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United Arab Emirates National Day (اليوم الوطني لدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة), officially designated as Eid Al Etihad (عيد الاتحاد / Union Day), is celebrated annually on December 2. It commemorates the historic unification of the emirates into a single sovereign federal state under the visionary leadership of Founding Father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Marked by vibrant displays of national pride, UNESCO-recognized Bedouin heritage arts, and grand ceremonial spectacles across Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Union Day represents the cornerstone of modern Emirati civic identity.
The genesis of the United Arab Emirates was forged not in an urban conference hall, but in a modest desert tent on 18 February 1968, at Argoub Al Sedirah, situated along the desert frontier between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Following British Prime Minister Harold Wilson's announcement that Great Britain would terminate its defense treaties east of Suez by the close of 1971, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi and Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum of Dubai concluded the historic Argoub Al Sedirah Accord, agreeing to merge foreign policy, defense, and public administration.
A widespread misconception is that all seven modern emirates unified on 2 December 1971, or that Dubai serves as the nation's political capital. In reality, Abu Dhabi is the permanent federal capital of the United Arab Emirates, hosting the presidency, federal supreme court, and government ministries. Furthermore, only six emirates—Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, and Fujairah—initially signed the union agreement on 2 December 1971 at Union House (Dar Al Etihad) in Jumeirah, Dubai. The northern emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, under Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, formally acceded more than two months later on 10 February 1972.
Under federal resolutions enacted by the UAE Cabinet and administered by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE), Eid Al Etihad provides two statutory paid holiday days: December 2 and December 3.
In modern practice, the National Day break is frequently coupled with Commemoration Day (celebrated on November 30 or December 1), producing an official holiday corridor spanning three to four consecutive days. Under the UAE's unified public and private sector holiday regulations, private companies are legally bound to grant the same paid leave days as federal government ministries. When official national holidays fall on existing weekend days (Saturday or Sunday), the federal government exercises flexible bridge decrees to grant compensatory days, ensuring workers enjoy uninterrupted holiday rest and family gatherings.
The official central celebration of Eid Al Etihad—attended by the President, the Vice President, Supreme Council Members, and foreign dignitaries—is an architectural and theatrical masterwork that rotates between major national venues:
Across homes, desert encampments, and city boulevards across the emirates, National Day celebrations showcase authentic Emirati heritage arts and traditional cuisine:
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UAE National Day is scheduled for December 2, 2026. The countdown timer at the top of the page updates the days remaining in real time.
On 2 December 1971, six rulers of the Trucial States gathered at Union House (Dar Al Etihad) in Jumeirah, Dubai, following the termination of British protectorate treaties east of Suez. Led by Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Dubai's Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, they formally signed the provisional Constitution of the UAE, establishing the sovereign federation and electing Sheikh Zayed as its founding President.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Ruler of Abu Dhabi and UAE Founding Father, spearheaded the unification drive alongside Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum of Dubai following Britain's 1968 announcement of its military withdrawal from the Persian Gulf. Sheikh Zayed utilized Abu Dhabi's oil wealth to fund federal infrastructure, established federal ministries, and championed environmental conservation and Bedouin social welfare, leading the nation until his passing in 2004.
Under UAE Cabinet directives, Eid Al Etihad (National Day) is gazetted as an official statutory paid holiday spanning two full days on December 2 and December 3 for both public and private sector employees. When these dates abut Commemoration Day (Martyrs' Day) or fall adjacent to weekends, MOHRE regularly issues ministerial decrees establishing extended four-day holiday weekends across the emirates.
Al Ayyala is an inscribed UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage performance embodying Bedouin valor, chivalry, and tribal unity. Two rows of 20 to 50 men stand face-to-face holding slender bamboo canes (kheizaran), waving their sticks in graceful synchronized arcs while leaning rhythmically to the cadence of heavy drums (al-ras) and chanting traditional Nabati poetry celebrating national honor and unity.
The official federal National Day celebration (branded as Eid Al Etihad) rotates annually between prestigious outdoor and arena venues in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Past ceremonies have been staged at Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), Dubai's Expo City (Jubilee Park), and historic mangrove nature reserves, featuring immersive kinetic staging, military flypasts, and symphony orchestras before the UAE Supreme Council.
Harees is prepared by slow-simmering coarse ground wheat kernels with prime cuts of lamb or chicken and sea salt in heavy copper pots over coals for five to eight hours, then beaten into a smooth savory porridge dressed with golden clarified butter (samn). Luqaimat are light, golden fried yeasted dough spheres infused with saffron and cardamom seeds, drizzled immediately before serving with rich dark date syrup (dibs) and toasted sesame seeds.
Under UAE Flag Protocol guidelines, the flag's colors represent pan-Arab unity inspired by poet Safi al-Din al-Hilli: red signifies the sacrifices of ancestral defenders; green represents fertile agriculture and growth; white symbolizes charitable peace and purity; and black represents historical strength and the defeat of adversaries. During National Day, flags are flown across Corniche Abu Dhabi and projected along the 828-meter facade of Burj Khalifa.
During Eid Al Etihad festivities, the elite Al Fursan aerobatic display team of the UAE Air Force sweeps low over the Arabian Gulf coastlines of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah, trailing synchronized red, green, white, and black smoke ribbons. Simultaneously, the UAE Armed Forces stage the live-action Union Fortress public demonstration, deploying amphibious naval landings, helicopter fast-roping, and tactical armored maneuvers showcasing national defense integration.