Saudi Arabia Announces Eid Al Adha Holidays

Residents in Saudi Arabia are looking forward to a long holiday after the Zul Hijjah moon was sighted on Saturday evening.

The Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia announced that the public sector will enjoy an 11 day holiday this year. It was determined that Arafat Eid will fall on Monday, August 20th and Al Adha will start on August 21st.

The holiday for the public sector will start on Wednesday, August 15th, and last until Saturday, August 25th, 2018. Work will resume again for governmental employees on Sunday, August 26th, 2018. This holiday is applicable to all employees (both locals and expats) that or on the government payroll. This does however exclude the security forses and health staff.

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (Sama) also announced a 9-day holiday for the financial sector holidays. The holidays for the Financial Sector will begin on Friday, August 17th, 2018 and last until Saturday, August 25th, 2018.

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Not everyone in the Financial Sector will however enjoy the entirety of this holiday. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (Sama) further announced that banks located at holy places such as Mecca and Medina as well as those at border crossings will remain open during Hajj season, Fridays and Saturdays. This is to help serve pilgrims and visitors during this period.

The private sector will most likely not be enjoying a lavish 9 or 11 days holiday but rather have their holiday allocated according to each company’s policy. The Saudi Labour Law does however stipulated that employees in the private sector are entitled to a minimum of 4-days Eid Al Adha holiday.

Eid Al Adha is a festival of sacrifice to remember Prophet Ibrahim’s (PBUH) obedience to Allah. God ordered Ibrahim to sacrifice his son, Ishmael, to God. Ibrahim willingly took Ishmael to be sacrificed, prepared the altar and was about to kill him, when God stopped Ibrahim. Allah then provided Ibrahim with an animal to be sacrificed in Ishmael’s place.

SEE ALSO: Eid Al Adha in Saudi Arabia: Traditions, Meaning and History

Here is a round-up of Saudi Arabia’s 2018 Eid Al Adha dates per sector:

• Public Sector: Wednesday, August 15th, 2018 - Saturday, August 25th, 2018. Work will resume on Sunday, August 26th, 2018
• Financial Sector: Friday, August 17th, 2018 - Saturday, August 25th, 2018. Work will resume on Sunday, August 26th, 2018
• Private Sector: As per company policy, however, the Saudi Labour Law does specify a minimum of 4 days Eid Al Adha holiday.