Pakistan holidays are celebrated according to the Islamic or local Pakistani calendars for religious and civil purposes, respectively. Religious holidays such as Eid are celebrated according to the Islamic calendar whereas other national holidays such as International Workers' Day, [1] Pakistan Day, and Quaid-i-Azam Day are celebrated according to the Gregorian calendar.
Date | English Name | Local Name | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
5 February | Kashmir Solidarity Day | یوم یکجحتی کشمیر Yōum-e-Yakjehtī Kashmīr | Observed to show Pakistan's support and unity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir. |
23 March | Pakistan Day | یوم پاکستان Yōum-e-Pākistān | Commemorates the Lahore Resolution, which formally demanded an independent Muslim-majority state to be created out of British India. The republic was also declared on this day in 1956. |
1 May | Labour Day | یوم مزدور Yōum-e-Mazdoor | Celebrates the achievements of Labour. |
14 August | Independence Day | یومِ آزادی Yōum-e-Azādī | Marking Pakistani independence and the formation of Pakistan in 1947. |
9 November | Iqbal Day | یومِ اقبال Yōum-e-Iqbāl | Birthday of Muhammad Iqbal, National Poet of Pakistan. |
25 December | Quaid-e-Azam Day | یوم قائداعظم Yōum-e-Quaid-e-Āzam | Birthday of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan. |
Date | English Name | Local Name | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Dhu al-Hijjah 10th-12th | Eid-ul-Adha | عید الاضحٰی | Marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage; sacrifices offered on this day commemorate Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son |
Shawwal 1st-3rd | Eid-ul-Fitr | عيد الفطر | Marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan |
Rabiʽ al-Awwal 12 | Eid Milad-un-Nabi | میلاد النبی | Birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad |
Muharram 9th-10th | Ashura | عاشوراء/یوم کربلا | Karbala Day for Shias to the mourn for the martyred Imam Hussein ibn Ali, Grandson of Muhammad |
The Gregorian dates are according to the year 2025.
Date | English Name | Local Name | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1 January | New Year's Day | نئے سال کا دن Nayē Sāl kā Din | Commemorates the first day of the Gregorian calendar |
Rajab 27th (27 January) | Isra' and Mi'raj | شب معراج Shab-e-Merāj | Observes the night journey of Prophet Muhammad to Al-Aqsa and the heaven |
Magha 5th (2 February) | Basant Panchami | بسنت پنچمی Basant Panchamī | Marks the start of spring and also honours the Hindu goddess Saraswati |
Shaban 14th–15th (13–14 February) | Shab-e-Barat | شب برات Shab-e-Barāt | Night of forgiveness for the Sunnis |
Phalguna 14th (26 February) | Maha Shivaratri | مہا شیوراتری Mahāshivarātri | Honours the Hindu deities Shiva and Parvati |
First full moon of Phalguna (14 March) | Holi | ہولی Holī | Celebrates the love between the Hindu deities Radha and Krishna |
Farvardin 1st (20 March) | Nowruz | نوروز Naurōz | Persian New Year |
Farvardin 7th (26 March) | Khordad Sal | خرداد سال Khordād Sāl | Commemorates the birthday of Zarathushtra Spitama in Zoroastrianism |
Vaisakh 1st (14 April) | Vaisakhi | ویساکھی Vaisākhī | Celebrates the spring harvest in Punjab |
18 April | Good Friday | شام کلوری Shām-e-Calvary | Observes the crucifixion of Jesus in Christianity |
20 April | Easter | عیدالفصح Eīd-ul-Fisah | Commemorates the resurrection of Jesus in Christianity |
Jalál 13th (20 April) | Ridván | عید رضوان Eīd-e-Rizwān | Commemorates Baháʼu'lláh's declaration as a Manifestation of God in Baháʼí Faith |
First full moon of Vaisakha (5 May) | Buddha's Birthday | بدھ کا جنم دن Buddhā kā Janam Din | Commemorates the birthday of Siddhartha Gautama |
28 May | Nuclear Day | یوم تکبیر Yōum-e-Takbīr | Commemorates the Chagai-I and Chagai-II series of nuclear tests. |
Safar 20th (15 August) | Arba'in | چہلم Chehlum | Marks forty days after Ashura |
Bhadra 8th (16 August) | Krishna Janmashtami | کرشنا جنم اشٹمی Krishnā Janmashṭamī | Commemorates the birthday of Hindu diety Krishna |
Rabi' al-Thani 11th (4 September) | Gyarvi Sharif | گیاروی شریف Gyārvī Sharīf | Commemorates the gratuity and generosity of the Sufi scholar Abdul Qadir Gilani on the 11th of every month |
Ashvina 6th–10th (28 September–2 October) | Durga Puja | درگا پوجا Durgā Pūjā | Celebrated because of Hindu diety Durga's victory over Mahishasura |
Ashvina 10th (2 October) | Vijayadashami | دسہرہ Dussehra | Marks the end of Durga Puja |
Ashvina 14th (6 October) | Diwali | دیوالی Dīwālī | Symbolises the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance" in Hinduism |
Ashvina 15th (7 October) | Guru Valmiki's Birthday | گرو والمیکی کا جنم دن Gūrū Vālmikī kā Janam Din | Commemorates the birthday of the legendary poet Valmiki |
First full moon of Kattak (5 November) | Guru Nanak Gurpurab | گرو نانک گروپورب Gūrū Nānak Gurpūrab | Commemorates the birthday of the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak |
A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. Public holidays are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often also observed as public holidays in religious majority countries. Some religious holidays, such as Christmas, have become secularised by part or all of those who observe them. In addition to secularisation, many holidays have become commercialised due to the growth of industry.
