Public holidays in Cyprus
14 days in 2026 · 14 in 2027
Back to CyprusNext public holiday
Cyprus Independence Day
Επέτειος Κυπριακής Ανεξαρτησίας
After it: Ohi Day, Wednesday 28 October
Thursday, 1 October 2026
Cyprus has 14 public holidays. In 2026 twelve of them fall on a weekday, and in 2027 ten. Four move with Orthodox Easter rather than the Western date: Green Monday, Good Friday, Easter Monday and Kataklysmos, the Monday of Pentecost. Orthodox Easter Sunday is 12 April in 2026, a week after the Western Easter, and 2 May in 2027, five weeks after it.
Church feasts fill most of the list. Two days belong to the Republic's own history: 1 April, when EOKA opened its armed campaign against British rule in 1955, and 1 October, Independence Day. Two more are Greek national days, Greek Independence Day on 25 March and Ochi Day on 28 October. The calendar is that of the Republic of Cyprus; Northern Cyprus keeps a separate list.
A holiday that falls on a Saturday or Sunday is not moved to a weekday. In 2026 that takes the Dormition on 15 August and the second day of Christmas on 26 December, both Saturdays.
- Days off in 2026
- 14Nationwide public holidays
- On a weekday
- 12Monday to Friday
- On a weekend
- 2Saturday or Sunday
- Long weekends
- 5and 3 with one day of leave
2026
Public holidays in Cyprus in 2026
- 1 January: New Year's DayΠρωτοχρονιάNew Year's Day. Shops have to close by 18:00 on New Year's Eve.Thursday
- 6 January: EpiphanyΘεοφάνειαThe Theophany, which commemorates the baptism of Christ in the river Jordan.Tuesday
- 23 February: Green MondayΚαθαρή ΔευτέραGreen Monday, the Orthodox Shrove Monday. Its date follows Orthodox Easter: 23 February in 2026, 15 March in 2027.MondayDate moves
- 25 March: Greek Independence DayΕπέτειος Ελληνικής ΑνεξαρτησίαςGreek Independence Day, a Greek national day kept as a public holiday in Cyprus.Wednesday
- 1 April: Cyprus National DayΚυπριακή Εθνική ΕπέτειοςCyprus National Day. Half an hour after midnight on 1 April 1955, EOKA carried out 18 bomb attacks across the island, the start of its armed campaign against British rule.Wednesday
- 10 April: Good FridayΜεγάλη ΠαρασκευήGood Friday by the Orthodox reckoning. Shops have to close by 18:00.FridayDate moves
- 13 April: Easter MondayΔευτέρα της ΔιακαινησίμουEaster Monday, the day after Orthodox Easter Sunday.MondayDate moves
- 1 May: Labour DayΠρωτομαγιάLabour Day. In 2027 it lands on the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.Friday
- 1 June: Whit MondayΔευτέρα ΠεντηκοστήςKataklysmos, the Festival of the Flood, held on the Monday of Pentecost: 1 June in 2026 and 21 June in 2027.MondayDate moves
- 15 August: Assumption of the Virgin MaryΗ Κοίμησις της ΘεοτόκουThe Dormition of the Theotokos, the Orthodox feast of the Assumption. A Saturday in 2026 and a Sunday in 2027.Saturday
- 1 October: Cyprus Independence DayΕπέτειος Κυπριακής ΑνεξαρτησίαςIndependence from Britain took effect on 16 August 1960 under the Zürich and London agreements, but the holiday is kept on 1 October.Thursday
- 28 October: Ohi DayΤο ΌχιOchi Day, for Greece's refusal to yield to the Axis powers in 1940.Wednesday
- 25 December: Christmas DayΧριστούγενναChristmas Day. With the second day of Christmas after it, it forms the only pair of fixed public holidays on consecutive dates.Friday
- 26 December: St. Stephen's DayΔεύτερη μέρα των ΧριστουγέννωνThe second day of Christmas, also called St Stephen's Day after the first Christian martyr.Saturday
Long weekends
Long weekends in Cyprus 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 JanWith Fri 2 Jan taken as leave · New Year's Day
- 4daysSat 3 Jan to Tue 6 JanWith Mon 5 Jan taken as leave · Epiphany
- 3daysSat 21 Feb to Mon 23 FebGreen Monday
- 4daysFri 10 Apr to Mon 13 AprGood Friday, Easter Monday
- 3daysFri 1 May to Sun 3 MayLabour Day
- 3daysSat 30 May to Mon 1 JunWhit Monday
- 4daysThu 1 Oct to Sun 4 OctWith Fri 2 Oct taken as leave · Cyprus Independence Day
- 3daysFri 25 Dec to Sun 27 DecChristmas Day, St. Stephen's Day
2027
Public holidays in Cyprus in 2027
- 1 January: New Year's DayΠρωτοχρονιάFriday
- 6 January: EpiphanyΘεοφάνειαWednesday
- 15 March: Green MondayΚαθαρή ΔευτέραMondayDate moves
- 25 March: Greek Independence DayΕπέτειος Ελληνικής ΑνεξαρτησίαςThursday
- 1 April: Cyprus National DayΚυπριακή Εθνική ΕπέτειοςThursday
- 30 April: Good FridayΜεγάλη ΠαρασκευήFridayDate moves
- 1 May: Labour DayΠρωτομαγιάSaturday
- 3 May: Easter MondayΔευτέρα της ΔιακαινησίμουMondayDate moves
- 21 June: Whit MondayΔευτέρα ΠεντηκοστήςMondayDate moves
- 15 August: Assumption of the Virgin MaryΗ Κοίμησις της ΘεοτόκουSunday
- 1 October: Cyprus Independence DayΕπέτειος Κυπριακής ΑνεξαρτησίαςFriday
- 28 October: Ohi DayΤο ΌχιThursday
- 25 December: Christmas DayΧριστούγενναSaturday
- 26 December: St. Stephen's DayΔεύτερη μέρα των ΧριστουγέννωνSunday
Observances
Days marked in Cyprus that are not days off
- 14 April: Easter TuesdayΤρίτη της ΔιακαινησίμουEaster Tuesday. Banks close, but the day is not on the public holiday list.TuesdayDate moves
- 31 May: PentecostΑγίου ΠνεύματοςPentecost Sunday, seven weeks after Orthodox Easter. It is always a Sunday; the day off is the Monday after.SundayDate moves
- 24 December: Christmas EveΠαραμονή ΧριστουγέννωνChristmas Eve. The official Visit Cyprus guide lists it as a public holiday, yet banks stay open and shops trade until 18:00; the Central Bank's list and commercial calendars leave it out.Thursday
Pentecost Sunday always falls on a Sunday, so it never shortens a working week. The day off is Kataklysmos on the Monday after, the only Pentecost date the Central Bank's list names.
