World Holidays & Festivals - Rules, Types & Celebrating Countries

About World Holidays & Festivals

Why this table gives rules, not this year's dates

A specific date expires every year; the rule that produces it does not. Knowing that Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November, or that Eid al-Fitr follows a purely lunar calendar and therefore drifts earlier each Gregorian year, stays useful indefinitely and also explains why the date moves at all. To convert a particular year, use a dedicated calendar converter.

How to read the calendar column

Fixed Gregorian dates never move. Rule-based Gregorian dates land on a weekday pattern such as the third Monday of January. Easter-based holidays are counted forward or backward from Easter. Lunisolar calendars (Chinese, Hindu, Hebrew) keep months aligned to the moon and years roughly aligned to the sun, so dates shift within a range. The Islamic calendar is purely lunar, which is why its holidays move steadily earlier.

Using the two-country comparison

Pick your country and a counterpart country to split the curated holidays into three groups: days both sides rest, days only the other country rests, and days only you rest. The middle group is the one that breaks cross-border scheduling. Your country can be filled from your saved home country, which stays in this browser only.

What is and is not included

The table covers internationally recognized festivals plus representative national holidays of major countries. It is not a complete statutory holiday calendar for any single country, and it does not cover regional or provincial holidays, substitute working days, or bridge days. Because coverage differs by country, the two-country comparison is limited to countries whose representative holidays are covered in depth.

FAQ

Common questions and answers about this topic.

Why does Lunar New Year fall on a different date every year?

Lunar New Year is defined as the first day of the first month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar, not as a Gregorian date. A lunar month tracks the moon and runs about 29.5 days, so twelve of them fall short of a solar year; leap months are inserted to keep the calendar aligned with the seasons. The result is a date that moves within a window from late January to mid-February.

Why does Eid al-Fitr come earlier each year?

The Islamic calendar is purely lunar with no leap month, so its year runs roughly 354 days — about 11 days shorter than the solar year. Every Islamic holiday therefore drifts about 11 days earlier in the Gregorian calendar annually and cycles through all four seasons over roughly 33 years. Some countries confirm the start of the month by physically sighting the new moon, so neighbouring countries can observe the day one day apart.

What is the difference between a national holiday, a religious holiday and a traditional festival?

They answer different questions. A national holiday is a legal category — the state declares a day off. A religious holiday comes from a faith tradition and may or may not be a legal day off depending on the country. A traditional festival is a cultural practice that can be either. Japan’s Obon is the clearest example of the gap: it is not a statutory holiday, yet most of the country stops working.

How do I avoid scheduling meetings during the other country’s holidays?

Use the two-country comparison above: pick your country and theirs, then read the middle group — days the other side rests while you work. Those are the ones that break schedules. Also watch for extended periods that are not single days: Golden Week and Obon in Japan, Songkran in Thailand, and the Eid holidays in Muslim-majority countries typically suspend business for the better part of a week.

Why can’t I find this year’s exact dates here?

Because a specific date is the part that expires. This reference records the rule that generates the date — the fourth Thursday of November, the first day of the first lunar month — which stays correct indefinitely and works offline without annual maintenance. It also explains why a date moves, which a year-by-year list never does. For converting a particular year, use a dedicated calendar converter.

Why is Orthodox Christmas on 7 January?

They celebrate the same day — 25 December — but on a different calendar. Churches that still follow the Julian calendar are currently 13 days behind the Gregorian one, so their 25 December lands on 7 January in Gregorian terms. The gap widens by one day roughly every 130 years, so this is not a permanent figure.

Data Sources

This tool's data is compiled from the authoritative sources below.

Data last maintained 2026-07-28