Magharebia

Algeria's Amazigh community celebrates Yennayer ("Tabburt u seggas") on Thursday (January 12th).

While cities and villages across Algeria hold festivities, the High Commission for Amazigh (HCA) each year selects one site for the official celebrations. Ghardaia played host last year. For Amazigh New Year 2962, it is Oran. Through January 13th, the coastal city will host plays, poetry recitals, Gnawa music concerts and exhibitions of traditional arts.

In the Kabylie region, where Yennayer is taken as a public holiday, celebrations kicked off on Monday, La Dépêche de Kabylie reported. The Mouloud Mammeri Cultural Centre in Tizi-Ouzou is offering a full programme of concerts, exhibitions and other events.

Yennayer, derived from "Yiwen wayour" (the first of the month), is marked by copious meals and symbolic rituals, such as the sacrifice of a cockerel.