Eid al-Umm & Nowruz

Eid al-Umm, Arab Mother’s Day, is celebrated on 21 March in Egypt and in many other Arab countries, including Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria. The date is fixed, so it often begins with early phone calls, bouquets delivered in the morning, and children arriving with cards, perfume, chocolate or a small cake. Schools commonly hold poems or short performances before the holiday, and Egyptian radio and television traditionally replay Set El Habayeb, the classic Mother’s Day song by Fayza Ahmed. During the day, families visit their mothers or grandmothers, take them out for lunch, and say phrases such as عيد أم سعيد or كل عام وأنتِ بخير يا أمي.

Nowruz, or Newroz, falls at the spring equinox, usually on 20 or 21 March. In Arabic-speaking parts of the Middle East, it is especially visible in Iraqi Kurdistan and among Kurdish communities in Syria, where the day welcomes the new year and the arrival of spring. Celebrations often start the night before with bonfires in open spaces or on hillsides. On the holiday itself, families head to parks and countryside areas for long picnics, wearing colourful clothes, singing, and joining line dances to drums and zurna. Tables and picnic cloths are laid with tea, sweets and home-cooked dishes. Where both occasions are marked, 21 March can mean flowers for mothers and fires for spring on the same date.

The pack has 36 words spread across these domains.