Public holidays in Malta
14 days in 2026 · 14 in 2027
Back to MaltaNext public holiday
Feast of the Immaculate Conception
L-Immakulata Kunċizzjoni
After it: Republic Day, Sunday 13 December
Tuesday, 8 December 2026
Malta has 14 public holidays in 2026 and the same 14 in 2027, each one a paid day off. Nine are public holidays in the narrower sense, most of them Catholic feasts such as St Paul's Shipwreck and the Assumption. The other five are national holidays, and each marks a date in the islands' own history, from the lifting of the Great Siege on 8 September 1565 to the expiry of the British defence agreement on 31 March 1979.
The two lists come from the National Holidays and Other Public Holidays Act, Chapter 252 of the Laws of Malta, passed in 1975. Its Article 3 makes every national holiday a public holiday as well and adds one duty: on those five days the national flag is flown on public buildings. For an employee the difference goes no further; all fourteen are paid.
Easter Monday is not on either list, so Easter brings a three-day weekend rather than four days. A holiday that falls on a Saturday or a Sunday is not moved to a weekday. Since 2021 it has been added to the worker's annual leave instead.
- Days off in 2026
- 14Nationwide public holidays
- On a weekday
- 11Monday to Friday
- On a weekend
- 3Saturday or Sunday
- Long weekends
- 5and 6 with one day of leave
2026
Public holidays in Malta in 2026
- 1 January: New Year's DayL-Ewwel tas-SenaNew Year's Day, the first of the nine days the Act lists as public holidays rather than national ones.Thursday
- 10 February: Feast of St. Paul's ShipwreckIn-Nawfraġju ta’ San PawlThe Acts of the Apostles place Paul's shipwreck on an island called Melite around AD 60, and Maltese tradition holds that island to be Malta. The feast is kept in Valletta, Marsalforn and Munxar.Tuesday
- 19 March: Feast of St. JosephSan ĠużeppThe feast of St Joseph, kept with a village feast in Rabat.Thursday
- 31 March: Freedom DayJum il-ĦelsienFreedom Day. The defence agreement with Britain expired on 31 March 1979 and the British base closed. The day opens with a ceremony at the War Memorial in Floriana and includes a regatta in the Grand Harbour.Tuesday
- 3 April: Good FridayIl-Ġimgħa l-KbiraGood Friday, with processions of statues through several villages, Naxxar among them. Easter decides the date: 3 April in 2026, 26 March in 2027.FridayDate moves
- 1 May: Worker's DayJum il-ĦaddiemWorkers' Day, which the Church marks as St Joseph the Worker, San Ġużepp Ħaddiem, with feasts in Ħamrun and Birkirkara.Friday
- 7 June: Sette GiugnoItalian for 7 June. On that day in 1919 riots over the price of bread ended with four Maltese killed by British troops, and the crisis led to the constitution of 1921 and a government answerable to an elected legislature.Sunday
- 29 June: Feast of St.Peter and St.PaulL-ImnarjaThe feast of St Peter and St Paul. Its folk festival, with għana singing contests, is held in Buskett Gardens near Rabat on the weekend before 29 June, and bareback horse races on Saqqajja Hill go back to the 15th century.Monday
- 15 August: Assumption DaySanta MarijaThe Assumption, and the village feast of seven parishes: Għaxaq, Mqabba, Qrendi, Gudja, Mosta and Attard on Malta, and Victoria on Gozo.Saturday
- 8 September: Feast of Our Lady of VictoriesIl-VittorjaVictory Day recalls the end of three sieges: the Ottoman Great Siege of 1565, the French occupation that ended in 1800 and the siege of the Second World War. The same day is the Nativity of Mary, il-Bambina, feast of Senglea, Naxxar, Mellieħa and Xagħra.Tuesday
- 21 September: Independence DayL-IndipendenzaIndependence from Britain on 21 September 1964, when the State of Malta was formed as a constitutional monarchy with Elizabeth II as Queen of Malta.Monday
- 8 December: Feast of the Immaculate ConceptionL-Immakulata KunċizzjoniThe Immaculate Conception, the village feast of Cospicua.Tuesday
- 13 December: Republic DayJum ir-RepubblikaMalta became a republic on 13 December 1974, and the last Governor-General became the first President.Sunday
- 25 December: Christmas DayIl-MiliedChristmas Day, kept with a procession carrying a statue of the Infant Jesus. The next day, St Stephen, is an ordinary working day.Friday
Long weekends
Long weekends in Malta 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 7 Feb to Tue 10 FebWith Mon 9 Feb taken as leave · Feast of St. Paul's Shipwreck
- 4daysThu 19 Mar to Sun 22 MarWith Fri 20 Mar taken as leave · Feast of St. Joseph
- 4daysSat 28 Mar to Tue 31 MarWith Mon 30 Mar taken as leave · Freedom Day
- 3daysFri 3 Apr to Sun 5 AprGood Friday
- 3daysFri 1 May to Sun 3 MayWorker's Day
- 3daysSat 27 Jun to Mon 29 JunFeast of St.Peter and St.Paul
- 4daysSat 5 Sept to Tue 8 SeptWith Mon 7 Sept taken as leave · Feast of Our Lady of Victories
- 3daysSat 19 Sept to Mon 21 SeptIndependence Day
- 4daysSat 5 Dec to Tue 8 DecWith Mon 7 Dec taken as leave · Feast of the Immaculate Conception
- 3daysFri 25 Dec to Sun 27 DecChristmas Day
2027
Public holidays in Malta in 2027
- 1 January: New Year's DayL-Ewwel tas-SenaFriday
- 10 February: Feast of St. Paul's ShipwreckIn-Nawfraġju ta’ San PawlWednesday
