Temporal Cartography
The Moroccan Calendar
Four calendars. One year. Time is not singular here.
Morocco operates on four overlapping calendars simultaneously: Gregorian (state, business), Islamic lunar (religion, Ramadan, Eid), Amazigh agricultural (planting, harvest, solstice), and French school (rentrée, vacances). A Moroccan family tracks all four — and each year the Islamic calendar drifts 11 days earlier through the Gregorian, creating a 33-year cycle of shifting overlaps.
9
national holidays
5
Islamic observances
7
Amazigh events
6
school terms
Year at a Glance
Click a month to expand. Filter by calendar system.
Reading Notes
The Ramadan Drift
The Islamic calendar is 354 days. Ramadan moves 11 days earlier each Gregorian year, cycling through all seasons in 33 years. A Moroccan born in 1990 has fasted in winter (short, cold days) and summer (16-hour scorching days). The same holiday is never the same experience twice.
Yennayer 2976
January 13 became a national holiday in 2024 — the first time the Amazigh new year was officially recognized. Year 2976 in the Amazigh count. Families eat couscous with seven vegetables. The date marks the Berber agricultural year, older than both the Islamic and Gregorian systems in North Africa.
The French Inheritance
Morocco's school calendar follows the French model: la rentrée in September, vacances d'automne, d'hiver, de printemps. The rhythm of the academic year shapes family travel, hotel occupancy, and domestic tourism as powerfully as any religious calendar.
Ask a Moroccan what month it is and you might get four answers. It is March, and it is Ramadan, and it is Meghres, and it is the second trimester. Time in Morocco is layered — state, faith, earth, school — and every layer carries different obligations. The overlaps are where the interesting things happen.
Sources
National holidays from Moroccan labour code and HCP official calendar. Islamic dates from Umm al-Qura calendar adjusted for Morocco (actual dates depend on moon sighting). Amazigh calendar from IRCAM publications and Berber agricultural ethnography. School calendar from Ministry of National Education 2025–2026 academic schedule. Amazigh month names from Haddadou (2000) and IRCAM Tifinagh standardisation.
© Dancing with Lions