Public holidays in Bangladesh
7 days in 2026 · 7 in 2027
Back to BangladeshNext public holiday
Victory Day
বিজয় দিবস
After it: Christmas Day, Friday 25 December
Wednesday, 16 December 2026
Bangladesh keeps two kinds of public holiday, and only one of them can be printed a year ahead. Seven fall on fixed dates of the Gregorian calendar: Shaheed Day on 21 February, Independence Day on 26 March, Pohela Boishakh on 14 April, May Day, July Mass Uprising Day on 5 August, Victory Day on 16 December and Christmas. The rest follow lunar calendars, Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist, and their dates are published each year and marked, in Bangladesh Bank's words, subject to the appearance of the moon.
The lunar days are the longer ones. Bangladesh Bank's list for 2026 closes banks for five days at Eid-ul-Fitr, joined to Jumat-ul-Wida, the last Friday of Ramadan, and for six at Eid-ul-Azha. It adds a day each for Shab-e-Barat, Shab-e-Qadr, Ashura and Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi, a day for Janmashtami, two for Durga Puja and one for Buddha Purnima, which in 2026 falls on May Day.
The calendar is also a record of politics. Two days formerly kept, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's birthday on 17 March and National Mourning Day on 15 August, the anniversary of his assassination in 1975, appear in the Wikipedia list as former holidays, and 5 August, the day the government fell in 2024, is now a day off.
- Days off in 2026
- 7Nationwide public holidays
- On a weekday
- 6Monday to Friday
- On a weekend
- 1Saturday or Sunday
- Long weekends
- 2and 2 with one day of leave
2026
Public holidays in Bangladesh in 2026
- 21 February: International Mother Language Dayশহিদ দিবস ও আন্তর্জাতিক মাতৃভাষা দিবসShaheed Day, for the students killed by police in Dhaka on 21 February 1952 while demanding that Bengali be a state language. UNESCO made the date International Mother Language Day in 1999, and the national flag is flown at half-mast.Saturday
- 26 March: Independence and National Dayস্বাধীনতা ও জাতীয় দিবসIndependence and National Day, for the declaration of independence on 26 March 1971. The Flag Rules require the flag on public and private buildings and at missions abroad.Thursday
- 14 April: Bengali New Yearনববর্ষPohela Boishakh, the first day of the Bengali year; 14 April 2026 opens the year 1433. In the three hill districts of Rangamati, Khagrachari and Bandarban the day before, Chaitra Sankranti, is also a holiday.Tuesday
- 1 May: Labour Dayমে দিবসInternational Workers' Day. In 2026 Buddha Purnima, the Buddhist full-moon festival, falls on the same date.Friday
- 5 August: July Mass Uprising Dayজুলাই গণঅভ্যুত্থান দিবসJuly Mass Uprising Day, for 5 August 2024, when the prime minister resigned and left the country at the end of the student-led protests of July.Wednesday
- 16 December: Victory Dayবিজয় দিবসVictory Day, for the surrender of the Pakistani forces in the east on 16 December 1971. Like 26 March, a day the flag is flown on every building.Wednesday
- 25 December: Christmas Dayবড়দিনChristmas, Boro Din in Bengali, the great day. Christians exchange gifts and visits, and churches hold Bengali carols and a Christmas Eve feast.Friday
Long weekends
Long weekends in Bangladesh 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 26 Mar to Sun 29 MarWith Fri 27 Mar taken as leave · Independence and National Day
- 4daysSat 11 Apr to Tue 14 AprWith Mon 13 Apr taken as leave · Bengali New Year
- 3daysFri 1 May to Sun 3 MayLabour Day
- 3daysFri 25 Dec to Sun 27 DecChristmas Day
2027
Public holidays in Bangladesh in 2027
- 21 February: International Mother Language Dayশহিদ দিবস ও আন্তর্জাতিক মাতৃভাষা দিবসSunday
- 26 March: Independence and National Dayস্বাধীনতা ও জাতীয় দিবসFriday
- 14 April: Bengali New Yearনববর্ষWednesday
- 1 May: Labour Dayমে দিবসSaturday
- 5 August: July Mass Uprising Dayজুলাই গণঅভ্যুত্থান দিবসThursday
- 16 December: Victory Dayবিজয় দিবসThursday
- 25 December: Christmas Dayবড়দিনSaturday
The weekend in Bangladesh is Friday and Saturday. Bangladesh Bank's list states that banks and financial institutions close on every Friday and Saturday besides the listed days, so a holiday on a Friday or Saturday adds no day off to a Sunday to Thursday working week.
