A number of holidays are celebrated in Nigeria by the religious communities and the subnational units that are more commonly referred to as states. In the following article, we will examine the holidays celebrated nationally in the West African nation.
New Year’s Day (January 1)
New Year’s Day is celebrated on January 1, the first day of the Gregorian calendar year. The Julian calendar celebrates New Year’s on January 1, but not the Gregorian calendar. Most solar calendars (Gregorian and Julian) begin the year at or near the northern winter solstice, whereas lunisolar or lunar calendar civilisations celebrate their New Year at less defined points relative to the solar year. Under the Julian calendar, pre-Christian Rome dedicated the day to Janus, the deity of doorways and beginnings. From Roman times until the 18th century, the new year was celebrated on December 25, March 1, March 25, and Easter. Most countries now use the Gregorian calendar as their civil calendar. Therefore January 1 is one of the most recognised public holidays in the world, commonly celebrated with fireworks at the stroke of midnight after New Year’s Eve as the new year starts in each time zone. Making New Year’s resolutions and phoning friends and relatives are other customs.
Armed Forces Remembrance Day (January 15)
Armed Forces Remembrance Day (AFRD), often called Remembrance Day, is a public holiday in Nigeria held on January 15 to honour Nigerian military service members. It honours WWI, WWII, and Nigerian Civil War veterans. Remembrance Day was initially observed as a former British colony on November 11 as Poppy Day. After the government’s triumph against Biafran soldiers on January 15 1970, the holiday was moved off the Commonwealth of Nations calendar to January 15 to commemorate the end of the Nigerian Civil War. Armed Forces Remembrance Day honours Nigerian military soldiers and veterans. Federal, state, and municipal events occur. Two months before January 15, the Ministry of Defense forms a 25-person national organising committee for AFRD celebrations. Nigerian Army, Navy, and Air Force guards of honour typically participate in military parades. The President of Nigeria lays a wreath at the National Cenotaph in Eagle Square, Abuja. Thirty-six cenotaphs host AFRD ceremonies. The government and the Nigerian Legion arrange several celebrations on this day.
Good Friday (March or April)
Good Friday commemorates Jesus’ crucifixion at Calvary. It’s part of Holy Week’s Paschal Triduum. Holy Friday, Great Friday, Holy and Great Friday, and Black Friday are other names. Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist, Oriental Orthodox, United Protestant, and various Reformed traditions (including Continental Reformed, Presbyterian, and Congregationalist churches) fast and attend church services on Good Friday. In many Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and Methodist churches, the Service of the Great Three Hours’ Agony is held from noon to 3 pm, from Jesus’ crucifixion to darkness engulfing the earth. Moravians scrub gravestones on Good Friday. Both the Gregorian and Julian calendars vary the date of Good Friday. Eastern and Western Christianity disagree on Easter and Good Friday’s dates. Good Friday is a legal holiday in most Western countries and 12 U.S. states. Some predominantly Christian nations, like Germany, restrict dancing and horse racing on Good Friday.
Easter Monday (March or April)
When a significant saint’s feast day falls during Holy Week or Easter Sunday, it is commemorated on Easter Monday. Easter Monday is either the Eastern or Western Christian holiday after Easter Sunday. Some countries celebrate it, including Nigeria. In Western Christianity, it’s the second day of Easter Octave and Bright Week in Eastern Christianity. This day is called “Bright Monday” or “Renewal Monday” in Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches. The services, as in the rest of Bright Week, are similar to those on Pascha (Easter Sunday) and include an outdoor procession after the Divine Liturgy; while this is prescribed for all days of that week, parish churches, especially in non-Orthodox countries, only celebrate it on Monday and maybe a couple of other days.
Eid al-Fitr (April)
Eid al-Fitr is the first Islamic holiday (the other being Eid al-Adha). Muslims worldwide celebrate the completion of Ramadan’s dawn-to-sunset fast. It falls on the first day of Shawwal in the Islamic calendar, which only sometimes falls on the same Gregorian day due to when local religious authorities sight the new moon. Different languages and countries call the holiday by other names. Lesser Eid is also named Eid. Eid al-Fitr has a special salat (Islamic prayer) that consists of two rakats (units). It may only be performed in assembly (Jamat) and incorporates seven additional Takbirs (raising hands to ears while repeating “Allahu Akbar”, meaning “God is greatest”) in the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam: three at the start of the first Rakat and three shortly before ruk in the second Rakat. Other Sunni schools have 12 Takbirs, divided into seven and five groups. In Shia Islam, the first Rakat of salat has six Takbirs after qira’a and five after ruk. Depending on local law, this salat is far, mustahabb, or mandb. After the salat, Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr with food (Eid cuisine), which earns the event the nickname “Sweet Eid” or “Sugar Feast.”