Meelad-un-Nabi is a holiday celebrated by Muslims around the world to commemorate the birthday of Prophet Muhammad. The Prophet Muhammad is the epitome of perfection for Muslims. He is the role model chosen for the Muslims by Allah and the Muslims are to follow his Sunnah (way of life) in order to lead an ideal lifestyle.
Prophet Muhammad’s birthday is commemorated in Sri Lanka on 12 Rabi’ al-Awwal of the Islamic calendar and according to the Gregorian calendar, this year it falls on November 10, 2019.
While Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday is celebrated with great pomp and show in some countries, in Sri Lanka, it is more of a solemn and religious occasion. 
The month of Rabi al-Awwal holds special significance in Islam. There is no consensus on the actual date of the occasion. Muslims often celebrate it on the 12th of Rabi ul Awwal, often terming the day as Eid Meelad-un-Nabi. Mawlid or the Birth of the Prophet is celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm by Muslims all over the world.
A lot of Muslims hold Meelad throughout the month in remembrance of the Prophet.
The local name for the holiday is Milad-un-Nabi, meaning simply “birth of the prophet”. The whole third month of the Islamic year, Rabi Al-Awwal, is remembered as the birth-month of Muhammad by the Islamic world.
Especially on the twelfth day of Rabi Al-Awwal, but throughout the month really, people will spend time reading the life story of Muhammad in the Koran, hadiths and in biographies. Muslims will also gather on Muhammad’s Birthday to pray out loud in unison and recite Koranic verses together. Finally, special family meals and charitable contributions to the poor are also common ways to celebrate.
The Islamic calendar, also known as the Hijri Calendar, is based on the moon. It started after the Hijrah (Journey) of the Prophet Muhammad to Madina.
The beginning of each month is contingent on the visibility of the moon at the end of the previous month. Once the moon is sighted, the new month commences.
Therefore, each month starts with a new lunar cycle. Hence, the Muslim Calendar gives only a tentative overview of the upcoming Islamic dates as the start of each month is subject to the sighting of the moon. Rabi ul Awal is the third month in the Islamic Calendar.
In Arabic, the word “rabbi” means spring while “al awwal” means the first. Hence Rabbi ul Awwal as a whole translates into ‘The First Spring'. Since Rabbi al Awwal is a month of the lunar calendar, it can come in any season. Therefore, the name, Rabi al Awal depicts symbolic significance as it symbolizes the advent of happiness (spring) after the dismal winter or more specifically sadness, and not the actual season of spring.
Rabi ul Awwal is named as such because before the Prophet Muhammad was born people were living in a state of ignorance and darkness. They worshiped different deities.
They were deviating from the path of Allah. As the Prophet was born, he brought with him the Message of Truth, the Message of Allah, His Oneness.
This message led the people towards the path of enlightenment, helping them distinguish between right and wrong.