The Islamic holidays follow the lunar Hijri year, which drifts against the seasons, so their Gregorian dates move from year to year, and each depends on the moon being sighted. Bangladesh Bank marks every one of them in its 2026 list with an asterisk for that reason. Durga Puja, Janmashtami and Buddha Purnima are dated in the Bengali calendar by month and full moon, and move against the Gregorian year as well.
Wikipedia's list sorts the days into three tiers: general holidays for everyone, government holidays for public offices, and optional holidays that employees of each faith may take, from Saraswati Puja and Easter to Maghi Purnima and Baishabi, the new year of the peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Bangladesh Bank also closes on 1 July and 31 December, two bank holidays that do not apply to other employers.
Common questions
Questions about public holidays in Bangladesh
How many public holidays does Bangladesh have?
It depends on how the lunar days are counted. Seven national days fall on fixed Gregorian dates. Bangladesh Bank's 2026 list then adds the Eid holidays of five and six days, single days for Shab-e-Barat, Shab-e-Qadr, Ashura, Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi, Janmashtami and Buddha Purnima, and two days for Durga Puja, all dated by the moon. Optional days for each faith come on top.
When is Eid in Bangladesh in 2026?
Bangladesh Bank's holiday list for 2026 dates Eid-ul-Fitr with Jumat-ul-Wida to five days in March and Eid-ul-Azha to six days at the end of May, both subject to the appearance of the moon. The final dates are confirmed only when the moon is sighted, which is why the two Eids are set out in the list with an asterisk.
Why do Bangladeshis mark 21 February?
It commemorates the students killed by police in Dhaka on 21 February 1952 during the Language Movement, when East Bengal demanded Bengali as a state language of Pakistan. It is kept as Shaheed Day, the flag flies at half-mast, and since 1999 UNESCO has marked the same date worldwide as International Mother Language Day at Bangladesh's proposal.
What is the difference between 26 March and 16 December?
26 March is Independence Day, the anniversary of the declaration of independence in 1971, the day after the Pakistan Army began its crackdown in Dhaka. 16 December is Victory Day, when Pakistani forces in the east surrendered and the war ended. The Flag Rules require the flag on all public and private buildings on both days.
What does July Mass Uprising Day commemorate?
A public holiday on 5 August marking the day in 2024 when the prime minister resigned and left the country after weeks of student-led protests that began over civil service quotas. It is on Bangladesh Bank's holiday list for 2026, while two days associated with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, 17 March and 15 August, appear in the Wikipedia list as former holidays.
Is Pohela Boishakh always on 14 April?
In the holiday list it is fixed on 14 April, and the Wikipedia culture article gives the same date as the usual one. In 2026 the day opens the Bengali year 1433. The day before, Chaitra Sankranti, the last day of the old year, is a holiday only in the three hill districts of Rangamati, Khagrachari and Bandarban.
Do Hindu and Buddhist festivals have public holidays?
Yes. Bangladesh Bank's 2026 list gives two days for Durga Puja, Nabami and Bijoya Dashami, one for Janmashtami and one for Buddha Purnima, and Christmas is a fixed holiday. The optional list adds days such as Saraswati Puja, Holi, Maghi Purnima and Easter for employees of each faith.
Dates from Nager.Date, read 2026-09-30. The page counts from Thursday, 1 October 2026, the day it was built.