Christmas Eve is where the published lists part company. The official Visit Cyprus guide counts it as a public holiday on which banks stay open, the Central Bank's 2026 list of bank holidays leaves it out, and so does at least one commercial calendar. Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday appear on some lists too; both fall on a weekend by definition, and during Holy Week the main archaeological sites and museums close only on the Sunday.
Shops may stay open late in the run-up to Christmas and Easter, but have to close by 18:00 on Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and Good Friday. In resorts and along the coast many shops and some services open on public holidays.
Common questions
Questions about public holidays in Cyprus
How many public holidays does Cyprus have in 2026?
Fourteen. Twelve fall between Monday and Friday; the Dormition on 15 August and the second day of Christmas on 26 December both land on a Saturday and are not replaced. Four of the fourteen move with Orthodox Easter each year. Easter Tuesday closes the banks without being a public holiday, while on Christmas Eve, which the tourism guide lists as a holiday, the banks stay open.
When is Easter in Cyprus in 2026 and 2027?
Cyprus keeps Easter on the Orthodox date. In 2026 Good Friday is 10 April, Easter Sunday 12 April and Easter Monday 13 April, a week after the Western Easter of 5 April. In 2027 the gap is five weeks: Western Easter falls on 28 March, and the Orthodox holiday runs from Good Friday 30 April to Easter Monday 3 May, with Labour Day swallowed by the Saturday in between. Banks also close on Easter Tuesday, 14 April 2026 and 4 May 2027.
What is Kataklysmos?
The Festival of the Flood, the public holiday on the Monday of Pentecost. It follows Orthodox Easter, so it moves by weeks from year to year: Monday 1 June in 2026 and Monday 21 June in 2027. Both years it closes a three-day weekend.
What does 1 April commemorate in Cyprus?
The start of the EOKA campaign against British rule. At half past midnight on 1 April 1955 the organisation carried out 18 bomb attacks in different parts of the island, among them attacks in Nicosia and one that brought down the transmitter of the Cyprus Broadcasting Station. The anniversary is Cyprus National Day, a public holiday, and it falls exactly a week after Greek Independence Day on 25 March.
Does Cyprus keep Greek national holidays?
Two of them. Greek Independence Day on 25 March and Ochi Day on 28 October, which marks Greece's refusal to yield to the Axis powers in 1940, are both public holidays with a day off in Cyprus. In 2026 each falls on a Wednesday, and in 2027 on a Thursday.
Are banks open on Christmas Eve and Easter Tuesday in Cyprus?
The two days work the other way round. Easter Tuesday is a bank holiday that is not a public holiday, so banks close while most of the economy works. Christmas Eve is counted as a public holiday in the official tourism guide, yet banks open as usual and the Central Bank leaves it off its list.
What happens when a public holiday in Cyprus falls on a weekend?
Nothing: the day is not moved, and no Monday is given in its place. In 2026 the Dormition on 15 August and the second day of Christmas on 26 December fall on Saturdays. In 2027 more are lost to the weekend: Labour Day on Saturday 1 May, the Dormition on Sunday 15 August, and Christmas Day and the second day of Christmas on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 December.
What are the long weekends in Cyprus in 2026?
Five need no leave at all. Green Monday makes three days from Saturday 21 February, Orthodox Easter gives four from Good Friday 10 April to Easter Monday 13 April, Labour Day on Friday 1 May starts a three-day weekend, Kataklysmos adds Monday 1 June to the weekend before it, and Christmas Day on a Friday runs into the weekend to Sunday 27 December. A single day of leave on Friday 2 October turns Independence Day into four days.
Are shops open on public holidays in Cyprus?
Mostly not. Public services, private businesses, banks and shops close on public holidays, but in the resorts and coastal areas many shops and some services stay open. Three days carry an earlier closing time instead: shops have to shut by 18:00 on Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and Good Friday. During Holy Week the main archaeological sites and museums close only on Easter Sunday.
Dates from Nager.Date, read 2026-09-26. The page counts from Monday, 28 September 2026, the day it was built.