Public holidays in the Philippines

This is a list of holidays in the Philippines.

Holiday Date	Celebration Date	English Name	Filipino Name	Official Status	Details/Description
January 1	January 1	New Year's Day	Araw ng Bagong Taon	Regular Holiday	First day of the New Year
January 16	January 16	Sinulog		Regional Public Holiday, Cebu & Tacloban
Varies	Varies	Chinese New Year	Araw ng Bagong Taon ng mga Tsino	Regular day	Based on Lunar Calendar
February 11	February 11	Evelio Javier Day		Regular Public Holiday, Cebu
February 24	February 24	Cebu City Charter Day		Regular Public Holiday, Cebu
February 25	February 25	People Power Day	Araw ng People Power (Lakas ng Bayan)	Non-working Holiday (Case-to-case basis), Metro Manila	Commemoration of the 1986 People Power Revolution
March 18	March 18	Liberation of Panay		Regular Public Holiday, Iloilo
Thursday before Easter	Varies	Maundy Thursday	Huwebes Santo	Regular Holiday, Movable date	Commemorates the Last Supper, part of Holy Week celebrations
Friday before Easter	Varies	Good Friday	Biyernes Santo/Mahal na Araw	Regular Holiday, Movable date	Commemoration of the death of Jesus Christ
Sunday, date varies	—	Easter Sunday	Linggo ng Pagkabuhay	Regular day	Commemoration of the Resurrection of Jesus
April 9	Monday nearest April 9	Bataaan and Corregidor Day ("Day of Valor")	Araw ng Kagitingan	Regular Holiday	Commemorates the Bataan Death March
May 1	Monday nearest May 1	Labor Day	Araw ng Manggagawa	Regular Holiday
June 12	Monday nearest June 12	Independence Day	Araw ng Kalayaan	Regular Holiday	Anniversary of the Philippine Declaration of Independence
June 30	—	Filipino-Spanish Friendship Day	Araw ng Pagkakaibigan ng mga Pilipino at Kastila	Regular day
June 30	June 30	Tacloban City Charter Day		Regular Public Holiday, Tacloban
July 4	—	Filipino-American Friendship Day	Araw ng Pagkakaibigan ng mga Pilipino at Amerikano	Regular day	Commemorates the liberation of the country by joint Filipino and American forces from the Japanese occupation at the end of World War II.
August 6	August 6	Provincial Charter Day		Regular Public Holiday, Tacloban
August 21	Monday nearest August 21	Ninoy Aquino Day	Araw ng Kabayanihan ni Ninoy Aquino	Special Non-working Holiday	Death of Benigno Aquino, Jr.
August 31	Last Monday of August	National Heroes' Day	Araw ng mga Bayani	Regular Holiday	Commemorates the "Cry of Pugad Lawin" by Filipino revolutionaries called the Katipunan
September 9	September 9	Osmena Day		Regular Public Holiday, Cebu
October 20	October 20	Leyte Landing Day		Regular Public Holiday, Tacloban
November 1	November 1	All Saints Day	Todos los Santos/Undas/Araw ng mga Namayapa	Special Non-working Holiday	Remembrance of all the dead
Varies	Varies	Eidul Fitr (Arabic transliteration: Eid al-Fitr)	Wakas ng Ramadan	Regular Holiday, movable date	Based on Islamic calendar
November 30	Monday nearest November 30	Bonifacio Day	Kaarawan ni Bonifacio	Regular Holiday	Birthdate of Andres Bonifacio
December 18	December 18	Lopez Jaena Day		Regular Public Holiday, Iloilo
December 25	December 25	Christmas Day	Araw ng Pasko	Regular Holiday	Celebration of Christmas
December 30	Monday nearest December 30	Rizal Day	Araw ng Kabayanihan ni Dr. Jose Rizal	Regular Holiday	Death anniversary of José Rizal
December 31	December 31	New Year's Eve	Bisperas ng Bagong Taon	Special Non-working Holiday	Last Day of the Year (Official Name)

New Year's Day

New Year's Day, or Araw ng Bagong Taon is celebrated with the family in or outside the house. The year is greeted on the Bisperas ng Bagong Taon (New Year's Eve) with a lavish feast, called media noche (literally, "middle of the night"). Round shaped foods, sticky or glutinous rice based foods, and various 12 round shaped fruits for each of the months of the year are served. Traditionally, Filipinos, Chinese, and Spaniards stay at home, the latter serving parties lavishly, which almost always includes a lechon (suckling roasted pig). However, more and more of the younger generation and the recent immigrants such as Americans have popularized the celebration of the New Year in grand hotels, restaurants, in parks, and in streets. Children light firecrackers such as watusi or the sinturon ni Hudas (Judas' belt), while adults spend the night recollecting the year, and, in many families, involves a Bible reading..

