Egypt Announces Six-Day Holiday for Eid Al-Fitr and Sinai Liberation Day

On Monday, Egypt’s Cabinet announced that April 20-25 will be official holidays for the occasions of Eid Al-Fitr and Sinai Liberation Day.

In a statement, the Egyptian Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, announced that the break will begin from Thursday, April 20, and last until Tuesday, April 25.

The decision applies to ministries and government sectors, and public sectors.   

Notably, Muslim nations could start celebrating Eid El-Fitr on Friday 21 April based on astronomical calculations, according to a statement released today by the National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics.

The Islamic Eid El-Fitr is the three-day holiday celebrated by Muslims starting the first day after the end of fasting in the holy month of Ramadan.

However, the final word on the timing of the start of Eid remains per tradition with Egypt's Dar El-Ifta – the main religious authority responsible for issuing fatwas in the country.

Dar El-Ifta will make this determination based on confirmation of a sighting of a crescent after sunset on the 29th day of Ramadan this year, which falls on Thursday 20 April according to the Gregorian calendar, to determine whether Thursday was the last day of this Ramadan or the month would stay with us for one more day.

A month in the Islamic Hijri calendar, which is based on the lunar system, could be 29 or 30 days based on the sighting of moons after sunset on the 29th day of a month.

This means that a new month on the Hijri calendar begins when a new moon can be sighted with the naked eye after sunset on the 29th day of an outgoing one.

The 29th day of Ramadan this year falls on Thursday 20 April according to the Gregorian calendar.