Yennayer — from the Berber yan (one) and yur (moon), the "first month" — is the Amazigh new year, the Berber agrarian calendar anchored in the Julian calendar. 13 January 2026 marks the start of the year 2976.
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Video · The gesture in motion
to be replacedThe Amazigh calendar takes as its year zero the year 950 BCE, the supposed date of the enthronement of the Berber king Sheshonq I on the throne of Egypt (the founding of the 22nd pharaonic dynasty). The calendar nonetheless follows the Julian solar cycle — therefore agricultural, aligned with the seasons and the work of the fields.
I. The rite
On the eve, the ourkimen or tagulla is prepared: a seven-vegetable couscous (carrot, turnip, squash, broad bean, etc.), accompanied by khlii (meat dried in fat) or a whole chicken. The whole symbolises abundance for the year. A handful of cereals is thrown on the threshold for prosperity.
II. Official recognition 2024
Yennayer has been officially recognised as a public holiday in Morocco since 2024, following a royal decree. The celebration, long confined to private space and the Berber-speaking countryside, is now displayed publicly.
III. The regions
Yennayer is celebrated throughout Berber-speaking Morocco: the Rif (Tarifit), the Middle Atlas (central Tamazight), the Souss (Chleuh, Tachelhit), the pre-Saharan oases. Regional variants of the dish — couscous of different cereals (barley, maize, durum wheat) — but a similar structure of the rite.