Public holidays in Taiwan
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The following are considered holidays in Taiwan. Some are official holidays, and some are not:
Table of Taiwan holidays
Public holidays
| 2024 Gregorian Date(s) Observed | Type of calendar followed | Date on calendar | English Name | Chinese Name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 | Gregorian calendar | January 1 | Founding of the Republic of China (also New Year's Day) | 中華民國開國紀念日 / 元旦 | Commemorates the establishment of the Provisional Government in Nanking. |
| February 9 | Chinese calendar | Last day (29th/30th day) of the 12th month | Chinese New Year's Eve | 農曆除夕 | Eve of the Chinese New Year. |
| February 8, 10-14 | Chinese calendar | First 3 working days of the 1st month | Spring Festival | 春節 | Day of Chinese New Year. |
| February 28 | Gregorian calendar | February 28 | Peace Memorial Day | 228和平紀念日 | Commemorates the February 28 Incident in 1947. |
| April 4-7 | Gregorian calendar | April 4 | Children's Day | 兒童節 | To make known the human rights of children and to stop the abuse of children. |
| April 4-7 | Gregorian calendar | 15th day after the Spring Equinox | Tomb Sweeping Day | 淸明節 | To remember and honor ancestors at grave sites |
| June 10 | Chinese calendar | 5th day of the 5th month | Dragon Boat Festival | 端午節 | Commemorates the death of the patriot Qu Yuan. |
| September 17 | Chinese calendar | 15th day of the 8th month | Mid-Autumn Festival | 中秋節 | Gathering the family together to celebrate the end of the harvest season |
| October 10 | Gregorian calendar | October 10 | National Day/Double Tenth Day | 國慶日 / 雙十節 | Commemorates the Wuchang Uprising of 1911, which began the Xinhai Revolution that led to the abolition of monarchy and establishment of a republican form of government. |
Unofficial holidays
The following holidays are also observed on Taiwan but are not official holidays observed by civil servants of the central government. Some sectors of the workforce may have time off on some of the following holidays, such as Labor Day, Armed Forces Day, and Teachers' Day.
| Date | English Name | Local Name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 3, 4 or 5 | Farmer's Day | 農民節 | Lichun, the beginning of spring |
| March 12 | Arbor Day | 國父逝世紀念日 | Sun Yat-sen's passing on 12 March 1925 |
| March 29 | Youth Day | 靑年節 | Commemorates revolutionary Tenth Uprising in 1911 |
| April 29, July 30 | The Emperor's Birthday | 天長節 | The birthday of the reigning emperor has been a national holiday in Japan from 1868. Celebrated from 1895 to 1945 when Taiwan was a colony of Japan. |
| May 1 | Labor Day | 勞動節 | |
| May 4 | Literary Day | 文藝節 | Commemorates May Fourth Movement |
| May (second Sunday) | Mother's Day | 母親節 | Buddha's birthday was changed to fit the date of Mother's Day.[1][2] |
| June 3 | Opium Suppression Movement Day | 禁菸節 | Commemorates burning of opium in the First Opium War of 1839 |
| August 8 | Father's Day | 父親節 | Held on August 8 because the pronunciation of 8 (八; ba) is very close to the Chinese word for “dad” (爸; ba) |
| September 1 | Journalist' Day | 記者節 | Commemorates the promulgation of the Protection of Journalists and Public Opinion Organizations law in 1933[3] |
| September 3 | Armed Forces Day | 軍人節 | Honors the Republic of China Armed Forces, also Victory over Japan Day |
| September 28 | Teachers' Day | 孔子誕辰紀念日 | Confucius' Birthday |
| October 21 | Overseas Chinese Day | 華僑節 | |
| October 25 | Taiwan Retrocession Day | 臺灣光復節 | The Republic of China took control of Japanese Taiwan on 25 October 1945 and claimed that Taiwan had since returned to the Republic of China. However, the said claim is in dispute. |
