Astronomers predict Ramadan on 23 March
According to the Emirates Astronomical Society, this year’s Ramadan will start on March 23. Ibrahim Al Jarwan, chairman of the society, said that Eid Al Fitr will start on Friday, April 21.
Thus, Ramadan will last 29 days. The average duration of the religious fast in the UAE will be 14 hours. Thus, worshippers will fast for 13 hours and 30 minutes at the beginning of Ramadan and almost 14 hours and 13 minutes in the last week.
Last year, the holy month began on April 1. Ibrahim Al Jarwan said temperatures during this year’s Ramadan will be moderately warm, between 17°C and 30°C.
Traditionally, Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan and the associated fasting, is a joyous time to meet family and friends, travel and shop.
Employed UAE citizens and residents will get a long weekend to celebrate the religious festival of Eid al-Adha from 27 to 30 June (those resting on Saturday and Sunday will thus have a six-day weekend).
Eid al-Adha, also known as Eid al-Fitr, is one of the main religious festivals of the Muslims, a reminder of man’s devotion to God and the mercy of the Almighty. The holiday marks the end of the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.
The Islamic New Year will be celebrated on Friday, July 21. The Muslim year is shorter than the Gregorian year by 11-12 days, so the date is floating. The New Year is celebrated on the first day of the Islamic month of Muharram, also the first day of the Hijra.
Hijra in Islam is the relocation of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622, which allowed the Prophet to escape persecutors and establish the first Islamic state.
The Prophet Muhammad’s birthday in 2023 will fall on 29 September. The holiday is celebrated on the 12th day of Rabi Al-Awwal, the third month in the Islamic calendar, and is called Mawlid Al-Nabi. It is only 300 years after the advent of Islam that the Prophet Muhammad’s birth is commemorated. As the exact date of the prophet’s birth is unknown, this commemoration was timed to coincide with the day of his death, the night of the 11th to the 12th of the third month. The date of the commemoration shifts 12 days each year.
The last long weekend of 2023 will be the days on which the UAE National Day will be celebrated: December 2 and 3. On 2 December 1971, the rulers of several emirates signed a union agreement to create a single state, the United Arab Emirates.
The country will take on the colours of the UAE flag: shopping malls and skyscrapers, parks and beaches will be decked out in red, white, green and black. In the evening the residents enjoy the celebratory fireworks.
Source: The National
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