Islamic New Years

It is the Islamic New Years today, Dec.18th, 2009; or in the Muslim calendar ... Muharram 1,1431 A.H.. It is not really celebrated as the other Islamic holidays, such as the two Eids .

As stated in the infoplease.com  web site...  "The Islamic New Year:
The month of Muharram marks the beginning of the Islamic liturgical year. The Islamic year begins on the first day of Muharram, and is counted from the year of the Hegira (anno Hegirae) the year in which Muhammad emigrated from Mecca to Medina (A.D. July 16, 622).
The Islamic new year is celebrated relatively quietly, with prayers and readings and reflection upon the hegira."
Here is what Wikpedi has to say about the New Year of the Islamic calendar .In Libya it isn't an official holiday , therefore it passes quietly . Some family's have a dinner together , others pray at the mosque .

The Day Of Ashura is another important Islamic day . This year it will come on December 27, 2009 . Ashura falls on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. For Sunnis, Ashura commemorates the exodus of Moses from Egypt, and is usually observed by completing an optional fast as practiced by the Prophet Muhammad. For Shias it marks the tragic anniversary of the death of the Prophet's grandson, Husain at the hands of Ummayyad ruler, Yazid. The day is marked with mourning and even enactments of the tragic event and fasting .