Riyadh: Residents of Saudi Arabia are enjoying a long weekend as the country is celebrating its 91th National Day.
Saad Al Hammad, the spokesman of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD), announced on Twitter that September 23, 2021, will be a holiday for public and private sectors on the occasion of National Day.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia celebrates its founding anniversary each year on September 23.
The National Day was declared a public holiday by King Abdullah in 2005.
Saudi National Day commemorates the name changing of what was previously known as the Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Saudis celebrated the “Royal Seating Day”, which was not a fixed occasion. During the reign of King Abdul Aziz, it was celebrated on January 8, and then the date was changed to November 12 during the period of King Saud.
The official celebrations of Saudi National Day started in 1965 when King Faisal issued a royal order. The King in his order designated the 23rd of September in the Gregorian calendar as the Saudi National Day.
The royal order emphasized the need to allocate a specific day of the year to be celebrated as the country’s National Day.