PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has announced public holiday across the province on the occasion of first Muharram on Thursday (today), according to a notification issued here.

Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar. On the first day of Muharram, the Islamic New Year is observed by Muslims. The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, and is 11 to 12 days shorter than the solar year.

Hence it is a little different from the Gregorian calendar that is used in the western nations. When compared with the Gregorian calendar, which is a solar calendar, the lunar month of Muharram shifts from year to year.

The month of Muharram is of great religious significance to Muslims the world over. It is held to be the most sacred of all the months, excluding Ramazan.

The word “Muharram” is often considered synonymous with “Ashura”, the tenth day of the Muharram month.

Published in Dawn, October 15th , 2015

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