Public holidays in Nicaragua
12 days in 2026 · 12 in 2027
Back to NicaraguaNext public holiday
Indigenous Resistance Day
After it: Immaculate Conception, Tuesday 8 December
Monday, 12 October 2026
Nicaragua keeps two holidays back to back every September: 14 September for the Battle of San Jacinto in 1856 and 15 September for independence from Spain in 1821. In 2026 they land on a Monday and a Tuesday, which turns the weekend of 12 September into four days off. The other political date is 19 July, the day Sandinista forces entered Managua in 1979, and the religious peak of the year is 8 December, the Immaculate Conception, at the end of the week known as La Purísima.
Holy Thursday is the one holiday that moves with Easter, and in 2026 it fell on 2 April. Every other date in the calendar is fixed.
Beside the national calendar, most towns keep a fiesta for a patron saint from the Roman Catholic calendar. Managua honours Santo Domingo with two day-long processions in August, and the Corn Islands mark the abolition of slavery there on 27 August with Crab Soup Day.
- Days off in 2026
- 12Nationwide public holidays
- On a weekday
- 10Monday to Friday
- On a weekend
- 2Saturday or Sunday
- Long weekends
- 4and 3 with one day of leave
2026
Public holidays in Nicaragua in 2026
- 1 January: New Year's DayMany families spend the day together, although seeing it in with friends at a bar or a party is just as usual.Thursday
- 1 February: Air Force DayHeld on 1 February in honour of the Nicaraguan air force.Sunday
- 2 April: Holy ThursdayThe Last Supper, on the Thursday before Easter. Freedom House reported that public assemblies celebrating Lent, Good Friday and Easter were banned again in 2024.ThursdayDate moves
- 1 May: Labour DayWorkers' day, kept across the country on 1 May.Friday
- 27 May: Army DayWednesday
- 19 July: Liberation DayOn 17 July 1979 Anastasio Somoza Debayle resigned and fled to Miami, and on 19 July the Sandinista National Liberation Front entered Managua, ending the Somoza family's rule that began in 1936.Sunday
- 14 September: Battle of San JacintoThe anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto, fought in 1856, the year William Walker, at the head of a mercenary army from the United States, set himself up as president of Nicaragua.Monday
- 15 September: Independence DayThe Act of Independence of Central America, which dissolved the Spanish Captaincy General of Guatemala in September 1821. Nicaragua joined the First Mexican Empire soon afterwards.Tuesday
- 12 October: Indigenous Resistance DayFormerly Columbus Day. Kept under its new name since 2008, it marks the struggle of native peoples against European colonialism.Monday
- 8 December: Immaculate ConceptionThe feast of the patroness of Nicaragua. Catholics hold La Gritería on the night of 7 December and go to Mass on the 8th, after a week in which altars to the Virgin Mary go up in homes and workplaces.Tuesday
- 25 December: Christmas DayFamilies gather on Christmas Eve and wait up for midnight, with fireworks through the night, and 25 December is the day off.Friday
- 31 December: New Year's EveThe year ends at midnight with fireworks, called pólvoras or cohetes.Thursday
Long weekends
Long weekends in Nicaragua 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
- 4daysThu 2 Apr to Sun 5 AprWith Fri 3 Apr taken as leave · Holy Thursday
- 3daysFri 1 May to Sun 3 MayLabour Day
- 4daysSat 12 Sept to Tue 15 SeptBattle of San Jacinto, Independence Day
- 3daysSat 10 Oct to Mon 12 OctIndigenous Resistance Day
- 4daysSat 5 Dec to Tue 8 DecWith Mon 7 Dec taken as leave · Immaculate Conception
- 3daysFri 25 Dec to Sun 27 DecChristmas Day
2027
Public holidays in Nicaragua in 2027
- 1 January: New Year's DayFriday
- 1 February: Air Force DayMonday
- 1 April: Holy ThursdayThursdayDate moves
- 1 May: Labour DaySaturday
- 27 May: Army DayThursday
- 19 July: Liberation DayMonday
- 14 September: Battle of San JacintoTuesday
- 15 September: Independence DayWednesday
- 12 October: Indigenous Resistance DayTuesday
- 8 December: Immaculate ConceptionWednesday
- 25 December: Christmas DaySaturday
- 31 December: New Year's EveFriday
Patron-saint fiestas follow the town, not the nation. Boaco, Somoto and Managua celebrate Santiago on 25 July; Nandaime, Niquinohomo, Moyogalpa and Ometepe keep Santa Ana on 26 July; Managua opens and closes its Santo Domingo festivities on 1 and 10 August; and Catholics in Masaya and Bluefields honour San Jerónimo on 30 September.
La Purísima is the high point of the religious year for most Nicaraguans, ahead of both Christmas and Easter: a week of festivities in early December that ends with the Gritería on the evening of 7 December and the feast itself the next day.
Common questions
Questions about public holidays in Nicaragua
What does 19 July commemorate in Nicaragua?
The fall of the Somoza dictatorship in 1979. Anastasio Somoza Debayle resigned on 17 July and left for Miami, and on 19 July the forces of the Sandinista National Liberation Front entered Managua. The Somoza family had held power since 1936. The day falls on a Sunday in 2026 and on a Monday in 2027, which gives a three-day weekend from Saturday 17 July.
Why are 14 and 15 September both holidays in Nicaragua?
They mark two different events. 15 September is independence, the Act of Independence of Central America signed in 1821, which Nicaragua shares with its neighbours. 14 September is its own: the anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto in 1856, during the years of William Walker's filibuster government. In 2026 the pair falls on Monday 14 September and Tuesday 15 September, giving four days off from Saturday 12 September. In 2027 they fall on a Tuesday and a Wednesday.
What happens at La Gritería on 7 December?
The night of 7 December, when Catholics across Nicaragua celebrate the Immaculate Conception, the patroness of the country, ahead of the feast day itself. It closes La Purísima, a week of festivities in which families and workplaces build altars to the Virgin Mary. 8 December is the day off: a Tuesday in 2026 and a Wednesday in 2027.
Why is 12 October called Indigenous Resistance Day in Nicaragua?
The day was Columbus Day until the government renamed it, with the new name observed from 2008. It now marks the struggle of native peoples against European colonialism. Columbus reached the coast of what is now Nicaragua on his fourth voyage in 1502, sailing past the mouth of the Coco River, which he named Cabo Gracias a Dios.
Why does Holy Thursday move each year in Nicaragua?
It is tied to Easter, three days before Easter Sunday, so its date shifts between March and April; in 2026 it fell on Thursday 2 April. It is the only holiday in the calendar whose date moves. Holy Week in Nicaragua has been shaped by restrictions on public worship in recent years: Freedom House reported that in 2024 public assemblies celebrating Lent, Good Friday and Easter were banned again.
Which holidays are kept only in some towns in Nicaragua?
The patron-saint fiestas. Managua celebrates Santo Domingo, its patron, between 1 and 10 August with two day-long processions through the city. Boaco, Somoto and Managua keep Santiago on 25 July, and four places including Ometepe keep Santa Ana on 26 July. Masaya and Bluefields honour San Jerónimo on 30 September. On 27 August residents of the Corn Islands celebrate Crab Soup Day, for the abolition of slavery on the islands.
Do Nicaraguans get Christmas Eve off?
No, 24 December is not among the days off; 25 December is. Christmas Eve is still the evening families come together and wait up for Christmas, with fireworks heard through the night. Christmas Day falls on a Friday in 2026, giving a three-day weekend, and on a Saturday in 2027.
Dates from Nager.Date, read 2026-10-04. The page counts from Sunday, 4 October 2026, the day it was built.