Eid al-Fitr Holiday Begins

Eid al-Fitr is the festival that closes Ramadan. In Qatar, the religious occasion joins congregational prayer with an extended cycle of family visiting, hospitality and charitable giving. Doha’s mosques, neighbourhoods, malls and cultural venues all change pace, but commercial programmes should not be confused with the religious core of the festival. Households differ in meals, travel and visiting customs, and no single public ceremony defines how every citizen or resident celebrates.

Amiri Resolution No. 57 of 2025 defines the government holiday in Hijri-calendar terms. Eid al-Fitr runs from 28 Ramadan through 4 Shawwal, while Eid al-Adha runs from 9 through 13 Dhu al-Hijjah. If only one working day separates two holidays, the resolution incorporates that day into the break. The Amiri Diwan then publishes the corresponding civil dates and return-to-work date for ministries, government agencies and public institutions.

Those government periods are not a universal entitlement of identical length. Article 78 of Qatar’s Labour Law grants covered private-sector workers three fully paid working days for each Eid, while Qatar Central Bank-supervised institutions receive three working days under the 2025 resolution and follow dates set by the Governor. Essential and shift services also retain roster systems. The site therefore identifies the official period’s opening date and reports the 2026 announcement without extrapolating one sector’s closure to another.

For 2026, the Amiri Diwan closed ministries, other government agencies and public institutions from Tuesday, 17 March through Monday, 23 March, with work resuming Tuesday, 24 March. The first day of Eid itself was Friday, 20 March. The longer government interval reflects the statutory 28 Ramadan-to-4 Shawwal window and surrounding weekend, while the announcement left the separate banking dates to the Qatar Central Bank Governor.