When Is Eid 2026: Egypt Awaits Three-Day Holiday After Moon Forecast
For those asking when is eid 2026, employees in Egypt can plan for a three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday projected to run Friday, March 20 through Sunday, March 22. Monday at 5: 17 a. m. ET, astronomers at the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences and Technology predicted March 20 is astronomically likely to be the first day of Shawwal and Eid al-Fitr.
When Is Eid 2026 — Egypt’s Expected March 20–22 Holiday
The immediate consequence for Egyptian workers is a likely three-day public holiday: the Cabinet is expected to issue a decree shortly before the holiday to specify official days off for government offices, and the Ministry of Labor will determine private-sector holidays. Based on astronomical calculations cited by Egyptian authorities, the first day of Shawwal 1447 AH will astronomically fall on Friday, March 20, 2026, and the Eid al-Fitr holiday for both public and private sectors is expected to be three days long, running March 20–22.
Sharjah Academy Predicts March 20 as Eid Al Fitr’s First Day
The Sharjah Astronomical Observatory’s forecast changes how several countries may set their calendars: the Sharjah Academy forecast that March 20 ushers in Shawwal’s first day and Eid al-Fitr for the UAE and most Islamic countries. The academy’s calculations showed no visible new moon on Wednesday, March 18 — 29 Ramadan — meaning Thursday, March 19 would complete the holy month locally, and some naked-eye or telescope-reliant states could delay observance to Saturday instead.
Moon Sighting Details Over Sharjah and Regional Visibility
The observatory provided specific sighting numbers that make local crescent sighting unlikely: it recorded the moon’s surface conjunction over Sharjah at 4: 24 a. m. on Thursday, and by sunset that evening the crescent would be 14 hours and six minutes old with a 6. 5-degree elongation from the sun and six degrees above the western horizon, lingering 29 minutes after sunset. Those critical conditions render naked-eye sighting impossible locally; stacked imaging might capture the crescent faintly, but the observatory judged the odds slim. Yet the academy noted that some Arab and Muslim nations may glimpse the crescent unaided or with telescopes thanks to more favorable geography.
Employees across Egypt are awaiting the Cabinet’s official announcement on the holiday schedule, which is expected to be published on the government website at the end of Ramadan. Unconfirmed as of Monday at 5: 17 a. m. ET, that decree will specify the exact days off for government offices, after which the Ministry of Labor will issue guidance for the private sector. If the Cabinet confirms March 20 as the first day of Shawwal, the three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday will run March 20–22, 2026.
