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Public holidays in Armenia

13 days in 2026 · 13 in 2027

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Next public holiday

New Year's Eve

Ամանոր

After it: New Year's Day, Friday 1 January

Thursday, 31 December 2026

Armenian law makes 13 days non-working, and the calendar clusters them at the turn of the year: 31 December, 1 and 2 January form one New Year break, and Christmas follows on 6 January, the date the Armenian Apostolic Church keeps, together with Epiphany. Most of the others date from the modern state: the army formed in 1992, the Democratic Republic of 1918, the constitution of 1995 and independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Three dates of mourning are handled differently. 27 January, the eve of Army Day, remembers those who fell defending the homeland, and Genocide Remembrance Day on 24 April, for the victims of 1915, is also a day off. The anniversary of the 1988 earthquake on 7 December is marked and worked.

The law on holidays and memorial days lets the government swap working and non-working days. It uses the power most often at Easter, declaring Easter Monday a day off and turning the following Saturday into a working day.

Days off in 2026
13Nationwide public holidays
On a weekday
10Monday to Friday
On a weekend
3Saturday or Sunday
Long weekends
4and 3 with one day of leave

2026

Public holidays in Armenia in 2026

  1. 1 January: New Year's DayԱմանորNew Year, the one holiday that takes three days off: 31 December, 1 January and 2 January.Thursday
  2. 2 January: New Year's DayԱմանորNew Year, the one holiday that takes three days off: 31 December, 1 January and 2 January.Friday
  3. 6 January: Christmas DayՍուրբ ԾնունդChristmas and Epiphany, kept together on 6 January by the calendar of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The eve, 5 January, is marked but worked.Tuesday
  4. 27 January: Remembrance Day for Fallen DefendersՀայրենիքի պաշտպանության համար զոհվածների հիշատակի օրMemorial Day for those who fell in defence of the homeland, a day off on 27 January, the day before Army Day.Tuesday
  5. 28 January: Army DayԲանակի օրArmy Day. The Armenian Army was formed on 28 January 1992.Wednesday
  6. 8 March: Women's DayԿանանց տոնInternational Women's Day. Mothers have a separate day, Motherhood and Beauty Day on 7 April, which is not a day off.Sunday
  7. 24 April: Armenian Genocide Remembrance DayԵղեռնի զոհերի հիշատակի օրRemembrance of the victims of the Armenian Genocide of 1915.Friday
  8. 1 May: Labour DayԱշխատանքի օրLabour Day, International Workers' Day on 1 May.Friday
  9. 9 May: Victory and Peace DayՀաղթանակի և Խաղաղության տոնVictory in the Second World War, a holiday across the Soviet Union and kept after it. The day also marks the capture of Shushi by Armenian forces on 8 May 1992, during the Nagorno-Karabakh war.Saturday
  10. 28 May: Republic DayՀանրապետության օրThe founding of the Democratic Republic of Armenia in 1918.Thursday
  11. 5 July: Constitution DayՍահմանադրության օրThe constitution adopted in 1995. The Day of State Symbols is marked on the same date.Sunday
  12. 21 September: Independence DayԱնկախության օրIndependence from the Soviet Union in 1991.Monday
  13. 31 December: New Year's EveԱմանորNew Year, the one holiday that takes three days off: 31 December, 1 January and 2 January.Thursday

Long weekends

Long weekends in Armenia in 2026

Runs of three days or more off, with weekends counted, and the working days that join a holiday to a weekend when taken as leave.

  • 4daysThu 1 Jan to Sun 4 JanNew Year's Day, New Year's Day
  • 6daysThu 1 Jan to Tue 6 JanWith Mon 5 Jan taken as leave · New Year's Day, New Year's Day, Christmas Day
  • 5daysSat 24 Jan to Wed 28 JanWith Mon 26 Jan taken as leave · Remembrance Day for Fallen Defenders, Army Day
  • 3daysFri 24 Apr to Sun 26 AprArmenian Genocide Remembrance Day
  • 3daysFri 1 May to Sun 3 MayLabour Day
  • 4daysThu 28 May to Sun 31 MayWith Fri 29 May taken as leave · Republic Day
  • 3daysSat 19 Sept to Mon 21 SeptIndependence Day

2027

Public holidays in Armenia in 2027

  1. 1 January: New Year's DayԱմանորFriday
  2. 2 January: New Year's DayԱմանորSaturday
  3. 6 January: Christmas DayՍուրբ ԾնունդWednesday
  4. 27 January: Remembrance Day for Fallen DefendersՀայրենիքի պաշտպանության համար զոհվածների հիշատակի օրWednesday
  5. 28 January: Army DayԲանակի օրThursday
  6. 8 March: Women's DayԿանանց տոնMonday
  7. 24 April: Armenian Genocide Remembrance DayԵղեռնի զոհերի հիշատակի օրSaturday
  8. 1 May: Labour DayԱշխատանքի օրSaturday
  9. 9 May: Victory and Peace DayՀաղթանակի և Խաղաղության տոնSunday
  10. 28 May: Republic DayՀանրապետության օրFriday
  11. 5 July: Constitution DayՍահմանադրության օրMonday
  12. 21 September: Independence DayԱնկախության օրTuesday
  13. 31 December: New Year's EveԱմանորFriday

