"Before, we felt like we were in prison. We were restricted," cafe owner Faez Abdulillah Ahmed said.
His words were echoed by shop owner Marwan Hashem, who said that "we were waiting for this decision for years."
According to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, the decision to lift the curfew was made in order to help normalize life in Baghdad.
Abadi's spokesman Rafid Jaboori said, for his part, that the lifting of the curfew came "despite the existence of a state of war."
He spoke a day after at least 37 people, mostly civilians, were killed and 94 more wounded in a series of blasts across Baghdad. Islamic State militants have claimed responsibility for the bombings.
As for the curfew, it was imposed as a security measure in the immediate aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.
At its worst, the curfew took effect as early as 8 p.m., but as the security situation gradually improved, Baghdad residents had their movement restricted less and less; most recently, the curfew was in effect between midnight and 5 a.m.
