Eid Al Adha: Schools, private sector holidays

Eid Al Adha is around the corner and the UAE residents are gearing up for the break.

With Eid starting from Thursday, September 24, holidays for both the public and private sectors have been announced by the UAE government with four days for the public and three days for the private.

By including weekend, the public sector will enjoy four days of holidays from Wednesday, September 23, to Saturday, September 26, while employees in the private sector will have three-day paid Eid Al Adha holidays from Wednesday, September 23, until Friday, September 25.

It’s interesting to note that employees in the private sector will have one less holiday than the public sector as per announcement made by the Ministry of Labour.

But as a matter of fact, majority of the private sector employees will have four holidays – same as in the public sector – due to weekend holiday of Saturday because a large number of companies in the UAE observe Saturday as a weekend along with Friday.

Even the schools in the emirate of Dubai have been instructed by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), the regulatory authority, to stick to two-day break starting September 23 for Eid Al Adha. Along with two-day weekend, this will virtually make four-day holidays for the schools across the emirate.

Eid Al Adha holidays in the UAE begin from Arafat Day which falls one day before the Eid.

Many Islamic countries and a large number of Muslims in the US, Canada and European countries follow the Saudi Hijri calendar in order to celebrate Eid on the same day.