Page 27 - DGHR PR REPORT - AUGUST 2025

9/1/25, 9:45 AM It’s official: UAE to get a three day holiday in September | Time Out Dubai
The lunar calendar is used predominantly by Muslims around the world to determine the dates of
religious events and observances.

And this difference impacts how the calendar operates and why Islamic dates shift annually in relation
to the Gregorian calendar.

Each Islamic month lasts either 29 or 30 days, depending on the moon’s visibility. Consequently, a
lunar year is approximately 354 or 355 days long, which is about 10 to 12 days shorter than the solar
year used in the Gregorian calendar.

Because of the shorter year, Islamic months drift through the Gregorian calendar.

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