Saudi National Day

Saudi National Day (Arabic: اليوم الوطني للمملكة العربية السعودية al-Yawm al-Waṭanī lil-Mamlaka al-ʿArabiyya as-Saʿūdiyya) is a public holiday in Saudi Arabia celebrated annually on 23 September to commemorate the proclamation that renamed the Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932 through a royal decree by King Abdulaziz ibn Saud.^[1] It was founded in 1965 on its 33rd anniversary by King Faisal bin Abdulaziz in order to replace the Royal Seating Day and was made a public holiday by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz in 2005. Saudi National Day is one of the three non-religious holidays observed in the country, other being the Saudi Founding Day and Saudi Flag Day.^[2][3]

Saudi National Day اليوم الوطني السعودي
The flag of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Official name	Saudi National Day
Observed by	Saudi Arabia
Type	National
Significance	Proclamation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Ends	The day after
Date	23 September
Next time	23 September 2025 (2025-09-23)
Frequency	Annual
First time	1965; 59 years ago (1965) (at official levels) 2005; 19 years ago (2005) (as national holiday)
Started by	Faisal bin Abdulaziz

Establishment of Saudi Arabia

King Abdulaziz was able to conquer the oases of Riyadh in 1902; and al-Hasa in 1913, and by 1925, he unified both Nejd and the Hejaz after defeating the forces of Sharif Hussein. On 23 September 1932, King Abdulaziz changed the name of his realm to his family name, the House of Saud.

A Saudia Airbus A330 'Saudi National Day Livery' at Atatürk Airport, 2018

Customs

Saudi National Day^[4] is celebrated with folk dances, songs, and traditional festivities. Roads and buildings are decorated with Saudi flags, and people wear the national colours of green and white, and display balloons in the same.^[5]

Events and occasions on the same day

• 1932: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is established through a royal decree by King Abdulaziz ibn Saud.
• 1963: Establishment of College of Petroleum and Minerals during the reign of King Saud bin Abdulaziz, later known as King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals.
• 1965: 23 September observed at government levels for the first time during the reign of King Faisal bin Abdulaziz, who issued a royal decree in August to formally designate it as the Saudi National Day.
• 2007: King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz announces that Saudi National Day became an official holiday.
• 2009: King Abdullah inaugurates the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, in the presence of foreign heads of state.
• 2014: Jeddah unveils the tallest flagpole in the world
• 2015: Saudi National Day is first celebrated officially.
• 2017: Flyadeal airline commences operations.

See also

• Public holidays in Saudi Arabia
• Flag of Saudi Arabia
• National Anthem of Saudi Arabia

References

1. "History". Retrieved 23 September 2017.
2. Eman Alhussein (1 June 2019). "Saudi First: How Hyper-Nationalism is Transforming Saudi Arabia" (PDF). European Council on Foreign Relations. JSTOR resrep21640. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
3. Podeh, Elie (30 June 2011). The Politics of National Celebrations in the Arab Middle East. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-00108-4.
4. Albert, Robbin (10 August 2023). "National Day offer". Extra.com.
5. "Saudi Arabia marks national day with fireworks, and concerts". Muslim Global. Retrieved 24 September 2017.

• Saudi Arabia portal