#HalaBelKhamis: In the Middle East, it's Thank God it's Thursday!

#HalaBelKhamis: In the Middle East, it's Thank God it's Thursday!
Hala Bel Khamis is the most annoying thing to reach virality in the Arab world since Despacito, but what is it exactly?
1 min read
19 Oct, 2017
The meme originates from a video by Saudi singer Maan Barghouth [YouTube]
Hala Bel Khamis is the most annoying thing to reach virality in the Arab world since Despacito.

The Arabic phrase which literally means "Welcome Thursday" is the region's answer to TGIF -- Thank God it's Friday -- since the weekend in most Arab nations (with the exception of Lebanon) falls on Friday and Saturday.

The origin of the phrase comes from a song by Saudi-based singer Maan Barghouth, but his catchy tune, like many well-intentioned endeavours, has been transmuted by the Internet into a meme.

Since then, the video has been manipulated countless times, and the phrase has become a household utterance across the Gulf.

Thanks to late capitalism, it has also been picked up by ad agencies to promote various unrelated products.

It has now arrived in Lebanon, where the phrase doesn't even make sense since Friday is a normal working day but that didn't stop the Arabic hashtag from trending anyway.

Well thank God it's Thursday, because it comes before Friday.