It has just been announced that this weekend, Saturday July 30 will mark the first day of the Islamic New Year 1444H.
What makes the occasion even sweeter is that it’s officially going to be a paid holiday for all private sector employees in the UAE.
Earlier this year, it was uncertain if there would be a holiday scheduled during the regular 5 day working week. While this isn’t the case for those who get Saturdays and Sundays off, those who do work on Saturdays will be grateful for time off to celebrate the first day of Muharram.
According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE), this holiday is in line with the decree issued by the UAE cabinet to unify the official holidays pf public and private sectors in 2021 and 2022. This means that Emiratis and expats working in government departments and private companies will get the same days off for both national and religious events.
After the UAE celebrates Islamic New Year this weekend, there will be three more public holidays in 2022, with the next one happening in October to celebrate Prophet Muhammed (PBUH)’s birthday.
The next four-day weekend will be in December which will celebrate Commemoration Day as well as UAE National day.
Prophet Muhammed (PBUH)’s Birthday – October 8
Al-Mawlid Al-Nabawi, or the birthday of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) should fall on October 8, but much like Islamic New Year, this is also a Saturday, so it’s also unsure whether we will have a public off-day during the regular 5-day scheduled working week.
Commemoration Day – December 1
Commemoration Day, which was previously called Martyr’s Day, always falls on December 1 in the UAE. This year, that will be a Thursday.
UAE National Day – December 2 and 3
Finally, the UAE National Day will return on December 2 and 3, which will be a Friday and a Saturday.