Arafat Day and Eid Al Adha will fall on Tuesday August 21 or Wednesday August 22, meaning we could potentially get an extra three days added to the weekend.
This holiday is pretty likely in terms of dates as it is expected that Arafat Day will fall on the Tuesday, followed by Eid Al Adha the next day, meaning (drumroll…) we could get five whole days off work. As ever, the exact dates depend on the sightings of the moon, but even if the dates change by a day we’ll still get a short working week. After that, the next holiday will be Commemoration Day, which falls on Friday November 30.
UAE National Day falls shortly after though on Sunday December 2, meaning a nice three-day weekend to see us into the festive season. This National Day will be the UAE’s 47th birthday and marks the day that the country withdrew from a protectorate treaty with the British Empire, paving the way for the federal unification of the emirates. Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, and Fujairah made up the original UAE, with Ras Al Khaimah joining in a year later in 1972.