Eid Al-Adha and Eid Al-Fitr normally last about a week. However, there’s generally a difference between the duration of holidays in the public and private sectors, government workers generally enjoying longer breaks than those in private enterprise (some things are the same in the Gulf as in the west!).
Islamic holidays are determined by lunar sightings but, whereas some Muslim countries use information derived from observatories, unaided observations are preferred in Saudi Arabia, which makes exact dates difficult to predict, as the moon may be obscured by cloud, for example. There’s also a complicated conversion to be made from the Islamic to the Gregorian calendar. The dates shown below are therefore approximate, and the only way to be sure that a holiday has begun is to hear the gun that’s traditionally fired on such occasions, to hear an announcement on the local radio or to wake to hear less than usual traffic noise!
| Holiday | Date (Islamic calendar) | Approx. Date (Gregorian Calendar) |
| Eid Al-Adha | 10 Dhul-Hijah | Jan - Feb |
| Muslim New Year | 1 Muharram | Feb - March |
| Ashura | 10 Muharram | Feb - March |
| Prophet’s birthday | 12 Rabi II | April - May |
| Prophet’s ascension | 27 Rajab | September |
| Ramadan | 1 Ramadan | October |
| Eid Al-Fitr | 1 Shawaal | November |
Note that a National ‘Day’ usually lasts two or three days!