Philippines
The Philippines has a two-tier holiday system that distinguishes between regular holidays (paid days off) and special non-working days (no work but no premium pay for those who do). The total is approximately 18-20 holidays per year, one of the highest counts in Southeast Asia. The country's Christmas season is the longest in the world, running from September 1 to the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6.
Regular holidays
- New Year's Day - January 1
- Maundy Thursday and Good Friday - movable
- Day of Valor (Araw ng Kagitingan) - April 9
- Labor Day - May 1
- Independence Day - June 12
- Eid'l Fitr - movable
- Eid'l Adha - movable
- National Heroes Day - last Monday of August
- Bonifacio Day - November 30
- Christmas Day - December 25
- Rizal Day - December 30
Special non-working days
- Chinese New Year - movable
- Black Saturday - movable
- Ninoy Aquino Day - August 21
- All Saints' Day - November 1
- Feast of the Immaculate Conception - December 8
- Christmas Eve - December 24
- New Year's Eve - December 31
How the Filipino holiday calendar works
The Philippine holiday system is set by presidential proclamation each year, typically in October or November of the preceding year, under Republic Act 9492 (the Holiday Rationalization Act of 2007). The proclamation lists both regular holidays and special non-working days. Regular holidays carry a 200% pay premium for work; special non-working days carry 130%. Many businesses and government agencies close entirely on regular holidays. School calendars are designed around the holiday list, with semester breaks timed to the Holy Week and Christmas clusters.
The Movable Islamic holidays (Eid'l Fitr and Eid'l Adha) are gazetted based on the announcement of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, which coordinates with regional moon-sighting committees. Christian movable holidays (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Black Saturday) follow the ecclesiastical calendar. The combination produces clusters in March-April (Holy Week), late August (National Heroes Day), late November to early January (the Christmas season), and the two Eids in their respective lunar windows.
Religious and secular composition
The Philippines is approximately 89% Christian (Roman Catholic majority of 70-75%, plus evangelical and other denominations), 5-6% Muslim (concentrated in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao), 4% other, and the remainder traditional or unaffiliated (PSA 2020 census). The calendar reflects this composition heavily: Catholic liturgical days (Christmas, Holy Week, All Saints' Day, the Immaculate Conception) are regular holidays, and the two Islamic Eids are also regular holidays under recent gazette. Chinese New Year, while not a Christian or Islamic observance, is a special non-working day reflecting the country's significant Chinese-Filipino minority.
Peak months and observance patterns
The heaviest single stretch is the Christmas season, which runs from September 1 to the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6. Within that, the most concentrated cluster is December 24 (Christmas Eve, special) to December 30 (Rizal Day, regular), which produces 5-7 consecutive days off when weekends align. The second peak is Holy Week in March-April, with Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Black Saturday typically producing 4-5 days off. The November cluster (All Saints' Day November 1, Bonifacio Day November 30) is a third peak. June 12 (Independence Day) and August (National Heroes Day) are single-day peaks.
The longest Christmas season
The Filipino Christmas season is widely cited as the longest in the world. The unofficial -ber months countdown begins September 1, with malls and radio stations beginning to play Christmas carols in September. The official observance begins September 1 with the start of the traditional countdown. The Feast of the Santo Niño on the third Sunday of January is the religious closing of the season. Simbang Gabi (the nine dawn Masses from December 16 to December 24) is the spiritual core, and Noche Buena (the family dinner after midnight Mass on December 24) is the social core. The season's length is the product of a unique fusion of Catholic liturgical observance and Filipino family-and-community culture.
Where the holidays come from culturally
The Filipino calendar reflects five historical layers. Layer 1 (pre-1565): pre-colonial barangay-cycle observances, including harvest festivals and ancestor rites. Layer 2 (1565-1898): Spanish Catholic liturgical calendar, with Christmas, Holy Week, All Saints, and the Immaculate Conception as primary observances. Layer 3 (1898-1946): American-era civic holidays, with Independence Day, Labor Day, and the public-holiday framework. Layer 4 (1946-1986): post-independence civic holidays, including Bonifacio Day and Rizal Day as the primary national-hero observances. Layer 5 (1986-present): the post-Marcos reformulation, with the addition of Islamic Eids, Chinese New Year, and various special non-working days. The pattern is Catholic-civic-Islamic hybrid with a strong Christmas-season cultural layer.
Work and pay rules
Under the Labor Code of the Philippines and the Holiday Pay Rule (DOLE), regular holidays are paid days off for all workers; work on a regular holiday earns 200% of the daily rate. Special non-working days are also off, but work earns only 130% of the daily rate. The 18-20 day gazetted calendar is supplemented by 5 days of service incentive leave, 13th month pay, and the 4-5 day Holy Week break, producing a typical total time-off envelope of 25-35 days per year. Many employers add their own anniversary days and birthday leaves.
Comparison with neighboring countries
Compared with Indonesia's 16-18 public holidays, the Philippines has a similar count but with stronger Christmas-season cultural presence. Compared with Malaysia's 14-17 federal and state holidays, the Philippines has a slightly higher count and a more Catholic liturgical emphasis. Compared with Singapore's 11 public holidays, the Philippines has significantly more. The most distinctive Filipino feature is the Christmas-season length, which has no direct equivalent in any other national calendar.
Calendar cycles 2026-2028
Most Filipino regular holidays are fixed-date. Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Black Saturday move with Easter. For 2026, Easter is April 5, so Maundy Thursday is April 2, Good Friday is April 3, and Black Saturday is April 4. For 2027, Easter is March 28, with Maundy Thursday on March 25. For 2028, Easter is April 16, with Maundy Thursday on April 13. The Islamic Eids shift earlier each year by approximately 11 days. Christmas Day and Rizal Day are fixed on December 25 and December 30 respectively.
Major holiday briefs on this page
Each of the holidays discussed on this regional overview has a full standalone brief covering its origins, observance practices, and modern controversy:
- New Year's Day - January 1
- Good Friday - movable
- Independence Day - June 12
- Bonifacio Day - November 30
- Christmas Day - December 25
- Rizal Day - December 30
- Eid'l Fitr
- Eid'l Adha