Eid Al Adha 2027

Type of holiday: statutory public holiday, a non-working day.

Eid Al Adha, the feast of the sacrifice, falls on 10 Dhu al-Hijjah and is the second of the two Eids. It commemorates the willingness of the prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son and the ram provided in his place, a narrative that also appears in Jewish and Christian scripture with differences of detail. It coincides with the closing rites of Hajj, so it is observed simultaneously by pilgrims in Makkah and by Muslims everywhere else.

How the day is kept

The Eid prayer is held shortly after sunrise, followed by the sacrifice of an animal — a sheep, goat, cow or camel — by those who can afford it. In the UAE this is regulated rather than domestic: municipalities require slaughter at approved abattoirs, open temporary facilities for the days of the feast and run appointment systems for them, and slaughter at home is not permitted. The meat is traditionally divided into three parts, one kept by the household, one given to relatives and neighbours and one distributed to those in need, and charitable bodies handle a large volume of that third share on behalf of residents who prefer to donate the whole animal.

Fixed to the moon, not to the working week

Both Eids are expressly carved out of the Cabinet's power to relocate a public holiday to the beginning or end of the working week. Every other UAE holiday can in principle be nudged to create a longer weekend; these cannot. Whatever weekday the sighting produces, that is the weekday the country takes off, and the working week is cut wherever the cut happens to fall.

Open and closed

Federal and local government offices, schools, courts and bank branches close for the full block. Shopping centres, cinemas, restaurants and attractions stay open on extended hours and are heavily used, particularly in the evenings when the heat drops. Livestock markets are busy for several days beforehand. Traffic towards Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and the Oman crossings builds from the afternoon before the block starts.

This date is the second of four consecutive non-working days and is deducted in full from any working-day count. The block also demonstrates the lunar drift more visibly than any other entry on the calendar: it moves about eleven days earlier each Gregorian year, so within a decade it travels from high summer into spring. Anyone who has pinned an annual conference, audit or product deadline to a Gregorian week should re-check its position against this block every year rather than assuming last year's clearance holds.