Oman, August 17: Depending on the sighting of the moon, the official holiday for Hijri New Year could be either on Thursday or Sunday, according to the Oman News Agency.  The Islamic New Year also called the Hijri New Year or Arabic New Year is the day that marks the beginning of a new Hijri year and is the day on which the year count is incremented. The first day of the Islamic year is observed by Muslims on the first day of the month of Muharram.

The Astronomical Affairs Department at MERA said that the sighting of the moon of Muharram will be possible on Wednesday, August 19 if the weather is clear. A statement issued online said: "Astronomical calculations for the city of Muscat indicate that the moon will be in the conjunction phase on Wednesday at 6:42 am local time for the Sultanate and the sunsets on Wednesday at 6:36 pm. "

"The moon will descend on Wednesday at 7:09 pm, meaning that the moon will descend about 33 minutes after sunset, away from the sun by 8 degrees and at an altitude of 7 degrees from the western horizon, and the intensity of its illumination is 0.51 percent" mentioned the statement in a Times of Oman report.

On the other hand, the private sector workers across the UAE will have a public holiday on account of Hijri on Sunday, August 23. The UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation announced all employees would get a public holiday on the day that marks the beginning of the new Islamic year 1442. Work will resume on Monday, August 24.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 17, 2020 02:59 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).