Saudi Arabia announces Eid Al Adha holidays for public sector

Federal employees will be off from July 15 to 24

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman receives guests on Eid Al Adha, in 2019.

Public-sector employees in Saudi Arabia will have a 10-day holiday to mark Eid Al Adha.

They will be off from the evening of July 14 until work resumes on July 25, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development said on Sunday.

Private and non-profit sector workers will receive four days of holiday.

“Eid al-Adha holiday for the private and non-profit sectors will begin at the end of  Sunday July 18 and will last for four days," the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development said on Sunday.

Eid Al Adha, the festival of sacrifice, will coincide with the Hajj pilgrimage in Makkah this year.

The event signifies the Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son, the Prophet Ismael, as a test of his faith in God.

Prophet Ismael was miraculously replaced by an animal and remained unharmed.

Muslims first offer the Eid prayer and those who can afford to sacrifice an animal to feed the poor in memory of the Prophet Ibrahim’s devotion.

The meat is split into three equal portions. One is kept for the family, the second is given to relatives in need and the remainder is donated to the poor.

Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court announced on Friday that Eid Al Adha would be celebrated on Tuesday, July 20.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency reported the Moon Sighting Authorities as having said the Day of Arafat would be Monday, July 19, which is the ninth month of Dhu Al Hijja this year.

Last year, owing to the pandemic, only about 1,000 people were allowed to perform Hajj. It is typically undertaken by two million pilgrims each year.

This year, the kingdom has restricted Hajj to 60,000 immunised people already living in the kingdom.

Of the 558,270 applicants for Hajj this year, 41 per cent were female and 59 per cent were male, the Hajj ministry said.

Priority was given to those who were vaccinated and aged between 18 and 65, and who had not performed the pilgrimage in the past five years.