Festivals and traditions of Tunisia

In Tunisia the festivities are a true explosion of color and joy, besides being an excellent moment
to interact with the cheerful and communicative inhabitants of the country.

In the different regions of this territory three types of festivals are celebrated: the official ones, the
religious ones and the cultural and popular festivals.

* Official Festivities;

- On the first day of January, New Year's Day is celebrated as in most of the world. On the 18th of
the same month, the Anniversary of the Revolution of 1952 is commemorated.

- On March 20, Independence Day is celebrated throughout the country.

- On April 9, all Tunisians participate in the Feast of the Martyrs, in commemoration of the fallen in
1938 and the arrest of Bourgiba.

- On May 1, Labor Day is celebrated, as it is celebrated almost everywhere else in the world.

- In the month of June, two festivities are celebrated, on the 1st, the Commemoration of the
Victory and on the 2nd of June everyone enjoys the Youth Festival.

- On July 25, they celebrate the Commemoration of the Republic.

- On August 13, it is Women's Day, which commemorates the Personal Status Code or, in other
words, the legal equality of both sexes, something very difficult to see in an Arab country. In fact,
Tunisia is the only country to have achieved this so far.

- On September 3, the Anniversary of the founding of the Socialist Party of Tunisia in 1934 is
celebrated.
- October 15, commemorates the withdrawal of the French from the Bizerte base in 1963.

-On November 7, they celebrate the rise to power of President Ben Ali in 1987.

* Religious holidays;

Religious holidays, are more difficult to locate on a specific date because Muslims are governed
according to the lunar calendar, with 355 days a year, so they vary each year and will not coincide
with the same day of our solar calendar.

- The month of Ramadan is fundamental in the Islamic Calendar, for them it is like a kind of
mixture between Lent and the European Catholic Christmas, and it commemorates the moment
when God spoke with Mohammed in the Mount of Arafat in Mecca. During this period of time
Muslims are not allowed to eat, drink, smoke or have sex until sunset, after which they gather
together and have a big family dinner. As a general rule, public services close earlier and an
intensive day is established. Ramadan ends with the celebration of a feast called Aid as-Saguir or
Small Feast in which after dinner the feast continues until dawn.

- Ras el Am, which is the celebration of the first day of the Muslim year. It is also known as the day
of the Hegira or Flight, when Muhammad departs from Mecca to the Medina;

- the Feast of the Muled, is the commemoration of the birth of the prophet.

- the Aid el Kebir or Great Feast, day in which a great meal is cooked, especially lamb, as a
remembrance of Abraham's sacrifice.

* Tunisian Festivals

Festivals in Tunisia can be divided into several groups, however, the two main groups are: the
popular or local festivals, with a purely regional tradition and the national festivals with a more
"western" character. In all of them there is unparalleled color and joy.

* Popular or Local Festivals

- Testour Festival. Dedicated especially to Maluf music, of Andalusian origin, and takes place in
June.

- Mermaid Festival in the Kerkena Islands. During which maritime regattas are held in July.

- Festival of Ulysses on the island of Djerba. During the months of July and August this festival is
celebrated with dances and typical songs of the island.

- Festival of the Jarya. It is celebrated during the month of August and are typically religious
festivities.

- Wine Festival in Grombalia. It is celebrated in the month of September, the month of the grape
harvest, and in which you can enjoy the magnificent wines of Tunisia.

- Oasis Festival in Tozeur. During the month of December there are parades of floats and camel
fights in this oasis, being especially original.

- Sahara Festival in Douz. It is one of the most important and colorful festivals of the desert with
spectacular camel fights, meharis race, the brave Bedouin soldiers, or hare hunting with
greyhounds. This festival is also celebrated in December.

* National Festivals

- Dougga Festival. In the months of May and June different plays of classic theater are represented
in the Roman theater of this locality.

- Hammamet International Festival. It is a festival in which you can see from plays to folk dances
through regional songs. It is celebrated in the months of June and July.

- Festival of Carthage. It is very similar to that of Hammamet, also with folk dances, regional songs
and plays and takes place in July and August.
- Tabarca International Festival. In the months of July and August takes place this cultural event
which includes exhibitions and debates and shows that mix the most innovative dance with
traditional music, in a very attractive search of its Arab roots.

- Festival of Monastir. It is a spectacle of music and light that stages the Islamic conquest and takes
place during the last days of July and the first days of August.

- Festival of Baba Ausu in Sousse. With dances and concerts held in this town in August.

- International Film Festival. It is celebrated only every two years (in October) on the island of
Carthage.

* Other festivals are distinguished such as,

- the Tourist Festival of the Ksours in Tataouine, in the month of April.

- the Coral Festival on the island of Tabarka.

- The cultural festivals of Bizerte, Sousse and Sfax,

- and, in November, the International Puppet Theater Festival, shows to close the solar year.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Around Tataouine and Medenine, the desert appears in all its implacable ruggedness. A
vast rocky plain opens onto majestic landscapes of mountains and desert plateaus, cliffs
and rocky spurs. In this Dante-esque setting can be found the astonishing architecture of
the Ksour, collective fortified granaries of the Saharan nomads. Just as impressive are the
old Berber villages clinging to the mountain tops, such as Chenini and Douiret. A region of
out of the ordinary landscapes and historical traditions.
GHORFAS AND HILLTOP VILLAGES
Visit the Ksour by climbing the ladders and stairs that once allowed people to hoist their
harvests into the storage chambers, the ghorfas. The hilltop villages also had their ghorfas,
attics built into the peaks of mountains, as if they were citadels, today in ruins. Below the
troglodyte dwellings, dug into the rocky walls, descend in terraces. In these villages –
Chenini, Douiret –, the Berber language is still in use today. In Chenini, they will show you
giant tombs and tell you the legend of the Seven Sleepers: this ancient Mediterranean
myth found one of its avatars here. In Douiret, delve into a subterranean mosque. For
lovers of geography and prehistory, cave paintings from the Neolithic era can be seen
close to Ghomrassen, and a Permian marine outcrop (250 million years old), unique in
Africa in Jebel Tebaga close to Medenine.

Cual?