Public Holidays

Discover upcoming public holiday dates for Sri Lanka and start planning to make the most of your time off.

2026 Public Holidays

Date	Day	Holiday
3 Jan	Sat	Duruthu Full Moon Poya Day
15 Jan	Thu	Tamil Thai Pongal Day
1 Feb	Sun	Navam Full Moon Poya Day
4 Feb	Wed	National Day
15 Feb	Sun	Mahasivarathri Day
2 Mar	Mon	Madin Full Moon Poya Day
21 Mar	Sat	Id Ul-Fitr
1 Apr	Wed	Bak Full Moon Poya Day
3 Apr	Fri	Good Friday
13 Apr	Mon	Day prior to Sinhala & Tamil New Year Day
14 Apr	Tue	Sinhala & Tamil New Year Day
1 May	Fri	May Day
1 May	Fri	Vesak Full Moon Poya Day
2 May	Sat	Day following Vesak Full Moon Poya Day
28 May	Thu	Id Ul-Alha
30 May	Sat	Adhi Poson Full Moon Poya Day
29 Jun	Mon	Poson Full Moon Poya Day
29 Jul	Wed	Esala Full Moon Poya Day
26 Aug	Wed	Milad un-Nabi
27 Aug	Thu	Nikini Full Moon Poya Day
26 Sep	Sat	Binara Full Moon Poya Day
25 Oct	Sun	Vap Full Moon Poya Day
8 Nov	Sun	Deepavali
24 Nov	Tue	Ill Full Moon Poya Day
23 Dec	Wed	Unduvap Full Moon Poya Day
25 Dec	Fri	Christmas Day
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2027 Public Holidays

Date	Day	Holiday
15 Jan	Fri	Tamil Thai Pongal Day
22 Jan	Fri	Duruthu Full Moon Poya Day
4 Feb	Thu	National Day
20 Feb	Sat	Navam Full Moon Poya Day
6 Mar	Sat	Mahasivarathri Day
10 Mar	Wed	Id Ul-Fitr
21 Mar	Sun	Madin Full Moon Poya Day
26 Mar	Fri	Good Friday
13 Apr	Tue	Day prior to Sinhala & Tamil New Year Day
14 Apr	Wed	Sinhala & Tamil New Year Day
20 Apr	Tue	Bak Full Moon Poya Day
1 May	Sat	May Day
17 May	Mon	Id Ul-Alha
20 May	Thu	Vesak Full Moon Poya Day
21 May	Fri	Day following Vesak Full Moon Poya Day
18 Jun	Fri	Poson Full Moon Poya Day
18 Jul	Sun	Esala Full Moon Poya Day
15 Aug	Sun	Milad un-Nabi
16 Aug	Mon	Nikini Full Moon Poya Day
15 Sep	Wed	Binara Full Moon Poya Day
15 Oct	Fri	Vap Full Moon Poya Day
28 Oct	Thu	Deepavali
13 Nov	Sat	Ill Full Moon Poya Day
13 Dec	Mon	Unduvap Full Moon Poya Day
25 Dec	Sat	Christmas Day
The dates in this table are an estimate. We will update this page once the official public holiday dates for 2027 are released.

2028 Public Holidays

Date	Day	Holiday
12 Jan	Wed	Duruthu Full Moon Poya Day
14 Jan	Fri	Tamil Thai Pongal Day
4 Feb	Fri	National Day
23 Feb	Wed	Mahasivarathri Day
25 Feb	Fri	Navam Full Moon Poya Day
26 Feb	Sat	Id Ul-Fitr
25 Mar	Sat	Madin Full Moon Poya Day
13 Apr	Thu	Day prior to Sinhala & Tamil New Year Day
14 Apr	Fri	Good Friday
14 Apr	Fri	Sinhala & Tamil New Year Day
24 Apr	Mon	Bak Full Moon Poya Day
1 May	Mon	May Day
5 May	Fri	Id Ul-Alha
23 May	Tue	Vesak Full Moon Poya Day
24 May	Wed	Day following Vesak Full Moon Poya Day
22 Jun	Thu	Poson Full Moon Poya Day
21 Jul	Fri	Esala Full Moon Poya Day
3 Aug	Thu	Milad un-Nabi
20 Aug	Sun	Nikini Full Moon Poya Day
18 Sep	Mon	Binara Full Moon Poya Day
17 Oct	Tue	Deepavali
18 Oct	Wed	Vap Full Moon Poya Day
16 Nov	Thu	Ill Full Moon Poya Day
15 Dec	Fri	Unduvap Full Moon Poya Day
25 Dec	Mon	Christmas Day
The dates in this table are an estimate. We will update this page once the official public holiday dates for 2028 are released.

Sri Lanka observes national holidays including New Year’s Day; Milad un Nabi (Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad); Tamil Thai Pongal Day; National Day; Mahashivrate; Sinhala and Tamil New Year; Labour Day; Eid al-Fitr, celebrating the end of Ramadan; Eid al-Adha Feast of Sacrifice and Christmas Day. Time off may be allowed for celebrations of national and regional festivals. As festivals are not considered official national holidays, entitlement to time off is generally at the discretion of the employer.

Sri Lanka also celebrates Full Moon Poya Days as national holidays. Every worker in Sri Lanka is entitled to a paid holiday on every Full Moon Poya Day, which amounts to 12 days per calendar year. If an employee is required to work on a Full Moon Poya Day, he or she is entitled to compensation amounting to not less than one and one-half times the normal wage. In addition, workers are entitled to paid time off for Festival holidays, usually amounting to 16 days per year.