Saudi National Day

Saudi National Day (Arabic: اليوم الوطني المملكة العربية السعودية‎ al-yawm al-waṭanī al-mamlaka al-ʿArabiyya as-Suʿūdiyya) is celebrated in Saudi Arabia on every 23 September to commemorate the renaming of the Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by a royal decree from King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud in 1932.[1] It was made a national holiday by King Abdullah in 2005.[2] The number of lunar, not solar, years are commemorated.[3]

اليوم الوطني للمملكة العربية السعودية
Saudi National Day
Official nameSaudi National Day
Observed bySaudi Arabia
TypeNational
SignificanceRenaming of Nejd and Hejaz to Saudi Arabia
Date23 September
FrequencyAnnual

Establishment of Saudi Arabia

King Abdulaziz was able to conquer the oases of Riyadh in 1902; and al-Hasa in 1913, and by 1925, he unified both Nejd and Hejaz after defeating the forces of Sharif Hussein in 1925. On 23 September 1932, King Abdulaziz changed the name of his realm to his family name, the House of Saud.

Celebrations of Saudi Arabia

Saudi National Day is celebrated with folklore dances, songs and traditional festivals. The roads and buildings are decorated with Saudi flags and people wear green and white dresses, there are also green and white Saudi balloons all around the kingdom .[4]

Events and occasions on the same day
  • 2005: King Abdullah acknowledged that Saudi National Day became an official holiday in the kingdom.
  • 2009: King Abdullah opened the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, in the presence of a number of foreign heads of state.
  • 2014: The Jeddah Municipality unveiled the tallest flagpole in the world.
  • 2015: Saudi National Day was approved (the day of Arafa), for the first time.

See also

References
  1. "History". Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  2. Eman Alhussein (1 June 2019). "Saudi First: How Hyper-Nationalism is Transforming Saudi Arabia" (PDF). European Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  3. "اليوم الوطني / مبنى "إثراء" يروي تاريخ المملكة وكالة الأنباء السعودية". www.spa.gov.sa. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  4. "Saudi Arabia marks national day with fireworks, and concerts". Muslim Global. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
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