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Public holidays in Ethiopia

12 days in 2026 · 12 in 2027

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Next public holiday

Christmas Day (Orthodox)

ልደተ-ለእግዚእነ/ ገና

After it: Timkat (Epiphany), Tuesday 19 January

Thursday, 7 January 2027

Ethiopia has twelve public holidays a year off work in both 2026 and 2027, and a thirteenth, Easter Sunday, that always lands on a Sunday. Three ways of keeping time decide them. The civic days and most Christian feasts are fixed on the Ethiopian calendar, so they return on the same Gregorian date, a day later around a leap year; Good Friday and Easter follow the Orthodox Church's own reckoning of Easter; and Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and Mawlid follow the lunar Hijri calendar, arriving about eleven days earlier each year.

Christian and Muslim feasts sit side by side as full national holidays. The year itself begins in September: Enkutatash, the Ethiopian New Year, fell on Friday 11 September 2026 and moves to Sunday 12 September in 2027, when Meskel follows on 28 September instead of the 27th.

Days off in 2026
12Not counting Easter Sunday, always a Sunday
On a weekday
11Monday to Friday
On a weekend
1Saturday or Sunday
Long weekends
6and 3 with one day of leave

2026

Public holidays in Ethiopia in 2026

  1. 7 January: Christmas Day (Orthodox)ልደተ-ለእግዚእነ/ ገናGenna, the Ethiopian Christmas, on 7 January. It closes a 43-day Advent fast and is kept more with night-long church services than with gifts.Wednesday
  2. 19 January: Timkat (Epiphany)ጥምቀትTimkat, the Epiphany, marks the baptism of Christ in the Jordan on 11 Tir of the Ethiopian calendar, 19 January or the 20th in some years. Replicas of the tablets of the Ark are carried in procession to water, and the feast joined UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2019.Monday
  3. 2 March: Adwa Victory Dayየዓድዋ ድል በዓልAdwa Victory Day, 2 March, commemorates the defeat of the invading Italian army at the Battle of Adwa in 1896, a victory that made the country a symbol for anti-colonial movements.Monday
  4. 20 March: Eid al-Fitrኢድ አልፈጥርEid al-Fitr ends the fast of Ramadan on 1 Shawwal of the Hijri calendar. It is observed with communal prayer in open grounds and stadiums, family visits and shared meals.FridayDate moves
  5. 10 April: Good FridayስቅለትSiklet, Good Friday, falls two days before Fasika, on a date set by the Orthodox Church's calculation of Easter.FridayDate moves
  6. 1 May: International Workers' Dayዓለም አቀፍ የሠራተኞች ቀንInternational Workers' Day on 1 May. In 2027 it falls on a Saturday, the day after Good Friday.Friday
  7. 5 May: Ethiopian Patriots' Victory Dayየአርበኞች ቀንPatriots' Victory Day, 5 May, honours the resistance fighters of the Italian occupation of 1936 to 1941 on the date Haile Selassie entered Addis Ababa in 1941 and returned to the throne.Tuesday
  8. 27 May: Eid al-Adha (Arefa)አረፋEid al-Adha, called Arefa in Ethiopia, falls on 10 Dhu al-Hijjah and commemorates Ibrahim's sacrifice during the days of the Hajj.WednesdayDate moves
  9. 28 May: Downfall of the Dergደርግ የወደቀበት ቀንGinbot 20, 28 May, marks the fall of the Derg military regime in 1991.Thursday
  10. 25 August: MawlidመውሊድMawlid marks the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, on 12 Rabi' al-awwal for Sunni Muslims.TuesdayDate moves
  11. 11 September: Enkutatashእንቁጣጣሽ/የዘመን መለወጫ/አዲስ አመትEnkutatash, the New Year on 1 Meskerem, falls on 11 September, or on 12 September in the year before a Gregorian leap year. The Amharic name means gift of jewels. It comes at the end of the long rains, and the yellow adey abeba daisies that cover the hills in September are its emblem.FridayDate moves
  12. 27 September: Meskel (Orthodox)መስቀልMeskel, on 17 Meskerem, commemorates the finding of the True Cross by the Empress Helena in the fourth century. A great bonfire, the Demera, is lit on the eve, and UNESCO inscribed the celebration as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013.SundayDate moves

Long weekends

Long weekends in Ethiopia 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.

