Public holidays in Taiwan

The following are considered holidays in Taiwan. Some are official holidays, and some are not:

New Year's fireworks around Taipei 101.

Table of Taiwan holidays

Public holidays
2023 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.
January 21 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.
January 23-25 Chinese calendar First 3 working days of the 1st month Spring Festival or Chinese New Year 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 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 5 Gregorian calendar 15th day after the Spring Equinox Tomb Sweeping Day 淸明節 To remember and honor ancestors at grave sites
June 22 Chinese calendar 5th day of the 5th month Dragon Boat Festival 端午節 Commemorates the death of the patriot Qu Yuan.
September 29 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.

Gregorian calendar
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
Lunar calendar
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.

DateEnglish nameLocal nameChinese nameEthnic Groups
1st day of Tibetan yearLosarལོ་གསར藏曆新年Tibetan community in Taiwan
30.6 of Tibetan calendarSho Dun༄༅། ཞོ་སྟོན།雪頓節Tibetan community in Taiwan
1.10 of Islamic calendarEid ul-Fitrعيد الفطر開齋節Muslim community in Taiwan, not only Hui people, but also Filipino Muslim, Malay and Indonesian immigrants
10.12 of Islamic calendarEid al-Adhaعيد 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 monthSam Nyied SamSam Nyied Sam三月三Zhuang community in Taiwan

See also

References
  1. Camaron Kao (May 14, 2012), "Thousands of believers mark Buddha's birthday", China Post, archived from the original on June 16, 2013
  2. 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.
  3. 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
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