zenithcalendar
✦ get zenith calendar on google play

✦ zenith calendar · the zaydi almanac

the days the zaydi shia of yemen keep, on the ring of your year.

the hijri year as each new moon is seen, in one quiet layer of your sky, each day explained in its own words.

✦ get zenith calendar on google play explore zenith calendar →

zaydi is one of the holiday almanacs that come with zenith calendar. it holds the days the zaydi shia of yemen keep, as each month is announced in sanaa by sighting the moon.

a date is known only once its month is announced, so the almanac is dated only as far as announced and never guesses a day ahead. each day begins at sunset the evening before. tap a day and read three short paragraphs: what it is, where it comes from, and how it is kept.

lunar · the hijri months, as each is announced by sighting the moon

a few of its days

ramadan begins

1 ramadan, once its crescent is seen

what it is

the first day of the month of fasting, one of the pillars of islam. from dawn to sunset there is no food, drink or intimacy, for every adult muslim who is able.

how it is kept

the day starts with suhur before dawn, and the fast is broken at the sunset call to prayer as the family gathers and makes dua. shafoot and sambusa are ramadan dishes in yemen, food is shared with neighbours, and the nights are kept awake with prayer and visiting.

eid al-fitr

the festival of breaking the fast

1 shawwal

what it is

the festival of breaking the fast, when ramadan ends: a day of joy given at the close of the month of worship.

how it is kept

before the prayer each household gives zakat al-fitr. after the eid prayer the visiting begins: fathers take their children from house to house, the diwan is made ready with incense, sweets and nuts, and visitors give eid money, 'asb, to the members of the house.

eid al-adha

the feast of sacrifice

10 dhu al-hijjah

what it is

the feast of sacrifice, kept with the pilgrims as they complete the hajj.

how it is kept

the eid prayer is held in the morning across the country; then an animal is sacrificed and its meat divided among the family, relatives and neighbours, and the poor. henna is put on for the eid, and many families travel home to their villages to keep the days together.

eid al-ghadir (yawm al-wilayah)

yawm al-wilayah · the day of guardianship

18 dhu al-hijjah

what it is

the day of ghadir khumm, when the prophet (s) declared imam ali (a) the master of the believers. it is a joyful eid for the zaydis.

how it is kept

people gather in many parts of yemen to remember the day of ghadir and the prophet's (s) words, with speeches, bands and fireworks, and the gatherings often run on for days afterwards.

in the app

the film

the zaydi almanac in zenith calendar
zaydi on zenith calendar: the hijri year as yemen keeps it, each day opening to its story.

✦ zenith calendar · the sky around it

and the sky those days live in is worth staying for.

zaydi is a single layer. beneath it is a whole calendar drawn as the sky, your year an orbit round the sun, and every part of it answers your touch.

your year, an orbit

the sun stands at the centre and the year rings round it, with today's earth riding at today's place, its small moon beside it. tap the ring anywhere else and a faint ghost earth waits on that day.

run a finger round the year

drag along the ring and the days pass under your finger, the big date and the day's list following as you go. lift, and the day you stopped on stays picked.

a week under its moon

tap the small moon beside today's earth and you dive into the week. the moon above shows its phase, named underneath; swipe the dates and each week brings its own.

the sun and the moon are doors

tap the sun and the ring tips on its edge into a ladder of years. in the week, pull the moon firmly down and the month opens, the moon resting half off its foot.

it keeps to itself

zenith calendar has no server of its own. tap the gear and switch on "nothing comes in" or "nothing leaves this phone"; lift them, and every almanac is back exactly as it was.

zaydi is waiting in the app, and the rest of the sky comes with it.

✦ get zenith calendar on google play explore zenith calendar →
✦ get zenith calendar on google play explore zenith calendar →

zaydi (muslim communities) ·

how to get it

  1. on a new install, the first page is "your starting sky": which almanacs start lit.
  2. under "faiths", tap "muslim communities" to open that line.
  3. switch on "zaydi" (its mark is ❖) and tap "· begin ·". it is lit from the start.
  4. already past the first page? zaydi waits, whole, in the archive. on the sky, hold the "almanacs" book in the bottom-right corner to open the binder.
  5. tap "▣" in the binder's bottom-left corner to turn to the archive, and tap "zaydi" once to choose it.
  6. tap "unlock" (the padlock) at the foot, then "▥ put back".
  7. it comes back eclipsed: tap the "almanacs" book on the sky and tap the "zaydi" chip, or choose it in the binder and tap "● shine". you can lock it again whenever you like.

sibling almanacs

  • shiaa twelver shia calendar, by its advance reckoning
  • ibadithe days ibadi muslims keep in oman, as each month is announced

questions

When is Eid al-Fitr in Yemen?

Eid al-Fitr, the first of Shawwal, is known only once the month is announced by sighting the moon. In 2026 the zaydi almanac has it on 20 March.

What is Yawm al-Wilayah?

Yawm al-Wilayah, the day of guardianship, is what Yemen calls Eid al-Ghadir, the eighteenth of Dhu al-Hijjah, when the Prophet declared Imam Ali the master of the believers. It is a joyful eid for the Zaydis; in 2026 it fell on 4 June.

When is Eid al-Adha in Yemen?

Eid al-Adha is the tenth of Dhu al-Hijjah, dated once the month is announced. In 2026 it fell on 27 May, with the Day of Arafah on 26 May.

Why does the zaydi almanac not show next year yet?

Each month is announced only once its crescent is seen, so the almanac is dated only as far as announced. A year past the record shows nothing rather than a guessed day.

Is there a calendar app with Zaydi holidays?

Zenith Calendar for Android comes with an almanac called zaydi: the days the Zaydi Shia of Yemen keep, drawn on the ring of your year beside your own days. Turning it on costs nothing.

What's the difference between zaydi and shia in Zenith Calendar?

Zaydi holds the days the Zaydi Shia of Yemen keep, as each month is announced by sighting the moon. Shia holds a twelver (Ja'fari) calendar by its advance reckoning. They are separate almanacs, so you light the one you keep.