Last Day of the Year Celebrations

Citing the Filipino tradition of New Year's day, the Philippine Congress decided to formally recognize December 31 as an annual non-working holiday where it is sandwiched in between two official Philippine holidays (these being Rizal Day and New Year's Day).

Holy Week

Holy Week, or Semana Santa in Filipino (from the Spanish Semana Santa), is the only week where the whole country shuts down. It starts with Linggo ng Palaspas or Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday), then continues on until Linggo ng Pagkabuhay (Easter Sunday). Only after Linggo ng Pagkabuhay (Easter Sunday) does the whole country resume its operations. The old Catholic belief that Christ is dead during Good Friday at three o' clock in the afternoon is still prevalent among the rural Filipinos, and so, journeys are not continued and children are warned not to make noise or to play outside. They believe that bad spirits roam around, with no Christ to stop them from harming anyone. After Sabado de Gloria (Black/Holy Saturday), Holy Week ends on the Linggo ng Pagkabuhay (Easter Sunday), when Catholic churches hold Masses and dawn processions (known as the Salubong). Shopping malls and hotels also hold celebrations and Easter egg hunts.

There is no day of Valor. Wikipedia is the worst website to go to for accurate information.. ANARCHY

Labor Day

For the Philippine labor movement, the 100th year of the observance of Labor Day was also the year of unemployment.

The first Labor Day celebration in the Philippines took place on May 1, 1903. In a mammoth rally in front of Malacañang Palace that day, the Union Obrera Democratica, while pressing for workers’ economic rights, also put forward the slogan, “Death to imperialism!”..hey

Araw ng Kasarinlan (Independence Day)

The Phlippines celebrates its Declaration of Independence from Spain on June 12. This took place on that day in 1898, at the house of the first Philippine president, Emilio Aguinaldo, in Kawit, Cavite. From the balcony of his house, Gen. Aguinaldo waved the national flag while a band played the national anthem, known today as the "Lupang Hinirang". This scene was immortalized on the now out-of-circulation 5 peso bill, replaced now by a coin with Aguinaldo on it. The nation celebrated its Centennial in 1998.

The R.P. achieved independence from the U.S. with the signing of a Treaty of General relations between the two governments. The treaty provided for the recognition of the independence of the Republic of the Philippines as of July 4, 1946 and the relinquishment of American sovereignty over the Philippine Islands. From 1946 to 1961, Independence Day was observed on July 4, but President Diosdado Macapagal, upon the advice of historians, reverted to the June 12 date, which up to that time had been observed as Flag Day.

Filipino-American Friendship Day

On July 4, 1946, the Philippines was officially declared independent and inaugurated Manuel Roxas as the first president of the (3rd) Republic of the Philippines. When the date of Independence Day was changed from July 4 to June 12 by President Diosdado Macapagal, he created the Filipino-American Friendship Day to maintain the diplomatic and bilateral relationship of the Philippines to United States. It was celebrated from 1963 until President Corazon Aquino issued a Presidential proclamation removing this Filipino-American Friendship Day from the list of regular holidays. In 1996, President Fidel Ramos has included a July 4 ceremony among an ongoing series of events marking the centennial of the Philippine independence from Spain in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the event.

Ninoy Aquino Day

The Philippines observes the death of prominent Marcos opponent Benigno S. "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. on this day. After three years of exile in the United States, Aquino made the journey home only to meet an assassin's bullet at the Manila airport that now bears his name in 1983. It is created by the enactment of Republic Act No. 9256 on February 25, 2004 during the 18th anniversary of the first EDSA Revolution.

National Heroes Day

The Philippines, on this day, commemorates the celebration of the national heroes. National Heroes day falls every last Sunday of August. It is a regular holiday in the Philippines remembering the Cry of Pugad Lawin by Filipino Revolutionary forces called the Katipunan led by its leader (Supremo) Andres Bonifacio.

Todos Los Santos (All Saints Day)

The Philippines celebrates All Saints Day on this day. Families return to their provinces to clean the tombs of their loved ones and to pray for them. This day is used to be a regular holiday in the Philippines but was changed to a non-working holiday through an Executive Order issued by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Eid ul-Fitr

The first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar, is declared a national holiday for the observance of Eid ul-Fitr, or the Feast of Breaking the Fast (of Ramadhan, the ninth month). It was created by virtue of Republic Act No. 9177 and signed on November 13, 2002. The law was enacted in deference to the Filipino Muslim community and to promote peace among major religions in the Philippines. The first public holiday was set on December 6, 2002; the date advances about 11 days every year in the Gregorian calendar. Many non-Muslim Filipinos are still unfamiliar to the new holiday, and many calendars in the Philippines don't have this holiday listed.

Andres Bonifacio Day

On November 30, 1896, a baby boy was born to Santiago Bonifacio and Catalina de Castro, they looked at the saint of the day on their calendar and named him Andres. We celebrate Bonifacio Day every year on November 30, a date that is sometimes confused with National Heroes Day.