  • 3daysSat 17 Jan to Mon 19 JanTimkat (Epiphany)
  • 3daysSat 28 Feb to Mon 2 MarAdwa Victory Day
  • 3daysFri 20 Mar to Sun 22 MarEid al-Fitr
  • 3daysFri 10 Apr to Sun 12 AprGood Friday
  • 3daysFri 1 May to Sun 3 MayInternational Workers' Day
  • 5daysFri 1 May to Tue 5 MayWith Mon 4 May taken as leave · International Workers' Day, Ethiopian Patriots' Victory Day
  • 5daysWed 27 May to Sun 31 MayWith Fri 29 May taken as leave · Eid al-Adha (Arefa), Downfall of the Derg
  • 4daysSat 22 Aug to Tue 25 AugWith Mon 24 Aug taken as leave · Mawlid
  • 3daysFri 11 Sept to Sun 13 SeptEnkutatash

2027

Public holidays in Ethiopia in 2027

  1. 7 January: Christmas Day (Orthodox)ልደተ-ለእግዚእነ/ ገናThursday
  2. 19 January: Timkat (Epiphany)ጥምቀትTuesday
  3. 2 March: Adwa Victory Dayየዓድዋ ድል በዓልTuesday
  4. 10 March: Eid al-Fitrኢድ አልፈጥርWednesdayDate moves
  5. 30 April: Good FridayስቅለትFridayDate moves
  6. 1 May: International Workers' Dayዓለም አቀፍ የሠራተኞች ቀንSaturday
  7. 5 May: Ethiopian Patriots' Victory Dayየአርበኞች ቀንWednesday
  8. 17 May: Eid al-Adha (Arefa)አረፋMondayDate moves
  9. 28 May: Downfall of the Dergደርግ የወደቀበት ቀንFriday
  10. 15 August: MawlidመውሊድSundayDate moves
  11. 12 September: Enkutatashእንቁጣጣሽ/የዘመን መለወጫ/አዲስ አመትSundayDate moves
  12. 28 September: Meskel (Orthodox)መስቀልTuesdayDate moves

The three Muslim holidays are fixed to the Hijri calendar and confirmed by the sighting of the moon, so their civil dates are announced shortly beforehand and can move by a day from any printed list. The dates on file for 2027, Wednesday 10 March for Eid al-Fitr, Monday 17 May for Eid al-Adha and Sunday 15 August for Mawlid, are the expected ones and carry that margin.

Sources disagree about Ginbot 20. Wikipedia and the Ethiopian holiday calendar time.et both still list 28 May as a public holiday for 2026 and 2027, while timeanddate shows it as a public holiday only up to 2024 and gives no reason for dropping it. The day is kept in this calendar.

Several days fall on a weekend in 2027: Labour Day on Saturday 1 May, Mawlid on Sunday 15 August and Enkutatash on Sunday 12 September. Good Friday on 30 April and Labour Day the next day run straight into Easter Sunday, a three-day break.

Common questions

Questions about public holidays in Ethiopia

How many public holidays does Ethiopia have?

Twelve days off work in 2026 and twelve in 2027, with Easter Sunday listed as a thirteenth holiday that always falls on a Sunday. Five are civic: Adwa Victory Day, Labour Day, Patriots' Victory Day, Ginbot 20 and Enkutatash. Four more are Orthodox Christian feasts, Genna, Timkat, Good Friday and Meskel, and three are Muslim: Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and Mawlid.

Why do Ethiopians celebrate Christmas on 7 January?

Genna is fixed on the Ethiopian calendar, on 29 Tahsas, and in 2026 and 2027 that date lands on 7 January, a Wednesday and then a Thursday. In 2028 it falls on 8 January. The feast ends a 43-day Advent fast and is marked with church services that last through the night.

When is Ethiopian New Year in 2027?

On Sunday 12 September 2027. Enkutatash, the first day of Meskerem, usually falls on 11 September, as it did on a Friday in 2026, but moves to the 12th in the year before a Gregorian leap year, and 2028 is one. Meskel, on the seventeenth day of the new year, moves with it, from 27 September in 2026 to 28 September in 2027. The new year opens year 2020 of the Ethiopian calendar. The holiday comes at the end of the long rainy season, when children go from door to door singing new-year songs and handing out paintings and flowers for small gifts.

Do the Muslim feasts bring a day off in Ethiopia?

Yes. Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, known locally as Arefa, and Mawlid are all national days off, kept alongside the Christian feasts. In 2026 they fell on Friday 20 March, Wednesday 27 May and Tuesday 25 August. For 2027 the expected dates are Wednesday 10 March, Monday 17 May and Sunday 15 August, each subject to the sighting of the moon and able to shift by a day.

What date does Fasika fall on in 2027?

Fasika falls on Sunday 2 May 2027, with Good Friday, Siklet, on 30 April. The Orthodox Church still calculates Easter by the older Alexandrian rules, so Fasika usually comes later than Easter in Western churches. In 2026 it fell on 12 April. It ends the Great Lent of 55 days, and families break the fast in the early hours of Easter morning after a night of vigil.

What does Adwa Victory Day commemorate?

The Battle of Adwa in 1896, when the army of Menelik II defeated an invading Italian force and kept Ethiopia independent through the colonial partition of Africa. The day falls on 23 Yekatit, which is 2 March: a Monday in 2026, a Tuesday in 2027.

Dates from Nager.Date, read 2026-09-30. The page counts from Wednesday, 30 September 2026, the day it was built.