Saudi King Salman on Tuesday issued a directive that school holidays will start on Thursday for all pupils across the kingdom.
"The amendment to the start of the leave came based on what was presented by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman," the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The hashtag King Salman is trending on Twitter, with pupils and parents praising his decision, which allows them to spend the last 10 days of Ramadan with loved ones.
"I am so happy I have a long vacation and can spend it all with my cousins and grandparents," said Firas Sherqawi, a Saudi pupil in Jeddah. "Ramadan is our favourite time of the year in Saudi Arabia."
Students will be off from schools and universities, and public and private companies will also have an official break to celebrate Eid Al Fitr at the end of Ramadan.
Eid is expected to be around May 2, but the exact date will be confirmed by the moon-sighting committee in Saudi Arabia.
"I got an email from my school saying our last working day is on Thursday and honestly I am so relieved and so happy," Asma Saleh, a Saudi teacher living in Jeddah.
"Thank you to our leadership for making us so happy. We were initially going to finish on Sunday but this is much better and puts us at ease.
"The last 10 days we just want to pray and stay with the family during the Holy month of Ramadan."
Public sector holidays begin on April 25 and end on May 5 after Eid, and private sector holidays begin on May 1 and end on May 5.
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
The five pillars of Islam
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