With 140 verified public holidays across twelve countries in our 2026 database, the year is packed with days off, long weekends, and planning opportunities. But a long list is only useful if you turn it into action. Here is your month-by-month 2026 holiday checklist, so you never miss a day off, a booking window, or a celebration.
January to March: start strong
January opens with New Year’s Day on Thursday, January 1, a midweek holiday made for bridge-day tactics: take Friday, January 2 and enjoy four days off. The US also takes January 19 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and February 16 for Washington’s Birthday, while Pakistan observes Kashmir Day on February 5 and Saudi Arabia celebrates Founding Day on February 22. March is dominated by lunar festivals: Holi on March 4 in India, and Eid-ul-Fitr expected around March 20 to 23 across Pakistan, India, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, pending moon sighting. Book Eid travel early; it is one of the year’s peak windows.
April to June: spring holidays
April brings the Easter cluster: Good Friday on April 3 and Easter Monday on April 6 are public holidays across most of Europe, the UK, Australia, and Canada, but not the US. May is packed: Labour Day on May 1 in most countries, the UK’s Early May and Spring bank holidays on May 4 and 25, and Eid-ul-Adha expected around May 27 to 29 in the Gulf and South Asia, with Arafat Day around May 26. June adds the US Juneteenth holiday on June 19 and tentative Islamic New Year observances around June 15 to 16. Spring is the year’s densest holiday season, so plan leave and travel well ahead.
July to September: summer and national days
July centres on North American celebrations: Canada Day on July 1 and US Independence Day observed on July 3, since July 4 is a Saturday. France takes Bastille Day on July 14, and August brings Assumption Day on August 15 in France, Spain, and Italy, plus Pakistan’s Independence Day on August 14 and India’s on August 15. September features Saudi National Day on September 23, US Labor Day on September 7, and Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30. Summer holidays reward early bookers: flights and hotels peak around every one of these dates.
October to December: the grand finale
Autumn brings Germany’s Unity Day on October 3, Spain’s National Day on October 12, and Diwali on November 8 in India, followed by Pakistan’s Iqbal Day on November 9 and the UK and US remembrance observances on November 11. December is the crown: Christmas Day on Friday, December 25 gives much of the world a natural long weekend, with Boxing Day substitutes on Monday, December 28 in the UK and Australia. The year’s final checklist item: confirm your 2027 calendars as they are announced, and set a reminder to re-check every lunar date before travelling. Plan the year once, and the holidays take care of themselves.
Rolling the checklist into 2027
A holiday checklist should not expire in December. As 2026 winds down, roll the system forward: note which 2027 dates are already predictable, like Christmas on Saturday, December 25, 2027, and which need official confirmation. Review what worked in your 2026 planning: did you book Eid travel early enough, did the Easter weekend deliver, did you waste leave on poorly timed days? Update your subscribed calendar apps with the new year’s data as it is published, and keep the lunar dates marked tentative until announced. The real prize is compounding: each year your holiday planning gets a little sharper, your leave a little more valuable, and your travel a little smoother. Start the 2027 version of this checklist in November 2026, and you will wonder how you ever planned any other way.