The Kingdom of Saudi celebrates its National Day every September 23 every year. On September 23, 1932, King Abdulaziz announced the country’s unification as a kingdom.
If the holiday falls on a Friday, just like this year’s celebration, Thursday before will be a public holiday as compensation. If it falls on a Saturday, Sunday will be a holiday.
The Saudi National Day only became a public holiday in 2007. The practice was done after a 2005 announcement by the late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz that the commemoration would become an annual holiday from the 75th National Day.
The national holiday celebrates Saudi Arabia’s cultural heritage and is a time to look toward the future. The citizens generally celebrate the day with folk dances, songs, fireworks, and traditional public festivals. During the festivities, people usually wear green. They also decorate their roads with Saudi flags.
Fun Facts About Saudi:
- Saudi is home to the largest airport, the King Khalid Airport, which sits on 192,000-acre land.
- It is the largest country without a river.
- Saudi has the largest oil reserve in the world, enough to fill over 4 million Olympic-sized pools.
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