It’s likely to be an extra long weekend when it’s announced…

In March 2019 the UAE government outlined the full list of public holidays for 2019 and 2020 – with two previously recognised public holidays absent.

According to the new list, Israa Wa Miraaj, which previously fell in April, and Prophet Mohammed’s (PBUH) birthday, celebrated towards the start of November, were not listed.

For Eid Al Fitr, the UAE government granted five working days off for the public sector and four working days off for the private sector.

ALSO READ: UAE government confirms full list of UAE public holidays for 2019 and 2020

So, when will the next public holiday in the UAE be? Well, it will be on the occasion of Arafat Day and Eid Al Adha. So, the next long weekend will be in a couple of months.

It’s still dependent on the sighting of the moon, but will be around August 10. As this is a Saturday, it’s likely we’ll have a long weekend from Friday August 9 to Wednesday August 14, although we won’t know until the announcement nearer the time.

Arafat Day falls on the 9th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic lunar calendar. Eid Al Adha is known as the ‘festival of the sacrifice’ and follows in the subsequent three days.

The UAE government confirmed in March that both public and private sector workers would be off from 9th to 12th of Dhu al-Hijjah.

It’s dependent on the sighting of the moon, and around 70 days after Ramadan. We won’t know until closer to the time the exact date, but it’s likely to be either Saturday August 10 or Sunday August 11. Whichever day it falls on, we should get either a three or four day weekend when the public holiday is announced.

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