Fitr, end of the month of Fasting of Ramadan – festive day, when everyone puts on new clothes, visits friends and relatives, and children are given small gifts.
B) Coptic holidays:
– 7 January – Christmas
– 19 January – Easter (movable holiday)
– 21 brand – Annunciation Day