UAE is going to get longer public holidays in 2025! And it’s all thanks to part two of UAE Cabinet Resolution No. 27 of 2024. Earlier this year, the UAE Cabinet released the official 2025 public holiday list for both public and private sector employees. But next year, we are going to experience public holidays in UAE like never before because that’s when Resolution No. 27 kicks in. So, come with me, and I’ll tell you exactly how we may get longer public holidays soon.
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What Does The New Resolution Mean?
Under part two of UAE Cabinet Resolution No. 27 of 2024, a new rule will change how some public holidays are managed. If a public holiday falls on a weekend, it might now be shifted to either the beginning or end of the week. This means if a holiday lands on a Saturday or Sunday, we could get an extra day off on the preceding Friday or the following Monday. Right now, we are exactly 5 months away from the first public holiday of 2025 – New Year’s Day (January 1st), which will fall on Wednesday. However, since this holiday comes in the middle of the month it’s unlikely the new resolution will apply here.
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Exceptions To The Rule
However, there’s an exception to this rule: Eid holidays will not be affected. We will see the first Eid holiday next year for Eid Al Fitr from Monday, March 31 – Wednesday, April 2, 2025 (Shawwal 1-3). And then Arafat Day & Eid Al Adha from Thursday, June 5 – Sunday, June 8, 2025 (Dhu Al Hijjah 9-12) (both of which are subject to moon sightings). What this exception means is that Eid holidays will not be adjusted from the Islamic lunar calendar to fit into the convenience of the Georgian calendar. Eid Al Fitr is predicted to end on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, and the new cabinet resolution will not extend the public holiday to the following weekend.
Special Occasions
And in further good news, the resolution also allows local governments to declare extra official holidays for their departments and institutions on special occasions or for other reasons. So, next year, we could be seeing even more holidays that are specific to certain emirates!
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Adding New Holidays In 2025
Towards the end of July, the UAE announced that July 18th will officially be declared ‘Union Pledge Day’. On this day, we remember the pivotal meeting that set the stage for creating the United Arab Emirates on December 2nd, 1971. On this very day, Sheikh Zayed, the Founding Father, and the Rulers of the 6 other emirates came together to sign the declaration of the Union and the UAE Constitution, officially naming our great nation. This year, July 18th, 2024, fell on a Thursday and was not greeted with a public holiday. However, with the new cabinet resolution allowing for new holidays to be integrated by local governments, we can all cross our fingers and pray to get Friday, July 18th, as a public holiday, which swiftly gives us a 3-day long weekend!
With the possibility of more long weekends and extra days off, next year’s holiday calendar is already shaping up to be more exciting than ever!
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