UAE: 4 or 5 days off for Eid Al Adha

Eid al-Adha is celebrated in mid-June in the UAE with a long weekend, but the actual decision on its duration due to moon-sighting will take place on June 6. Depending on the day the Moon is sighted, residents are allowed to go to work for four or five days and have the weekend off. The holiday is offered to celebrate the Arafah Day – being the holiest day in Islam – and three additional days to celebrate the Eid Al Adha festival.

The Islamic festivals depend on the Hijri calendar months, which begin and end with the sighting of the crescent moon. All the Arab countries including UAE will be looking for the crescent moon on the 29th of the Hijri calendar month Dhul Qa’adah which is on June 6. If detected, the month that follows is Dhul Hijjah, which starts the subsequent day (June 6). If not, the month starts June 8.

If the Moon is spotted on June 6: Reading the signs of the lunar calendar, Dhul Hijjah starts on June 7. Arafah Day is due on June 15 (Dhul Hijjah 9) and Eid Al Adha is on June 16 (Dhul Hijjah 10). The break will therefore be from Saturday, June 15, to Tuesday, June 18. When the two days of the break are on the Saturday-Sunday, then, this offers residents two weekdays off.

If the Moon is not spotted on June 6: Dhul Hijjah starts on June 8. Arafah Day falls on the 9th of Dhul Hijjah which is equivalent to June 16. Eid Al Adha then is on June 17 (Dhul Hijjah 10). Therefore, the break is, in effect, from Sunday, June 16 to Wednesday, June 19. That includes the weekend with Saturday being June 15, and that means that the five days off will be to celebrate the festival.

Based on astronomical calculations, it is unlikely that the moon will be seen on Tuesday June 6. If it is, then the residents of UAE can anticipate five days off.

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