The next long weekend could be a five-day break…

If you’re back at work after the long Eid Al Fitr weekend and wondering when the next public holiday is, you have come to the right place. Here, we take a look at the upcoming public holidays – and precious long weekends – to look forward to.

The glorious nine-day-long break might have only just finished but if you’re wondering when the next UAE long weekend is, we’re here with the information you need to know.

So, when is the next UAE public holiday?

Under the direction of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the UAE Cabinet announced a full list of public holidays for 2024 at the end of last year.

The next official holiday of 2024 will be two holidays together: Arafat Day and Eid Al Adha. First is Arafat Day, which falls on Dhul Hijjah 9. This is expected to be on Sunday, June 16, but it’s dependent on the sighting of the moon closer to the time.

Eid Al Adha is the second and the largest of the two holidays celebrated in Islam. It falls on Dhul Hijjah 10 to 12, which, according to astrological calculations, is likely to correspond to Monday, June 17 to Wednesday, June 19 as public holiday (but is dependent on the sighting of the moon). So, those who have a Saturday and Sunday weekend will have a five-day break with work resuming on Thursday, June 20.

How many days will we have off?

If that is the case, UAE residents will enjoy a five-day public holiday from Monday, June 17 to Wednesday, June 19. Those that have a Saturday and Sunday weekend, will then return to work on Thursday, June 20. Remember though, the confirmation of dates all depend on the sighting of the moon.

With our next long weekend possibly being five days long, if you plan ahead of time, taking Thursday, June 20 and Friday, June 21 off as a holiday will give you a total of nine days of holiday.

Because the Islamic Calendar is based on lunar months — it means that for these dates to be confirmed in the Gregorian calendar (the traditional January to December version), there has to be a sighting of the moon in a very specific phase. We will have to wait for confirmation on these dates closer to the time from UAE officials.

Stay tuned to whatson.ae for the official announcements. 

Featured image: Getty Images