- 19 March: Feast of St. JosephSan ĠużeppFriday
- 26 March: Good FridayIl-Ġimgħa l-KbiraFridayDate moves
- 31 March: Freedom DayJum il-ĦelsienWednesday
- 1 May: Worker's DayJum il-ĦaddiemSaturday
- 7 June: Sette GiugnoMonday
- 29 June: Feast of St.Peter and St.PaulL-ImnarjaTuesday
- 15 August: Assumption DaySanta MarijaSunday
- 8 September: Feast of Our Lady of VictoriesIl-VittorjaWednesday
- 21 September: Independence DayL-IndipendenzaTuesday
- 8 December: Feast of the Immaculate ConceptionL-Immakulata KunċizzjoniWednesday
- 13 December: Republic DayJum ir-RepubblikaMonday
- 25 December: Christmas DayIl-MiliedSaturday
A holiday on a weekend still counts. In December 2020 the Cabinet approved an amendment to Chapter 252 that adds every national or public holiday falling on a Saturday or Sunday to annual leave, from 2021. It reversed a 2005 amendment that had taken that right away. For 2026 the rule gives three extra days of leave, for 7 June, 15 August and 13 December; for 2027 it gives three again, for 1 May, 15 August and 25 December.
Many feasts on the Maltese calendar are marked without a day off, and on them business runs as usual: Epiphany on the first Sunday after 1 January, St Stephen on 26 December and the parish feasts that fill the summer. The Friday before Palm Sunday, when the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows is carried in procession, is counted by some Maltese among the most important days of Holy Week, yet it is a working day too.
Common questions
Questions about public holidays in Malta
How many public holidays does Malta have in 2026?
Fourteen, all of them paid days off. Three land on a weekend in 2026: Sette Giugno on Sunday 7 June, the Assumption on Saturday 15 August and Republic Day on Sunday 13 December. None of the three is moved to a Monday; each is added to annual leave instead. The other eleven fall between Monday and Friday.
What happens when a public holiday falls on a weekend in Malta?
The worker gets the day back as leave. An amendment to the holidays act, approved by the Cabinet in December 2020 and applied from 2021, counts every national or public holiday on a Saturday or Sunday as an extra day of annual leave. The rule existed before 2005, when an amendment removed it. In 2021, with three weekend holidays, an employee on a 40-hour week was entitled to 216 hours of paid leave: 192 basic hours plus 24 in lieu.
Is Easter Monday a public holiday in Malta?
No. Good Friday is the only day off at Easter, on 3 April in 2026 and on 26 March in 2027, so the Easter break runs from Friday to Sunday and work resumes on the Monday. Holy Week remains a high point of the religious year, with Good Friday processions of statues in towns such as Naxxar.
What is the difference between a national holiday and a public holiday in Malta?
Only the flag. The 1975 act that governs both lists names five national holidays: Freedom Day on 31 March, Sette Giugno on 7 June, Victory Day on 8 September, Independence Day on 21 September and Republic Day on 13 December. Article 3 makes each of them a public holiday as well and requires the national flag of Malta to be flown on public buildings. The nine other public holidays carry no such requirement, and every one of the fourteen is a paid day off.
Why is 8 September a holiday in Malta?
It is Victory Day, il-Vittorja, which recalls the end of three sieges of the islands. The Ottoman Great Siege, begun on 18 May 1565, ended when the besiegers withdrew on 8 September. French troops occupying Malta surrendered on 4 September 1800, and on 8 September 1943 Italy ended hostilities against the Allies, after which the Italian fleet sailed to Malta to surrender. The day is also the Nativity of Mary, and a regatta is rowed in the Grand Harbour.
What is Sette Giugno?
The national holiday on 7 June, named in Italian. It marks the riots of 7 June 1919 over the price of bread, in which British troops killed four Maltese. Earlier that year a National Assembly had asked Britain for a constitution with full political and administrative autonomy, and the crisis led to the constitution of 1921, which gave Malta its first ministers drawn from an elected legislature.
What are the long weekends in Malta in 2026?
Five need no leave: Good Friday on Friday 3 April, Workers' Day on Friday 1 May, the feast of St Peter and St Paul on Monday 29 June, Independence Day on Monday 21 September and Christmas Day on Friday 25 December, each giving three days. One day of leave makes a four-day break around each of four Tuesday holidays: Monday 9 February before St Paul's Shipwreck, Monday 30 March before Freedom Day, Monday 7 September before Victory Day and Monday 7 December before the Immaculate Conception.
What does Freedom Day mark in Malta?
The end of the British military presence. A defence agreement signed after independence and renegotiated in 1972 expired on 31 March 1979; the British base closed and the land it had held passed to the Maltese government. The day begins with a ceremony at the War Memorial in Floriana and is also a regatta day in the Grand Harbour.
Dates from Nager.Date, read 2026-09-26. The page counts from Monday, 28 September 2026, the day it was built.