Sri Lanka Annual Public Holidays

Below are listed the Sri Lankan annual public holidays, Bank holidays, Sinhala holidays, Tamil holidays, Buddhist holidays and Islamic holidays, we are aware of:

January

1 January - New Year’s Day.

January * - Tamil Thai Pongal Day.

January * - Duruthu Full Moon Poya Day.

February

4 February - Sri Lanka National Day.

February * - Navam Full Moon Poya Day.

March

March * - Maha Sivarathri Day.

March * - Milad un-Nabi (Islamic - Birth of the Prophet).

March * - Medin Full Moon Poya Day.

March * - Good Friday.

April

April * - Good Friday.

April * - Eve of Sinhala and Tamil New Year.

April * - Sinhala and Tamil New Year.

April * - Bak Full Moon Poya Day.

May

1 May - May Day.

May * - Vesak / Wesak (Buddha Day).

June

June * - Poson Full Moon Poya Day.

July

July * - Esala Full Moon Poya Day.

August

August * - Nikini Full Moon Poya Day.

September

September * - Binara Full Moon Poya Day.

September * - Eid al-Fitr (Islamic - End of Ramadan).

October

October * - Vap Full Moon Poya Day.

October * - Deepavali / Dewali.

November

November * - Il Full Moon Poya Day.

November * - Eid al-Adha (Islamic - Hadji Festival Day).

December

December * - Unduvap Full Moon Poya Day.

25 December - Christmas Day.

Poya holidays are observed on the day of each full moon. In general, Hindu and Buddhist festivals are declared according to local astronomical observations and it is often only possible to forecast the approximate time of their occurrence. Some public holidays are followed by an additional holiday for banks only. Islamic festivals are timed according to local sightings of various phases of the moon and the dates given above are approximations.

During the lunar month of Ramadan that precedes Eid al-Fitr, Muslims fast during the day and feast at night and normal business patterns may be interrupted; however, since Sri Lanka is not a predominantly Islamic country restrictions, which travellers may experience elsewhere, are unlikely to cause too many problems.

* All full moon poya days dates are yet to be confirmed for the coming year.

We apologise for the repetition of some place or proper names with different spellings, but there is no definitive spelling translation of these words.

We welcome reviews of any Sri Lanka resorts, hotels or visitor attractions. Please see our contributing writer's guidelines.

JeGraNet.com statement - 15 October 2008 - Quote from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office website: "There is a high threat from terrorism in Sri Lanka. Fatal attacks have become more frequent. They have occurred in Colombo and throughout Sri Lanka, including places frequented by expatriate and foreign travellers. Further attacks may occur at any time. There is an increasing risk of British nationals being caught up in an attack". As independent travellers we left Colombo after just 9 days into our planned 6 month stay as a result of a feeling of insecurity, however we are sure that 'package tour' travellers to tourist resorts will probably enjoy a worry free holiday.