Syria's Festival Calendar: When to Go and Why

Several calendars live side by side in Syria: Muslim feasts on the lunar calendar, Christian feasts on both the Western and Eastern calendars, and the seasons of planting and harvest. Here is a quick guide to a full year, so you can choose when to go.

Spring: March – May

• Easter: in Bab Touma and al-Qassaa in Damascus, in Aleppo and the Valley of the Christians — scout parades with drums and bugles, lit churches, coloured eggs and ma'moul. Western and Eastern Easter sometimes coincide and sometimes fall a week or more apart.
• The Damascene rose harvest in May in the village of al-Mrah in the Qalamoun — read the story of the Damascene rose.
• Spring itself is ideal travelling weather: mild days and green plains.

Summer: June – August

• Season of the sea on the coast and the resorts in the mountains — see our mountain escapes guide.
• Summer festivals in Mashta al-Helou, the Valley of the Christians and coastal villages, with concerts and markets.
• The cherry harvest in June — the season for cherry kebab in Aleppo.

Autumn: September – November

• The Feast of the Cross on 13–14 September, most famously in Maaloula and Saydnaya: bonfires on the mountain tops and fireworks.
• Season of grapes, pomegranates and olives. The olive harvest and pressing begin in October and November.
• Together with spring, autumn is the best time to visit the ancient sites.

Winter: December – February

• Christmas and New Year: Old Damascus and Bab Touma are lit up with decorations and Christmas trees, with concerts in the churches. Some communities celebrate on 25 December, others on 7 January according to the Eastern calendar.
• Sometimes snow in Bloudan, Zabadani and Mount Hermon — and in some years Damascus itself turns white.

Ramadan and the two Eids

Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha move about eleven days earlier each year. Read Ramadan and Eid in Syria.