It’s official! Next weekend will be a long one…

Hijri New Year is just around the corner and it’s official: we’re getting a long weekend. Federal Authority For Government Human Resources – UAE (FAHR) just announced on their official Twitter account that Thursday August 12 will be a public holiday.

All UAE employees will be granted the day off work, making it a long weekend for those who usually have Friday and Saturday off. After that, we won’t get another public holiday until October.

Hijri New Year is an Islamic holiday, so we could see a dry night announcement coming in the next few days. If that’s the case then no alcoholic beverages will be served in any restaurant, bar or hotel for a period of 25 hours.

The next public holiday will be in October, when the UAE will mark the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). This means we should get a day off on Thursday October 21, giving another three-day weekend for those who have Friday and Saturday off.

Commemoration Day and National Day are the last UAE public holidays of the year, and we’re likely to get off Wednesday December 1, Thursday 2, and Friday 3, creating a four-day break for those who normally work Sunday to Thursday.

* Please note, these dates are subject to change and confirmation by the respective UAE authorities