Every school, college, and university in Lahore is expected to be closed on Monday, 26 August, due to the Urs of Hazrat Ali Hajveri, also called Data Ganj Bakhsh.
Last year, the city administration made an important statement by declaring a local holiday a day before the religious celebration. This year, the public, including the students, awaits this holiday.
Lahore High Court has announced a holiday for the courts. The city’s administration has not yet indicated that there will be a public holiday during this year’s Urs.
If the August 26 local holiday is approved, there will be a long weekend, and the students will return to school on August 27.
School holiday in Lahore 26 August
The provincial government has not yet announced a local holiday on Urs of Data Ganj Bakhsh. To know the holiday’s status, please check this article when the authorities make a relevant statement.
Data Ganj Bakhsh’s Urs
Data Ganj Bakhsh’s Urs is a way of observing the anniversary of the death of the famous Sufi saint Hazrat Ali Hajveri. Ali was one of the most important Shia Persian scholars, theists, and Qadiri Sufi theologians, instrumental in Islamizing the Indian subcontinent, especially in the region of Lahore in Pakistan.
The Urs, generally for a few days, is celebrated at the centre of Lahore, where devotees from different areas offer homage, pray, listen and enjoy poetry and songs of Qawwali, etc.
Free food is shared with all the participants, and it is also worship and a time of fellowship. The Urs is an indication of Sufi spirituality and culture and is dedicated to the teachings and spirituality of Data Ganj Bakhsh.
