Both sectors will enjoy an extra long weekend in August…

The public and private sector holiday dates have been announced for Eid Al Adha 2019.  Both sectors will enjoy four days off on the occasion of Eid Al Adha, the  Federal Authority for Government Human Resources confirmed on Thursday morning, reports The National.

The holiday will begin on Saturday, August 10, and employees will be off until Tuesday, August 13. Work will then resume on Wednesday August 14.

Back in March, the UAE cabinet announced that going forward, public and private sector employees would have unified holidays.

What is Eid Al Adha?

According to tradition, Eid Al Adha is held to honour Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son, after being instructed to do so by God. Prophet Ibrahim told his son of the dream, and the son then told his father to follow the order.

But God intervened, sending a sheep to take his sons place.

What about the remaining public holidays?

While Eid Al Adha may be the longest public holiday remaining in 2019, there are still others to look forward to. Next up is Hijri, (Islamic New Year) which is likely to fall on Sunday September 1 – we get one day off for this holiday so we may get another long weekend.

After that, Commemoration Day, formerly referred to as Martyr’s Day, is marked on November 30. It falls on a Saturday in 2019, which means it may be combined with National Day.

UAE National Day is December 2, and 2019 will mark the UAE’s 48th birthday, celebrating the unification of the seven emirates in 1971. It falls on a Monday this year, and as we had a two-day holiday on Sunday and Monday for the occasion in 2018, it may be that it’s a four-day weekend again in 2019.

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