| November 12 | Sun Yat-sen's Birthday | 國父誕辰紀念日 | Also Doctors' Day and Cultural Renaissance Day |
| Winter solstice | Dongzhi Festival | 冬至 | |
| December 25 | Constitution Day | 行憲紀念日 | Coincides with Christmas, and the anniversary of the 1947 ROC Constitution |
| Aboriginal Festivals | 原住民族歲時祭儀 | Dates to be published by the Council of Indigenous Peoples varies according to tribes |
| Date | English Name | Local Name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15th day of 1st lunar month | Lantern Festival | 元宵節 | Based on Chinese calendar |
| 15th day of 1st lunar month | Tourism Day | 觀光節 | Based on Chinese calendar |
| 2nd day of 2nd lunar month | Earth God's Birthday | 土地公誕辰 | Based on Chinese calendar |
| 19th day of 2nd lunar month | Kuan Yin's Birthday | 觀音誕辰 | Based on Chinese calendar |
| 15th day of 3rd lunar month | God of Medicine's Birthday | 保生大帝誕辰 | Based on Chinese calendar |
| 23rd day of 3rd lunar month | Matsu's Birthday | 媽祖誕辰 | Based on Chinese calendar |
| 8th day of 4th lunar month | Buddha's Birthday | 佛誕日 | Based on Chinese calendar |
| 13th day of 5th lunar month | Kuan Kung's Birthday | 關公誕辰 | Based on Chinese calendar |
| 13th day of 5th lunar month | Cheng Huang's Birthday | 城隍爺誕辰 | Based on Chinese calendar |
| 7th day of 7th lunar month | Qixi Festival | 七夕 | Based on Chinese calendar |
| 15th day of 7th lunar month | Ghost Festival | 中元節 | Based on Chinese calendar |
| 9th day of 9th lunar month | Double Ninth Festival | 重陽節 | Based on Chinese calendar |
| 15th day of 10th lunar month | Saisiat Festival | 賽夏節 | Pas-taai Festival of the Saisiat tribe |
Before 1949, a number of public holidays were celebrated by certain ethnic minorities in regions within the ROC, which were decided by local governments and entities. Since 1949, these holidays continued to be celebrated by ethnic groups as such in Taiwan Area only.
| Date | English name | Local name | Chinese name | Ethnic Groups |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 of Tibetan year | Losar | ལོ་གསར | 藏曆新年 | Tibetan community in Taiwan |
| 30.6 of Tibetan calendar | Sho Dun | ཞོ་སྟོན། | 雪頓節 | Tibetan community in Taiwan |
| 1.10 of Islamic calendar | Eid ul-Fitr | عيد الفطر | 開齋節 | Muslim community in Taiwan, not only Hui people, but also Filipino Muslim, Malay and Indonesian immigrants |
| 10.12 of Islamic calendar | Eid al-Adha | عيد الأضحى | 爾德節 | Muslim community in Taiwan, not only Hui people, but also Filipino Muslim, Malay and Indonesian immigrants |
| 3rd day of the 3rd Lunisolar month | Sam Nyied Sam | Sam Nyied Sam | 三月三 | Zhuang community in Taiwan |
See also
References
- ^ Camaron Kao (May 14, 2012), "Thousands of believers mark Buddha's birthday", China Post, archived from the original on June 16, 2013
- ^ Ko Shu-Ling (May 9, 2011), "Sakyamuni Buddha birthday celebrated", Taipei Times,
The legislature approved a proposal in 1999 to designate the birthday of Sakyamuni Buddha — which falls on the eighth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar — a national holiday and to celebrate the special occasion concurrently with International Mother's Day, which is celebrated on the second Sunday of May.
- ^ A Retrospective of Major News Media Events for the Republic of China’s Centennial Archived 3 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine, United Daily News Online
External links
- Holidays and Festivals in Taiwan
- Official Work Calendar in Taiwan by the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration (DGPA)
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