The short answer
Yennayer is the Amazigh (Berber) New Year, celebrated around 13 or 14 January. It has been an official national holiday in Morocco since 2024. Families mark it with special dishes such as couscous with seven vegetables. In January 2027 it begins the Amazigh year 2977. Banks and offices close; sights stay open.
In more detail
The Amazigh are Morocco's indigenous people, and Amazigh, or Tamazight, is one of the country's two official languages alongside Arabic. In the Atlas villages near Marrakech, on a day trip to Imlil or the Ourika Valley, Tamazight is the language you'll hear most.
Making Yennayer a national holiday gave official weight to a celebration families had kept for generations. For visitors, the practical effect is small: banks and government offices shut for the day, while the medina, the sights and the souks carry on.
The exact date can fall on the 13th or the 14th, so check close to the time if your plans depend on it.
If you take a day trip into the High Atlas in January, it is a good moment to ask your guide about Amazigh traditions in the villages. Yennayer marks the start of the Amazigh calendar, separate from both the Islamic and the Gregorian year.
Good to know
- Check whether it falls on 13 or 14 January.
- Banks closed: get cash the day before.
- Ask your riad if they cook the seven-vegetable couscous.