Berber calendar December - 13 January), and 20 "black nights" (Berber: "iḍan tiberkanin/isṭṭafen", Arabic "al-lyali al-sud"), beginning on the first day of "yennayer", corresponding to the Gregorian 14 January. The first day of the year is celebrated in various ways in the different parts of North Africa. A widespread tradition is a meal with particular foods, which vary from region to region (such as a couscous with seven vegetables). In some regions, it is marked by the sacrifice of an animal (usually a chicken). In Algeria, such a holiday is celebrated even by many people who don't use the Berber calendar in
Kabyle people reasons, many Kabyles have emigrated to France, both for work and to escape political persecution. They now number around 1 million people. Some notable French people are of full or partial Kabyle descent. A study by Arredi, et al. (2004) includes the frequencies of lineages among one Kabyle population from Tizi Ouzou province. Kabyle people The Kabyle people (Kabyle: "Iqbayliyen", ) are a Berber ethnic group indigenous to Kabylia in the north of Algeria, spread across the Atlas Mountains, one hundred miles east of Algiers. They represent the largest Berber-speaking population of Algeria and the second largest in the continent