Yennayer

Yennayer, also called Amenzu n Yennayer, opens the Amazigh agricultural year and is celebrated on January 12 in Algeria's official calendar. Its roots lie in North African seasonal knowledge, household practice and the agricultural cycle rather than in a single documented ancient event. Modern Amazigh calendar numbering is conventionally linked to the accession of the Libyan-origin pharaoh Sheshonq I, but the High Commission for Amazighity cautions that popular legends and historical chronology should not be treated as identical.

For decades families and associations maintained Yennayer through regional food, stories and seasonal customs. Recognition expanded alongside the Amazigh cultural and language movement: Tamazight became a national language in 2002 and an official language in 2016. Algeria first observed January 12 as a paid national holiday in 2018, moving a long-standing community festival into the state calendar without making its diverse local forms uniform.

Monday, January 12, 2026 was formally announced as non-working and paid for personnel of public institutions and administrations, public and private offices, and public and private companies in all sectors, including hourly and daily workers. Shift-based operations still had to preserve service. The official status confirms a nationwide entitlement, while meals, names and rituals continue to differ across Kabylia, the Aures, the Mzab, Tuareg communities and other regions.