Bonifacio Day is also odd, because heroes -- like saints -- are often remembered more for their death than their birth. Philippine national hero Jose Rizal's birthday, June 19, is a holiday in Laguna province, and the date of his execution, December 30, is a national holiday known as Rizal Day.

Anyone who knows Philippine history will understand why Bonifacio is remembered on his birthday, November 30, rather than the date of his death, May 10, 1897. Unlike Rizal who was executed by the enemy, and other heroes who died in battle, Bonifacio was executed by fellow Filipinos. This was done on the orders of the first President, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, since he was considered an enemy of the state, after the occurrences at the Tejeros convention.

Christmas Eve

The Filipino Christmas is one of the (or the) longest in the world, stretching from even as early as September until the first week of January. Parols, along with other decorations, are set up for the holidays. The Christmas season, therefore, is one of the holidays that Filipinos hold dear.

Christmas Eve in the Philippines is one of the traditions that most families celebrate. It is a night without sleep and a continuous celebration moving right into Christmas Day. As December 24th dawns, the last Mass of Misa de Gallo is attended then preparation begins for the Noche Buena (literally "Good Night" from Spanish) , which is a family feast that takes place after midnight.

The Noche Buena is very much like an open house celebration. Family, friends, relatives, and neighbors drop by to wish every family member "Maligayang Pasko!" (Merry Christmas! in Tagalog). Food is in abundance, often served in buffet style. Guests or visitors partake of the food prepared by the host family (even though they are already full or bloated!). Among the typical foods prepared in the Philippines during Christmas are: lechon (roasted pig), pancit, barbecue, rice, adobo, cakes (Western and native rice cakes), lumpia, etc. There is also an abundance of beer, wine, and liquor.

The streets are well lit and are full of activities. The children run in and out of the house to play, to eat, and to play again. The Christmas Eve gathering provides an opportunity for a reunion of immediate and distant family members. Some families may choose to exchange gifts at this time while others wait until Christmas day.

In general, the center of a family's Christmas gathering is always the lola, the endearing term used for a family matriarch or grandmother, who is deeply respected, highly revered, and always present. Filipinos remember how their lola had their children form a line and step up to receive a small gift of some coins. The older the child, the more coins he or she receives.

Some families even have a talent show during the Christmas Eve celebration. Children are asked to perform such as singing a Christmas song, playing a musical instrument, reciting a poem or doing a dance. The celebrations continue until about 6 o'clock on Christmas morning. Those who cannot attend Mass the night before will go to the morning Mass on Christmas day.

Christmas Day

Christmas is an annual holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus. Christmas festivities combine the commemoration of Jesus' birth with various secular customs. The date as a birthdate for Jesus is traditional, and is not considered to be his actual date of birth.

Rizal Day

See José Rizal. Rizal's Martydom

"Holiday Economics"

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo usually issues proclamations moving the holiday to Friday if a holiday falls on a Saturday or to Monday if a holiday falls on a Sunday. The sole purpose is to enable government and private employees to enjoy a three day weekend holiday. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, coining the term holiday economics, introduced the policy in 2001 to reduce disruption to business and production schedules, encourage domestic tourism and give employees long weekends. In 2004 she issued a proclamation making Christmas Eve as special non-working holiday and December 27, the Monday after Christmas as special non-working holiday.

In July 25, 2007, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed into law Republic Act (RA) 9492 also known as "An Act Rationalizing the Celebration of National Holidays", designating 11 Regular Holidays and three Nationwide Special Holidays.. Specific dates or days for celebration are designated. The law provides that holidays falling on a Wednesday will be observed on the Monday of the week and that holidays falling on a on a Sunday, the holiday will be observed on the Monday that follows. Three holidays (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Eidul Fitr) are designated as having movable dates, and the law provides that for movable holidays the President shall issue a proclamation, at least six months prior to the holiday concerned, the specific date that shall be declared as a non-working day.

In addition to the Regular Holidays and Nationwide Special Days which it designates, the law specifies that the Eidul Adha shall be celebrated as a regional holiday in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

While Arroyo's "holiday economics" has been praised for boosting domestic tourism and for encouraging more quality time among members of Filipino families, businessmen are complaining over lost productivity and the hassle of preparing mandatory holiday and overtime salaries in a short period of time. Others deplored it as presidential tinkering with history via executive fiat.

Other Holidays declared in the Philippines

• Constitution Day - was declared as a non-working holiday on February 2, 2002 in commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the approval of the 1987 Philippine constitution.
• National Day of Prayer and Fasting - was declared by President Joseph Estrada as a non-working holiday during the 3rd Saturday of November in 1999 and 2000 as advised by Bro. Mike Velarde, his spriritual adviser.
• Rizal Birth Anniversary - was declared in June 19, 1961 by President Carlos P. Garcia in commemoration of the 100th birth anniversary of Jose Rizal.