Holiday Calendar 2016
Holidays – The Minister of Work announced the calendar for the celebration of the holidays for the year 2016 according to the law 139-97 / Días Festivos – El Ministerio de Trabajo anuncia el calendario para la celebración de los días feriados para el año 2016, establecidos en la Ley 139-97. www.ministeriodetrabajo.gob.do
January/ Enero
1 – Friday – New Year’s Day
4 – Monday celebrating (The 6th is the OFFICIAL date) Día de los Santo Reyes Magos – Epifania / Three Kings Day – Epiphany (what is 3 Kings Day?)
12 – Día de la Resistencia Heroica/ Day of Heroic Resistance (this is the first year for this day to honor the men and women who fought for a fairer society)
15 – to End of March – Whale Watching (the best place to observe is the Samana Bay)
21 – Thursday – Our Lady of Altagracia Day. (more information on Altagracia and a photo slide show of the Basilica de Higuey)
25 – Monday – Duarte Day celebrated. Juan Pablo Duarte was born on the 26th.(more information on Duarte).
February/ Febrero
1 thru 29 Las Fiestas de Carnaval Dominicano / Dominican Carnival Parties Carnival Dominicano/ Dominican Carnival celebrations happen all month. The weekends are when different communities hold their parades and celebrations. Usually the ultimate parade on the Malecon in Santo Domingo with the best of the best is held the first Sunday in March.
8 – Monday – Chinese New Year (celebrations for the Year of the Monkey in China Town)
10 – Miércoles de Ceniza / Ash Wednesday
14 – Sunday – Día de San Valentín / Valentine´s Day
27 – Saturday – Día de la Independencia / Independence Day – Día de la Bandera / Flag Day. Dominicans celebrate February 27, 1844 as their Independence Day. This the day the country declared its independence again and retook the name República Dominicana (Dominican Republic). A constitution modeled on that of the United States was put forth in November 1844.
March/ Marzo
6 – Sunday/ Domingo The big Carnival Parade on the Malecon in Santo Domingo.
20 – Domingo de Ramos / Palm Sunday
25 – Viernes Santo / Good Friday (long weekend from Thursday the 24th to Sunday the 27th – one of the biggest vacation times here) How do Dominicans celebrate Easter/ Semana Santa? Read all about it.
27 – Sunday – Domingo de Pascua – Semana Santa / Easter
April/ Abril
? – Secretaries Day
May/ Mayo
2 – Monday – Día del Trabajo / Labor Day (official day May 1st) (long weekend from Friday April 29th to Monday the 2nd)
29 – Sunday – Mother’s Day. (Always falls on the last Sunday in May)
26 – Thursday – Corpus Christi Day
Find the dates of all the Patronales/ Patron Saints celebrations in Dominican Republic
June/ Junio
July/ Julio
31 – Sunday – Father’s Day (Always falls on the last Sunday in July)
August/ Agusto
16 – Tuesday – Restoration Day/ Día de Restauración (more information on Restoration Day)
September/ Septiembre
24 – Saturday – Día de las Mercedes / Our Lady of Mercedes Day.(more information on Las Mercedes)
October / Octobre
10 – Monday – Día de Colón / Columbus Day
November/ Noviembre
6 – Sunday – Día de la Constitución / Constitution Day
December/ Decembre
25 – Sunday – Día de Navidad / Christmas Day (How Dominicans celebrate Christmas)
31 – Saturday – New Years Eve (New Year traditions)
Be aware that on the long weekends the cities usually empty out as most people head to the beaches or the country. Hotels are usually booked to capacity with Dominicans enjoying the long weekends. The highways in and out of the city can be very congested with people coming and going.
The dates of all the Patronales/ Patron Saints celebrations are on the Patron Saint Celebrations Page.
How To Say Months and Days In Spanish
JANUARY / ENERO | FEBRUARY / FEBRERO | MARCH / MARZO | APRIL / ABRIL | MAY / MAYO | JUNE / JUNIO | JULY / JULIO | AUGUST / AGOSTO | SEPTEMBER / SEPTIEMBRE | OCTOBER / OCTUBRE | NOVEMBER / NOVIEMBRE | DECEMBER / DICIEMBRE
Monday / Lunes | Tuesday / Martes | Wednesday / Miércoles | Thursday / Jueves | Friday / Viernes | Saturday / Sábado | Sunday / Domingo
If you have an event or know of one please send me all the details, preferable in English and Spanish, and I can ad it to the events listings. Just send me an email (jan@colonialzone-dr.com) with all the information. If you have a flyer or poster and I will be happy to include it.
Current events are listed in the Colonial Zone News Blog. Looking for something else to do? Check out the Pastimes pages.
