Hi Kish here to discuss holidays in Dubai

There are 10 official Dubai holidays every year. Of the 10, 7 are important dates on the Islamic calendar. The other three holidays are the Western adopted holidays – Christmas, National (Independence Day) and New Year’s day.

I believe we have 7 holidays in the US on average, although this varies by company. I know Sunil had 17 holidays at one point. But part of that was an annual shut down period.



Anyway, of the 7 dates on the Islamic calendar, there are 5 main dates which are tied to the religion of Islam.

The Prophet’s ascension (Al Isr’a Wal Mairaj) and the Prophet’s birthday (Maulid Al-Nabi) are two important holidays celebrated in Dubai.

The others are the beginning of the Ramadan period and the two festival holidays, Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha.

Both last multiple days and one can say that Dubai really has more than 10 holi-DAYS. National Day also typically lasts 2-3 days.

Dependence on Mother Nature

Some Muslim countries rely on the skies to start and end their holidays. Yes there are still some that rely on the position of the earth, moon and sun. This is because traditional Islamic holidays were always determined by looking at the skies.

This holds true even today for some (very few left) Islamic nations. In fact there are a handful (Kuwait is one of them) that just predict when they are without even fully examining the skies. It’s amazing how someone can do this.

And because it is hard to convert the lunar calendar to the Gregorian calendar (the one you and I have at home), exact holidays can be difficult to pin point on our calendars.

A lot of times people rely on a gun shot that is fired to commence the holiday. Others find out through media – newspapers, TV and radio.

Because Dubai is much advanced and has to accommodate its more than four fifths international community, it has marked the holidays on its annual calendar. Imagine working in Dubai for an American company and trying to guess when your holiday will start and end? Lol

Not All Islamic Nations Follow The Holidays in Dubai

Couple important things to keep in mind is that although the Dubai holidays discussed here are accurate for Dubai, they may not be accurate for other Gulf States, particularly Saudi Arabia.

Every Emirate or Nation is free to observe holidays as they want. For example, only 2 of the 10 holidays in Dubai are also celebrated in Saudi Arabia. I just want to make sure you are clear on that important fact.

The other thing is the fact that the duration of holidays may also differ from one nation or state to another. In fact even within the same state (take Dubai for example), the public, private and government sectors all observe different holiday lengths.

For the most part, the government employees enjoy longer breaks than those in the private sector. This is similar to the US. Government employees here typically have more days off than someone working in a company.

• January 1 - New Year's Day
• January 10 - Islamic New Year
• January 15 to February 15 - The Dubai Shopping Festival
• March 20 - Prophet's Birthday
• July 30 - Ascension of the Prophet
• August 6 - His Highness Sheikh Zayed's Accession Day
• October 2 - Eid Al Fitr
• December 2 - National Day
• December 8 - Eid Al Adha
• December 29 - Islamic New Year

Do you want to go on a holiday in Dubai? Definitely consider the Kuoni travel team to arrange your holiday. They only specialize in a handful of destinations and Dubai is one of them. They are definitely worth all the praise they have gotten.

We have also written about Dubai sightseeing and how to enter Dubai in detail for your convenience.

Other Helpful Links:

Dubai Sightseeing

Dubai Visa Information

How to Enter Dubai

Golf Holidays

Cheap Holidays to Dubai

How to Book Dubai Flights for Less

Dubai Culture - Holidays in Dubai are more fun when you understand the culture!