Holidays in Morocco

In Morocco, holidays are divided into three groups: religious, national and regional (traditional). They are of great importance in the life of the Moroccans. To get to know the country and its culture, you need to visit traditional celebrations and participate in local celebrations and rituals. The holidays in Morocco have their own special color, taste, smell and will add a lot of impressions to your trip.

Classification of holidays

National holidays in Morocco do not differ much from the list of standard holidays in other countries of the world:

Religious holidays include:

More interesting for tourists are traditional holidays and festivals. Most of them in June are the desert symphony festival, the Ganua music festival, the cherry festival and the festivals of popular art and sacred music. The most colorful and picturesque can be called the flowering period of the almond tree and the holiday of roses in Morocco . And the most fascinating is the feast of wax candles.

Religious holidays in Morocco

  1. Uraza-Bayram is one of the biggest holidays in Morocco. It marks the end of the month of Ramadan. Celebrate for three days. Approximately falls on July. Uraza-bairam is similar to the celebration of the new year.
  2. Kurban-Bayram is a festival of sacrifice, celebrated 70 days after the holiday of Uraza-Bayram. The celebration begins in the morning. On this day, a specially fattened animal is sacrificed and charity dinners are arranged, gifts are given to each other.

Unusual Holidays

In the town of Tafraoute , which is considered the almond capital of Morocco, in February, an amazing event begins - the almond blossoms and notifies the arrival of spring (the name of the festival is Almond Blossom Festival). Moroccans believe that the fruits of almonds bring good luck and therefore its flowering, coinciding with the Tu-Bi-Shvat holiday, has a sacred hue.

In May, you can also go to the procession of wax candles in Sala in honor of the patron of the city of Abdallah Ben Hassoun. Celebration is in a magnificent festive procession, accompanied by musicians and flag bearers. Participants carry large multicolored openwork lamps, they move from the house, where they make candles, and to the tomb of the patron. This is an inexpressibly fascinating spectacle, full of emotions.

Festivals in Morocco

  1. Bright, juicy and fragrant festival of Moroccan roses in the city of El Kelaa M'Gouna, the second name of the city is the pink capital of Morocco. In this city, extensive production of rose oil and water is developed. The Rose Festival in Morocco usually takes place in May and is timed to the end of the collection of petals. This picturesque event permeates the whole city with its fragrance. Everywhere garlands of roses are sold, everyone sprinkles each other with petals and choose Miss Rose.
  2. For sweet tooth, visit the dates festival in Erfoud, which is held in October. This event will allow you to immerse yourself in the local culture and atmosphere of folklore with songs and dances. Well, as without tastings and fairs.
  3. And if you want to plunge into the plot of the fairy tale "A Thousand and One Nights", then you should visit the festival of horses in Tissa. Yurba boys, dressed in national clothes, men, warriors riders - all this will whirl you in a festive whirlpool.
  4. Well, perhaps, another big holiday in Morocco, which should not be ignored, is a festival of sacred music and dances in the city of Fez . The festival gathers performers from different parts of the world. Dervishes are heard, Berber music, Arabic-Andalusian music, psalms, flamenco - and this is just a small part of the holiday.