2012 Islamic New Year is symbolized with spring. The event symbolizes renewal or rebirth. So the New Year is observed by the Muslim Community on the first day of Muharrum. This day of New Year is celebrated by all Muslims throughout the world. The Islamic calendar is based on the moon and it is a lunar calendar. The New Year for the Muslim community starts by seeing the moon. As a part of the celebration people buy clothes, clean the house and cook the traditional dishes. They also offer Namaz on this auspicious day. New Year is the time for special prayers so that the coming year brings joy, good luck, good health and happiness.

To mark the New Year people also go for a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia as a conventional ritual. 2012 Islamic New Year will be no exceptional and people will offer prayers for good luck this year too. One of the most important rituals during the Islamic New Year is that the women of the household gather the grains of wheat in a bucket and store it for the New Year time. By the time New Year arrives the grains develop stems in them. This gesture marks the New Year with birth and the incoming of spring. Several events are planned for the New Year at different places. Everyone gathers in cities and villages to watch the events during New Year. This time of the year is the time to meet friends and family.

The Islamic Calendar

The other name of the Islamic calendar is Hijri or Hijrah calendar. This calendar is based on the movement of the moon and it is purely a lunar calendar. The calendar contains of 12 months like all other calendars. But the lunar calendars are generally shorter than the lunar calendars. The calculation of the days in a lunar calendar is like 12 X 29.53 = 354.36 days. As compared to the Gregorian calendar 11 days shift every year in the lunar calendar.

The holidays in a Islamic Calendar

2012 Islamic New Year will be an important day for the Muslims. There are other important days in the calendar too. Few mentionable days in the year 2012 are:

1. Ramadan: July 20 - August 18, 2012
2. Eid ul-Fitr: August 19, 2012
3. Ajj: October 24 - October 27, 2012
4. Eid ul-Adha: October 26, 2012
5. Islamic New Year: November 15, 2012 (1434 A.H.)
6. Ashura: November 24, 2012

The history behind the Islamic calendar

The Islamic calendar has a history behind it. This calendar is known as Hijri or Hijrah. The years in this calendar are counted from 622 A.D. This calendar was introduced by Umar ibn Al-Khattab who was known by the Prophet. This Islamic Calendar is an official calendar in most of the Muslim countries, mainly Saudi Arabia. But few Muslim countries use the Gregorian calendar for international purpose. The Muslim community celebrates New Year to remember the passing time. They don’t celebrate the beginning of the year to welcome the New Year. It is the time to reflect one’s own morality too.

Islamic New Year Celebration in different parts of the World

The 2012 Islamic New Year celebration will be celebrated differently in various parts of the world. The event marks the beginning of spring and symbolizes rebirth. The Iranian New Year celebration is known as Noruz. They prepare a Cloth of Seven Dishes to mark the beginning of the Year. The seven different dishes on the table consist of the followings:

1. Sabzeh or sprouts, made with wheat or lentil symbolizes rebirth.
2. Samanu is a kind of pudding which is made with common wheat sprouts. It is a sweet, creamy pudding and represents the sophistication of Persian cooking.
3. Seeb another name for apple represents health and beauty.
4. Senjed is a special sweet made with dry fruit of the Lotus tree, representing love.
5. Seer is a garlic in Persian which represents medicine.
6. Somaq sumac berries represent the color of sunrise; with the appearance of the sun Good which conquers evil.
7. Serkeh or vinegar represents age and patience in the feast table.

New Year in Pakistan is also known as Noruz. The celebration for the New Year longs for six days. The celebration includes cleaning of the house, worshipping together, making traditional food, meeting near and dear ones.

Most of the Islamic countries celebrate the beginning of the year as Noruz. This day is spend in setting up things for the next year. At few places the number of days for celebration is for one week.



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