Eid Al-Adha 2026 date: Is Bakrid on May 27 or 28? Here’s what changed after the moon wasn’t sighted

If you’ve been confused about whether Bakrid 2026 is falling on May 27 or May 28, you’re definitely not alone. The date confusion has been all over social media, WhatsApp groups and even official holiday calendars this week.


So, here’s the simple answer:
For most parts of India, Eid Al-Adha or Bakrid will now be celebrated on Thursday, May 28, 2026. However, some regions like Jammu and Kashmir are expected to observe the festival a day earlier on May 27 due to local moon sighting traditions.

So what exactly changed?

Like every Islamic festival, Eid Al-Adha depends on the sighting of the crescent moon. This year, religious authorities across several parts of India confirmed that the Dhul-Hijjah moon was not sighted on the expected evening. Because of that, the Islamic month shifted by a day, automatically pushing Bakrid celebrations to May 28 in most states.


That one moon sighting update ended up creating a domino effect across the country.


Several state governments had originally listed May 27 as the Bakrid holiday. But once the revised moon sighting announcements came in, many authorities quickly updated their notifications and moved the holiday to May 28 instead.

Which states changed the holiday date?

States including Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal revised their Bakrid holiday schedules after the updated moon sighting confirmation.

Even the Central Government revised its official holiday notification for offices in Delhi and New Delhi, shifting the Eid holiday from May 27 to May 28.


Meanwhile, Kerala has announced holidays around the revised observance dates, and multiple exams and institutional schedules have also been reshuffled because of the change.

Why is Jammu and Kashmir celebrating on May 27?

Jammu and Kashmir is expected to celebrate Bakrid on May 27 because some local religious authorities follow separate regional moon sighting announcements. This kind of variation is actually pretty common during Islamic festivals, especially when moon visibility differs across regions.

What about banks and stock markets?

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has already listed May 28 as a market holiday for Eid Al-Adha, meaning trading will remain closed that day.


At the end of the day, moon sighting confusion before Eid is almost a yearly tradition at this point. But for most people across India, Bakrid 2026 celebrations are now officially expected to happen on May 28.