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Public holidays in Eswatini

13 days in 2026 · 10 in 2027

Back to EswatiniSouthern Africa

Next public holiday

Christmas Day

After it: St. Stephen's Day, Saturday 26 December

Friday, 25 December 2026

Eswatini's calendar has two kinds of public holiday. Most fall on fixed dates or follow Easter: New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, the King's Birthday on 19 April, National Flag Day on 25 April, Workers' Day, Ascension Day, Independence Day on 6 September, Christmas and Boxing Day. The others follow the royal ceremonies, and their dates are announced each year by the Ministry of Home Affairs once the palace has set them: Incwala Day, Lutsango Day and Umhlanga Day.

That is why the year on this page fills in as it goes. For 2026 the ministry declared Tuesday 6 January for the Incwala, Monday 16 March for Lutsango Day and Monday 31 August for the Umhlanga reed dance, and moved the King's Birthday from Sunday 19 April to Friday 24 April, the day before National Flag Day. For 2027 only the fixed and Easter dates are known as of October 2026, and the ceremony days will be added when they are announced.

Days off in 2026
13Nationwide public holidays
On a weekday
11Monday to Friday
On a weekend
2Saturday or Sunday
Long weekends
7and 3 with one day of leave

2026

Public holidays in Eswatini in 2026

  1. 1 January: New Year's DayThe first day of the year, a Thursday in 2026 and a Friday in 2027.Thursday
  2. 6 January: Incwala DayThe main day of the Incwala, the kingship ceremony held around the summer solstice, whose dates the palace sets close to the time from ancestral astrology. The Minister of Home Affairs declared Tuesday 6 January 2026 a public holiday for it.TuesdayDate moves
  3. 16 March: Lutsango DayA day off after the Buganu ceremony at the Hlane royal residence, honouring the Lutsango regiment's part in it. Office Holidays dates its creation to February 2025, as the replacement for the old holiday on 22 July. In 2026 it fell on Monday 16 March.MondayDate moves
  4. 3 April: Good FridayThe Friday before Easter: 3 April in 2026 and 26 March in 2027.FridayDate moves
  5. 6 April: Easter MondayThe Monday after Easter, 6 April in 2026 and 29 March in 2027, closing a four-day weekend.MondayDate moves
  6. 24 April: King's BirthdayThe birthday of the reigning King, 19 April. In 2026 the date fell on a Sunday and the holiday was moved to Friday 24 April, when the 58th birthday and forty years on the throne were marked together; Monday 20 April was a working day. In 2027 it falls on a Monday.FridayDate moves
  7. 25 April: National Flag Day25 April. The flag was first hoisted on that date in 1967, in place of the Union Flag. The holiday stayed on Saturday 25 April in 2026; in 2027 the date is a Sunday and the holiday is kept on Monday 26 April.SaturdayDate moves
  8. 1 May: Workers' Day1 May, a Friday in 2026 and a Saturday in 2027.Friday
  9. 14 May: Ascension DayAlways a Thursday, forty days after Easter: 14 May in 2026 and 6 May in 2027.ThursdayDate moves
  10. 31 August: Umhlanga (Reed Dance) DayUmhlanga DayThe main day of the Umhlanga reed dance, when the King attends and the girls' regiments dance at Ludzidzini. Its date is confirmed only weeks ahead; in 2026 it was Monday 31 August.MondayDate moves
  11. 7 September: Independence DaySomhlolo Day, 6 September, the anniversary of independence in 1968, named after Sobhuza I, known as Somhlolo. In 2026 the date is a Sunday and the day off falls on Monday 7 September; in 2027 it is a Monday.MondayDate moves
  12. 25 December: Christmas Day25 December, a Friday in 2026 and a Saturday in 2027.Friday
  13. 26 December: St. Stephen's DayBoxing DayThe day after Christmas, a Saturday in 2026 and a Sunday in 2027.Saturday

Long weekends

Long weekends in Eswatini 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 · Incwala Day
  • 3daysSat 14 Mar to Mon 16 MarLutsango Day
  • 4daysFri 3 Apr to Mon 6 AprGood Friday, Easter Monday
  • 3daysFri 24 Apr to Sun 26 AprKing's Birthday, National Flag Day
  • 3daysFri 1 May to Sun 3 MayWorkers' Day
  • 4daysThu 14 May to Sun 17 MayWith Fri 15 May taken as leave · Ascension Day
  • 3daysSat 29 Aug to Mon 31 AugUmhlanga (Reed Dance) Day
  • 3daysSat 5 Sept to Mon 7 SeptIndependence Day
  • 3daysFri 25 Dec to Sun 27 DecChristmas Day, St. Stephen's Day

