Public holidays in Ethiopia in 2026
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መጪው በዓል Upcoming Ethiopian holiday
ዓርብ ሚያዝያ 23 Friday May 1
የላብ አደሮች ቀን Labour Day
የዚህ ዓመት በዓላት Public holidays of this year
| ሐሙስ መስከረም 1/ 2018 Thursday September 11, 2025 | እንቁጣጣሽ New Year |
| ቅዳሜ መስከረም 17/ 2018 Saturday September 27, 2025 | መስቀል Discovery of The True Cross |
| ዕሮብ ታህሳስ 29/ 2018 Wednesday January 7, 2026 | ገና Christmas |
| ሰኞ ጥር 11/ 2018 Monday January 19, 2026 | ጥምቀት Epiphany |
| ሰኞ የካቲት 23/ 2018 Monday March 2, 2026 | አድዋ ድል ቀን Adwa |
| ዓርብ መጋቢት 11/ 2018 Friday March 20, 2026 | ኢድ አልፈጥር End Al Fitre |
| ዓርብ ሚያዝያ 2/ 2018 Friday April 10, 2026 | ስቅለት Good Friday |
| እሁድ ሚያዝያ 4/ 2018 Sunday April 12, 2026 | ፋሲካ Easter |
| ዓርብ ሚያዝያ 23/ 2018 Friday May 1, 2026 | የላብ አደሮች ቀን Labour Day |
| ማክሰኞ ሚያዝያ 27/ 2018 Tuesday May 5, 2026 | የአርበኞች ቀን Patriots' Day |
| ዕሮብ ግንቦት 19/ 2018 Wednesday May 27, 2026 | አረፋ Eid Al Adaha |
| ሐሙስ ግንቦት 20/ 2018 Thursday May 28, 2026 | ደርግ የወደቀበት ቀን National Day |
| ዕሮብ ነሐሴ 20/ 2018 Wednesday August 26, 2026 | መውሊድ (ሊቀየር ይችላል) Birthday of the Prophet Mohammed (Tentative) |
| ዓርብ መስከረም 1/ 2019 Friday September 11, 2026 | እንቁጣጣሽ New Year |
| እሁድ መስከረም 17/ 2019 Sunday September 27, 2026 | መስቀል Discovery of The True Cross |
| ሐሙስ ታህሳስ 29/ 2019 Thursday January 7, 2027 | ገና Christmas |
| ማክሰኞ ጥር 11/ 2019 Tuesday January 19, 2027 | ጥምቀት Epiphany |
| ማክሰኞ የካቲት 23/ 2019 Tuesday March 2, 2027 | አድዋ ድል ቀን Adwa |
| ዕሮብ መጋቢት 1/ 2019 Wednesday March 10, 2027 | ኢድ አልፈጥር End Al Fitre |
| ዓርብ ሚያዝያ 22/ 2019 Friday April 30, 2027 | ስቅለት Good Friday |
| ቅዳሜ ሚያዝያ 23/ 2019 Saturday May 1, 2027 | የላብ አደሮች ቀን Labour Day |
| እሁድ ሚያዝያ 24/ 2019 Sunday May 2, 2027 | ፋሲካ Easter |
| ዕሮብ ሚያዝያ 27/ 2019 Wednesday May 5, 2027 | የአርበኞች ቀን Patriots' Day |
| ሰኞ ግንቦት 9/ 2019 Monday May 17, 2027 | አረፋ Eid Al Adaha |
| ዓርብ ግንቦት 20/ 2019 Friday May 28, 2027 | ደርግ የወደቀበት ቀን National Day |
| እሁድ ነሐሴ 9/ 2019 Sunday August 15, 2027 | መውሊድ (ሊቀየር ይችላል) Birthday of the Prophet Mohammed (Tentative) |
About Ethiopian public holidays
Ethiopia observes about 13 public holidays each year, drawn from three sources: national commemorations (Adwa Victory Day, Patriots' Day, Downfall of the Derg, Labour Day), Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo religious feasts (Genna, Timket, Good Friday, Fasika, Enkutatash, Meskel), and Islamic observances (Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Mawlid). The Islamic holidays shift earlier by roughly 10-11 days each Gregorian year because they follow the lunar Hijri calendar.
National holidays
- Adwa Victory Day (አድዋ ድል ቀን)
- March 2. Marks Ethiopia's decisive victory over Italy at the Battle of Adwa in 1896.
- Labour Day (የላብ አደሮች ቀን)
- May 1. International Workers' Day.
- Patriots' Victory Day (የአርበኞች ቀን)
- May 5. Honors the patriots who resisted the Italian occupation of 1936-1941.
- Downfall of the Derg / National Day (ደርግ የወደቀበት ቀን)
- May 28. Marks the end of the Derg military regime in 1991.
Christian holidays
- Genna (ገና) - Ethiopian Christmas
- January 7 every year (Tahsas 29 E.C.). Marks the birth of Jesus and is observed by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
- Timket (ጥምቀት) - Epiphany
- January 19, or January 20 in the Gregorian year before a leap year. Commemorates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River with one of Ethiopia's most colorful religious processions.
- Siklet (ስቅለት) and Fasika (ፋሲካ) - Good Friday and Easter
- Movable feasts following the Eastern Orthodox calculation. Fasika (Easter) is widely regarded as the most important religious holiday of the Ethiopian Orthodox year.
- Enkutatash (እንቁጣጣሽ) - Ethiopian New Year
- Meskerem 1, corresponding to September 11 on the Gregorian calendar (or September 12 in the year before a Gregorian leap year).
- Meskel (መስቀል) - Finding of the True Cross
- September 27 (or September 28 the year before a leap year). Commemorates Empress Helena's discovery of the True Cross in the 4th century, celebrated with the lighting of the Demera bonfire.
Islamic holidays
- Eid al-Fitr (ኢድ አልፈጥር)
- Marks the end of Ramadan. The date varies each Gregorian year because it follows the lunar Hijri calendar.
- Eid al-Adha / Arefa (አረፋ)
- The Islamic feast of sacrifice. The date varies each Gregorian year.
- Mawlid / Mewlid (መውሊድ)
- Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. The date varies each Gregorian year and is sometimes announced as tentative.
Frequently asked questions
- How many public holidays are there in Ethiopia?
- Ethiopia recognizes about 13 public holidays each year.
- Is Ethiopian Christmas the same as Western Christmas?
- No. Ethiopian Christmas (Genna) is celebrated on January 7 because the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church follows the liturgical calendar of the Coptic tradition, not the Gregorian Catholic/Protestant date of December 25.
- Why do Islamic holiday dates change every year?
- Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, and Mawlid follow the Islamic Hijri calendar, which is lunar. A lunar year is about 354 days, so these holidays shift roughly 10-11 days earlier on the Gregorian calendar each year.
- What is the most important Ethiopian Orthodox holiday?
- Fasika (Ethiopian Easter) is widely regarded as the most important holiday of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo year, even more so than Genna (Christmas).
- Are Ethiopian Easter and Western Easter on the same date?
- Not always. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church uses the Eastern Orthodox calculation for Easter, which sometimes coincides with Catholic/Protestant Easter and sometimes does not.