United Arab Emirates 2013 Public Holidays

The United Arab Emirates cultures are mostly influenced by traditional Arab and Bedouin culture as well as the religion of Islam. Therefore, many major Islamic festivals are observed as public holidays in the UAE. Unlike some other Middle Eastern countries with strong Islamic beliefs, the UAE celebrates the International New Year’s Day as an addition to Islamic festivals every year. This is due to the UAE’s predicate as international trade hub around the world.

The UAE have applied 5 government work days since the year of 1998, but the private sectors are free to choose their own work days and holidays. Starting from September 2006, the public sector workers are granted days off every Friday and Saturday while days off for the private sector workers depend on the employment contract agreed by the employers and employees beforehand.

The list of UAE public holidays is available below. Please note that the dates of Islamic festivals are determined through various phase of moon-sighting. Therefore, the dates of the holidays change from year to year. The information concerning UAE public holidays 2013 calendar below is based on estimate. We do not and cannot guarantee the accuracy of the UAE holidays calendar.

List of 2013 UAE Holidays

2013 UAE Holidays

New Year’s Day
International New Year’s Day
Tuesday, 1 January 2013

Milad un Nabi
The birthday of Prophet Muhammad
Thursday, 24 January 2013

Lailat al Miraj
Ascension of the Prophet – Isra Miraj
Tuesday, 4 June 2013

Start of Ramadan
The 1st day of Ramadan in Islamic lunar calendar
Tuesday, 9 July 2013

Eid-al-Fitr
The end of Ramadan fasting month – Eid-al-Fitr
(3 days public holidays)
Thursday, 8 August 2013
Friday, 9 August 2013
Saturday, 10 August 2013

Arafat (Haj) Day
Arafat Day or Day of Arafa is the second day of the Hajj or Pilgrimage for Muslims
Monday, 14 October 2013

Eid-al-Adha
Feast of sacrifice in Islamic tradition – Qurban
(3 days public holidays)
Tuesday, 15 October 2013
Wednesday, 16 October 2013
Thursday, 17 October 2013

Al-Hijra
Islamic New Year
Monday, 4 November 2013

UAE National Day
The UAE’s formal independence from the UK
Monday, 2 December 2013

Happy UAE Holidays 2013!

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