2027

Public holidays in Eswatini in 2027

  1. 1 January: New Year's DayFriday
  2. 26 March: Good FridayFridayDate moves
  3. 29 March: Easter MondayMondayDate moves
  4. 19 April: King's BirthdayMondayDate moves
  5. 26 April: National Flag DayMondayDate moves
  6. 1 May: Workers' DaySaturday
  7. 6 May: Ascension DayThursdayDate moves
  8. 6 September: Independence DayMondayDate moves
  9. 25 December: Christmas DaySaturday
  10. 26 December: St. Stephen's DayBoxing DaySunday

The ceremony days are the part of the calendar no provider can forecast. Qppstudio lists Sunday 27 and Monday 28 December 2026 for the next Incwala and Monday 1 March 2027 for Lutsango Day, both marked to be confirmed, and Monday 30 August 2027 for the Umhlanga, also unconfirmed. None of these is on the calendar here until the Ministry of Home Affairs announces it.

A holiday that falls on a Sunday may be kept on the following Monday, as Wikipedia's list notes from the Government Gazette, and the 2026 calendar shows both that rule and an exception to it: Independence Day moved to Monday 7 September, while the King's Birthday went back to the Friday. Business Eswatini, in its notice on the April 2026 holidays, reminded employers that work on the two consecutive holidays of Friday 24 and Saturday 25 April attracted holiday pay under the sectoral wage orders.

Older lists carry days that are no longer kept. The Encyclopedia of the Nations lists Commonwealth Day, the birthday of King Sobhuza II on 22 July and United Nations Day on 24 October; Office Holidays records that Lutsango Day replaced 22 July from 2025.

Common questions

Questions about public holidays in Eswatini

When is the Incwala public holiday in Eswatini?

It changes every year, because the Incwala follows the moon around the summer solstice and the palace fixes the dates close to the time. The Ministry of Home Affairs declared Tuesday 6 January 2026 the Incwala public holiday. For the ceremony at the turn of 2026 and 2027, qppstudio lists 27 and 28 December 2026 as tentative, and no announcement is on file yet.

Why was the King's Birthday holiday on 24 April in 2026?

Because 19 April 2026 fell on a Sunday. The Ministry of Home Affairs moved the holiday to Friday 24 April instead of the following Monday, and held the national celebrations of the King's 58th birthday and of forty years on the throne that day. With National Flag Day on Saturday 25 April, the two made consecutive paid holidays.

What is Lutsango Day?

A public holiday after the Buganu ceremony, held at the Hlane royal residence, to recognise the Lutsango regiment for its part in it. Office Holidays records that it was announced in February 2025 and replaced the old holiday on 22 July. The Minister of Home Affairs declared Monday 16 March 2026 as the day; the 2027 date has not been announced.

Is the Umhlanga reed dance a public holiday?

Its main day is. The government declared Monday 31 August 2026 a public holiday for the Umhlanga, the day the King attends and the girls dance at Ludzidzini near Lobamba. The Eswatini Tourism Authority notes that the dates are confirmed only a few weeks beforehand, so the 2027 holiday will be added once it is announced.

Why is Independence Day called Somhlolo Day?

It is named after Sobhuza I, the king known as Somhlolo, who reigned from 1815 and, in the words of Wikipedia's list of holidays, built a kingdom comparable to those of the Zulu and the Pedi. The holiday marks independence from Britain on 6 September 1968. In 2026 the date falls on a Sunday and the day off moves to Monday 7 September.

What happens when a holiday falls on a Sunday in Eswatini?

It may be kept on the Monday after, as Wikipedia's list of holidays notes from the Government Gazette: in 2026 Independence Day moves from Sunday 6 September to Monday 7 September, and in 2027 National Flag Day moves to Monday 26 April. The ministry can also choose another day, as it did in 2026 when the King's Birthday went to the Friday before, and National Flag Day, on a Saturday that year, stayed where it was.

Dates from Nager.Date, read 2026-10-03. The page counts from Saturday, 3 October 2026, the day it was built.