We can officially cap off June with a long weekend, as the Indonesian government has announced that the 28th and 30th of this month have been added into the 2023 public holidays calendar as collective leave days for Eid al-Adha, the Islamic festival of sacrifice.
The decision was made through a joint ministerial decree signed by the Religious Affairs Minister, the Manpower Minister, and the State Apparatus Minister.
The addition of the collective leave days has been in the works for the past couple of weeks, as the government acknowledged that Eid al-Adha may be observed on different days according to specific beliefs within Islam. The government previously mandated just one day of national holiday for Eid al-Adha on June 29.
That said, collective leave days don’t exactly hold as much weight as national holidays. While public sector employees will be entitled to a very long weekend, companies in the private sector may choose to not follow the guidelines.
Eid al-Adha is one of the two major Islamic holidays celebrated by Muslims worldwide. On this day, Muslims commemorate the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismail as an act of obedience to God.
Muslims who can afford it perform the ritual of animal sacrifice, usually a sheep, goat, or cow, and share the meat with their family, friends, neighbors, and the poor. They also perform special prayers in mosques or open fields and exchange greetings and gifts with each other.
With the addition of the collective leave days, Indonesians will have a five-day holiday for Eid al-Adha, from June 28 to July 2.