Observances

Days marked in Armenia that are not days off

  1. 5 January: Christmas EveՍուրբ ԾնունդChristmas and Epiphany, kept together on 6 January by the calendar of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The eve, 5 January, is marked but worked.Monday
  2. 5 April: Easter SundayԶատիկEaster, the feast of the Resurrection, marked on a Sunday but not among the non-working days. The government often makes the Monday after it a day off by swapping it with a Saturday.SundayDate moves

Yerevan Day falls on the second Saturday of October, under article 18 of the law on holidays and memorial days and a government decree of 23 June 2005. The capital shares the date with Translators' Day (Թարգմանչաց տոն), kept for the Holy Translators. In 2026 both fall on 10 October, and neither is a day off.

The law also names holidays that are marked but worked: Mother Language Day on 21 February, Motherhood and Beauty Day on 7 April, Family Day on 15 May, Knowledge and School Day on 1 September and Teachers' Day on 5 October among them. The memorial days for the repressed on 14 June and for the earthquake on 7 December are working days as well.

Vardavar, 14 weeks after Easter, is not on the legal list but is widely kept: people soak one another with hoses, buckets and water pistols. Its name joins vard, rose, and var, burn, from the offerings of roses once made to the goddess Astłik. The festival falls on 12 July in 2026 and on 4 July in 2027.

Common questions

Questions about public holidays in Armenia

How many public holidays does Armenia have?

The law makes 13 days non-working, New Year's Eve and the first two days of January among them, and lists about twenty more holidays that are marked but worked. Several non-working days fall on a weekend in 2026: Women's Day on Sunday 8 March, Victory and Peace Day on Saturday 9 May and Constitution Day on Sunday 5 July.

When do Armenians celebrate Christmas?

On 6 January, not 25 December. Armenia keeps Christmas following the calendar of the Armenian Apostolic Church and celebrates Epiphany on the same day. 25 December is not among the non-working days. The day after, 7 January, is a memorial day for the dead and a working day. In 2027 Christmas falls on Wednesday 6 January.

Why is 24 April a day off in Armenia?

It is Genocide Remembrance Day, for the victims of the Armenian Genocide of 1915, and one of the non-working days the law names. A second, related date, 9 December, the day for condemning and preventing genocides, is marked without a day off. In 2026 the 24th fell on a Friday, giving a three-day weekend; in 2027 it is a Saturday.

What is the difference between 8 May and 9 May in Armenia?

Only 9 May is a day off. Victory and Peace Day joins the Soviet victory in the Second World War to the capture of Shushi by Armenian forces on 8 May 1992. The day before, 8 May, is Yerkrapah Day, for the Yerkrapah veterans who defended the country, and it is marked but worked.

Does Easter bring a day off in Armenia?

Easter Sunday fell on 5 April in 2026 and falls on 28 March in 2027. Easter Monday is not on the legal list, but the government can swap working and non-working days and usually does so at Easter, making the Monday a day off and the following Saturday a working day. Holy Etchmiadzin, 64 days after Easter, is marked but worked.

Which day in Armenia honours mothers?

Motherhood and Beauty Day on 7 April, set apart from Women's Day on 8 March: 8 March is for all women, 7 April is for mothers, who by custom receive presents and flowers. The date is the Feast of the Annunciation in the Armenian Apostolic Church. Unlike 8 March it is not a day off.

What are the long weekends in Armenia in 2026?

Memorial Day on Tuesday 27 January and Army Day on Wednesday 28 January came as a pair, and one day of leave on Monday 26 January made five days from the Saturday. Genocide Remembrance Day on Friday 24 April and Labour Day on Friday 1 May each made three-day weekends, one week apart, and Independence Day on Monday 21 September did the same in autumn. Victory and Peace Day, on Saturday 9 May, added nothing to the working week. Republic Day on Thursday 28 May needed one day of leave, Friday 29 May, to make four.

How is New Year kept in Armenia in 2026 and 2027?

New Year's Eve on Thursday 31 December 2026 opens the break, and Friday 1 January and Saturday 2 January 2027 follow, so with the Sunday the run lasts four days. The season officially stretches to Christmas and Epiphany on 6 January.

Dates from Nager.Date, read 2026-09-26. The page counts from Monday, 28 September 2026, the day it was built.