2023 UAE Holiday Calendar, Plan Your Year Ahead - Amer Center

The new UAE holiday calendar has been announced and some noteworthy holidays are here for the residents and expats.They can now enjoy a four-day break for the National Day celebration from December 1-4. And it will mark the end of the last set of holidays for 2022. But what about 2023? Let’s see what it holds for everyone in the UAE.

The UAE Cabinet has finally published the list of official holidays for 2023. These holidays are applicable for both the public and private sectors. The residents of the country can now prepare for multiple long breaks next year and that includes a six-day long break.

The UAE government releases this official set of holidays for multiple reasons. One reason is to create equality in the number of holidays both public and private employees get in a year. Second is to alert the visa holders and other expats of those days in which government services won’t be available. This helps them to prepare for their applications and renewals in advance.

Now as per the latest updates from the government, the holidays for the year 2023 will include:

January 1                                 Gregorian New Year

Ramadan 29 to Shawwal 3                         Eid Al Fitr

Dhul Hijjah 9                        Eid Al Fitr: Arafah Day

Dhul Hijjah 10-12                        Eid Al Adha

July 21                                  Hijri New Year

September 29                        Prophet Muhammad’s

                                                                           (PBUH) birthday

December 2-3                     UAE National Day

The holidays depicted are based on the Hijri Islamic calendar and the Gregorian dates will be announced based on the moon-sighting. 

Now Coming to the Long weekends

The official release shows that the UAE residents can expect at least four long weekends next year. These are possibly: 

 Eid Al Fitr: the Hijri calendar, dates from Ramadan 29 to Shawwal 3. The astronomical data tells us that this would be beginning fromThursday, April 20, to the following Sunday, April 23. Moon-sighting will decide the exact dates.

 Arafah Day and Eid Al Adha: Most likely involves a six-day break — the longest break you can have in 2023. The holidays will possibly begin from Tuesday, June 27, to Friday, June 30. So with the weekends included it counts as a 6 day holiday streak.

Hijri New Year: July 21, Friday. Another 2 day holiday streak with Sunday and Saturday included.

Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) birthday: September 29 will also fall on a  Friday. Meaning another 3 day holidays for the residents.