The first of Muharram opens the Hijri year and is a public holiday in the UAE. Unlike the Gregorian New Year, which Dubai marks with some of the largest firework displays in the world, the Islamic New Year is observed quietly: no public celebration, no official festivity, offices closed.
The contrast between the two new years within the same country is the useful thing for a visitor to understand. One is a global spectacle sold as a travel product; the other is a day off.
No attendance figure applies.
The date drifts, as every entry in this group does. A visitor who finds "New Year" on a UAE calendar should check which one is meant.
PlanningA single public holiday that moves about eleven days earlier each Gregorian year.
Dates
calendar conversion — may move a day
Computed from the recurrence rule we record for this entry, not copied from a listing. A date marked ~ comes from a calendar conversion and the observance may fall a day or two either side.