Saudi Arabia to mark National Day 2023: Date, theme, significance and celebrations

Image credit: SPA

The Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development announced the country will mark a holiday for Saudi National Day 2023 on Saturday, September 23.

This holiday applies to both the public and private sectors.

Saudi National Day is celebrated to mark the unification of Hejaz and Najd into  one unified kingdom.

Saudi National Day 2023: Theme and celebrations

The Saudi National Day holiday will be marked in a variety of ways such as fireworks, drone shows, cultural performances, and events. The festivities to mark this year’s celebrations kicked off in Riyadh as well as other cities across the kingdom from Wednesday and will last till Sunday.

Additionally, National Day shows will include military parades, a biker parade and an arms exhibition across major cities.

Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority announced that the theme for 2023 is “We dream and we achieve.” The theme was chosen to reflect the rapid progress made by the kingdom in recent years in all spheres, as well as its plans for the future, reported Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

The 93rd National Day was assigned a logo which was inspired by a “painter’s brush, drawing the borders of Saudi Arabia to embrace the dream with determination and persistence”. The logo’s colours are inspired by the nation’s flag colour, reported SPA.

The kingdom celebrated its National Day for the first time in 2005. However, it is celebrated to mark the formation of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia on this day in 1932.

It was on September 23, 1932 that Abdulaziz Al Saud established the modern state of Saudi Arabia with Riyadh as the capital, Arabic as its national language and the Quran as its constitution.

Saudi Arabia’s significance in the Islamic world

The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is home to the two holiest sites for the followers of Islam. Prophet Muhammad’s town of birth – Makkah and the town he migrated to Madinah, are both located in the kingdom. The King of Saudi Arabia is also referred to as the ‘Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ owing to their duty as the protector of the pilgrimage sites.

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