Festivals & Events

1. رمضان

   Ramaḍān

   Ramadan (month of fasting)

   Usage

   Islamic month of fasting; many people abstain from food and drink from dawn to sunset, so avoid eating or drinking openly in the daytime. After sunset the streets fill for iftar. The dates move about 11 days earlier each year.

   Grammar Note

   ḍ is the emphatic d; the ending is -ān.

2. فانوس رمضان

   Fānūs Ramaḍān

   Ramadan lantern (fanous)

   Usage

   Classic Ramadan decoration, a lantern of coloured glass or metal that children carry and streets and cafes hang.

   Grammar Note

   فانوس + month name: "lantern of Ramadan".

3. مدفع الإفطار

   Midfaʿ il-Iftār

   Iftar cannon

   Usage

   A cannon fired at sunset in Ramadan to announce the end of the fast; a Cairo tradition.

   Grammar Note

   الإفطار comes from the verb "to break the fast".

4. مائدة الرحمن

   Māyidit ir-Raḥmān

   Mercy table (free Ramadan iftar)

   Usage

   Free iftar tables set up on streets and squares at sunset; passers-by are welcome to sit.

   Grammar Note

   مائدة is pronounced māyda; the construct form ends in -it.

5. عيد الفطر

   ʿĪd il-Fiṭr

   Eid al-Fitr (feast ending Ramadan)

   Usage

   Holiday ending Ramadan, lasting a few days; families gather, eat kahk and wear new clothes. The greeting is كل سنة وانت طيب.

   Grammar Note

   عيد + definite noun; الفطر means "breaking the fast".

6. عيد الأضحى

   ʿĪd il-Aḍḥa

   Eid al-Adha (feast of sacrifice)

   Usage

   Feast of sacrifice at the pilgrimage month, also called the Greater Eid; meat is shared and many families eat fatta.

   Grammar Note

   عيد + definite noun.

7. المولد النبوي

   Il-Mawlid in-Nabawi

   Prophet's birthday (Mawlid)

   Usage

   Celebrated in the third Islamic month; people buy sweets and sugar dolls and gather at shrines.

   Grammar Note

   النبوي is the adjective "of the Prophet".

8. شم النسيم

   Shamm in-Nisīm

   Sham el-Nessim (spring holiday)

   Usage

   Egyptian spring holiday on the day after Coptic Easter; people picnic in parks or by the Nile with eggs, lettuce, fisikh and smoked herring.

   Grammar Note

   Literally "smelling the breeze".

9. عيد الميلاد

   ʿĪd il-Mīlād

   Christmas (Coptic, January 7)

   Usage

   Coptic Orthodox Christmas falls on January 7 and is an official holiday; churches hold services and cities add decorations.

   Grammar Note

   الميلاد means "birth".

10. عيد القيامة

    ʿĪd il-Qiyāma

    Easter (Coptic Orthodox)

    Usage

    Coptic Orthodox Easter, often on a different date from Western Easter; the following day is Sham el-Nessim.

    Grammar Note

    القيامة comes from "standing up" and means resurrection; the ق is written q.

11. مولد السيد البدوي

    Mawlid is-Sayyid il-Badawi

    Mawlid of Sayyid al-Badawi (Tanta)

    Usage

    Large annual mawlid in the Delta city of Tanta, usually in autumn, honouring a saint; very crowded with pilgrims and stalls.

    Grammar Note

    مولد is used as the name of a saint's festival.

12. تعامد الشمس على معبد أبو سمبل

    Taʿāmud ish-shams ʿala Maʿbad Abu Simbil

    Abu Simbel sun festival

    Usage

    Twice a year (22 February and 22 October) the morning sun reaches the statues at the back of the temple; big crowds gather.

    Grammar Note

    تعامد is a noun meaning "becoming perpendicular".

13. مهرجان القاهرة السينمائي الدولي

    Mahragān il-Qāhira s-Sinimāʾi d-Dawli

    Cairo International Film Festival

    Usage

    Annual international film festival held in Cairo in autumn.

    Grammar Note

    مهرجان is pronounced mahragān in speech (ج as g).

14. معرض القاهرة الدولي للكتاب

    Maʿraḍ il-Qāhira d-Dawli lil-Kitāb

    Cairo International Book Fair

    Usage

    Large annual Arab-world book fair in Cairo in winter, with books and cultural events.

    Grammar Note

    للكتاب is ل + الكتاب, read lil-Kitāb.

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