July is the seventh month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. It was named by the Roman Senate in honour of Roman general Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., being the month of his birth. Before then it was called Quintilis, being the fifth month of the calendar that started with March.
The New Year is the time or day at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system today, New Year occurs on January 1. This was also the first day of the year in the original Julian calendar and the Roman calendar.
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, 1 January. Most solar calendars begin the year regularly at or near the northern winter solstice, while cultures and religions that observe a lunisolar or lunar calendar celebrate their Lunar New Year at less fixed points relative to the solar year.
Eid al-Adha is the second of the two main holidays in Islam alongside Eid al-Fitr. It falls on the 10th of Dhu al-Hijja, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar. Celebrations and observances are generally carried forward to the three following days, known as the Tashreeq days.
The positivist calendar was a calendar reform proposal by Auguste Comte (1798–1857) in 1849. Revising the earlier work of Marco Mastrofini, or an even earlier proposal by "Hirossa Ap-Iccim", Comte developed a solar calendar with 13 months of 28 days, and an additional festival day commemorating the dead, totalling 365 days.
Bangladesh has numerous public holidays, including national memorial, religious and secular holidays of Bengali origin. The Bengali traditional calendar, known as Baṅgābda is the national and official calendar in Bangladesh. The holidays are celebrated according to Bengali, Islamic or Gregorian calendars for religious and civil purposes, respectively. Religious festivals like Eid are celebrated according to the Islamic calendar whereas other national holidays are celebrated according to the Bengali and Gregorian calendar. While the Islamic calendar is based on the movement of the moon, it loses synchronization with the seasons, through seasonal drift. Therefore, some public holidays are subject to change every year based on the lunar calendar.
Vidovdan is a Serbian national and religious holiday, a slava celebrated on 28 June, or 15 June according to the Julian calendar. The Serbian Church designates it as the memorial day to Saint Prince Lazar and the Serbian holy martyrs who fell during the Battle of Kosovo against the Ottoman Empire on 15 June 1389. It is an important part of Serb ethnic and Serbian national identity.
The schedule of 11 public holidays in Singapore which are gazetted and recognized since the establishment of Singapore's 1998 Holidays Act.
Vikram Samvat, also known as the Vikrami calendar is a national Hindu calendar historically used in the Indian subcontinent and still also used in several Indian states. It is a solar calendar, using twelve to thirteen lunar months each solar sidereal years. The year count of the Vikram Samvat calendar is usually 57 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar, except during January to April, when it is ahead by 56 years.
Buddha's Birthday or Buddha Day is a primarily Buddhist festival that is celebrated in most of South, Southeast and East Asia, commemorating the birth of the prince Siddhartha Gautama, who became the Gautama Buddha and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition and archaeologists, Gautama Buddha, c. 563-483 BCE, was born at Lumbini in Nepal. Buddha's mother was Queen Maya Devi, who delivered the Buddha while undertaking a journey to her native home, and his father was King Śuddhodana. The Mayadevi Temple, its gardens, and an Ashoka Pillar dating from 249 BCE mark the Buddha's birthplace at Lumbini.
There are two main holidays in Islam that are celebrated by Muslims worldwide: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. The timing of both holidays are set by the lunar Islamic calendar, which is based upon the cycle of the moon, and so is different from the more common, European, solar-based Gregorian calendar. Every year, the Gregorian dates of the Islamic holidays change.
Mid-Sha'ban is a Muslim holiday observed by Shia and Sunni Muslim communities on the eve of 15th of Sha'ban — the same night as Shab-e-barat or Laylat al-Bara’ah.
For exact dates in the Gregorian calendar see Jewish and Israeli holidays 2000–2050.
Bayram is the Turkic word for a nationally-celebrated festival or holiday, applicable to both national and religious celebrations.
A birthday is the anniversary of the birth of a person, or figuratively of an institution. Birthdays of people are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with birthday gifts, birthday cards, a birthday party, or a rite of passage.
Punjabi festivals are various festive celebrations observed by Punjabis in Pakistan, India and the jairish alipreet Punjabi found in Kannada. The Punjabis are a diverse group of people from different religious background that affects the festivals they observe. According to a 2007 estimate, the total population of Punjabi Muslims is about 90 million, with 97% of Punjabis who live in Pakistan following Islam, in contrast to the remaining 30 million Punjabi Sikhs and Punjabi Hindus who predominantly live in India.
Nepal uses three official calendar systems, including the Vikram Samvat as the main and national calendar as well as for Hindu holidays, the Nepal Sambat and the Gregorian calendar for international events and holidays.
The adoption of the Gregorian Calendar was an event in the early modern history of most cultures and societies, marking a change from their traditional dating system to the modern dating system – the Gregorian calendar – that is widely used around the world today. Some states adopted the new calendar from 1582, some did not do so before the early twentieth century, and others did so at various dates between. A few still have not, but except for these, the Gregorian calendar is now the world's civil calendar universally, although in many places an old style calendar remains used in religious or traditional contexts. During – and for some time after – the change between systems, it has been common to use the terms "Old Style" and "New Style" when giving dates, to indicate which calendar was used to reckon them.
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