In brief
Amazigh New Year becomes Morocco’s new bank holiday
Recognition was long-standing demand of Amazigh movement
According to a statement from the Moroccan royal cabinet, the inclusion of the holiday in the official calendar comes as part of recognition of Amazighness as an “essential component of Moroccan identity.”
The feast, called Yennayer or Innayr in Amazigh, is celebrated around 13 January. It corresponds to the first day of the Julian calendar, the same calendar used in Europe until Pope Gregory XIII's reform. Yennayer —a name derived from the Latin name for January, ianuarius— is one of the most significant celebrations of the Amazigh people.