With the long Semana Santa weekend coming up next week, it might be a good time to remind visitors of the other Holiday dates coming up in 2010. Most Dominican businesses will be closed on these dates, including banks. ATM's will run out of money quickly, although in tourist areas many grocery stores, petrol stations and the like will remain open for business as usual. Be prepared for long lines in other areas, along with beach closures, and lots of police on the streets as Dominicans empty the cities and head for hotels and condos in resort areas.
Here's a list of 2010 holidays from
DR1. For the official government holidays page,
see this page.
Official holidays 2010
These holidays will be celebrated on their actual days in 2010:
Friday, 1 January: New Year's Day.
Thursday, 21 January: Our Lady of Altagracia Day.
Saturday, 27 February: Independence Day.
Saturday, 1 May: Labor Day.
Monday, 16 August: Restoration Day.
Friday, 24 September: Our Lady of Mercedes Day.
Saturday, 6 November: Constitution Day.
Saturday, 25 December: Christmas Day.
Rotating official holidays:
The following holidays are being celebrated on the closest Monday to the actual date:
Monday, 4 January: Three Kings Day. Actually falls on 6 January.
Monday, 25 January. Day of Duarte. Actually falls on 26 January.
Non-rotating official holidays following the Roman Catholic Church calendar:
Friday, 2 April: Good Friday.
Thursday, 3 June: Corpus Christi Day.
Not a holiday, but observed by many:
Thursday, 1 April. The Thursday before Good Friday that falls on 2 April.
Monday, 26 April. National Secretary Day.
Sunday, 30 May. Mother's Day. Last Sunday in May.
Sunday, 25 July. Father's Day. Last Sunday in July.
Friday, 24 December. Christmas Eve Day.
Friday, 31 December. New Year's Eve.
Note that December is for Dominicans, what August is for Europeans. Do not expect too much to be done in December, unless entertainment related. Too many parties going on.
Long weekends in 2010 (with Monday's falling on a holiday):
31, 1, 2, 3, 4, January. The longest string of days off will happen for the 2010 New Year break. Dominicans will likely take off from Wednesday, 30 December while major partying takes place on Thursday, 31 December, continuing into the long weekend. Take note that Monday, 4 January is also a holiday, celebrating Three Kings Day, which extends the New Year vacation period to five days.
21, 22, 23, 24, 25 January. Another long string of holidays will happen again in mid January when Altagracia Day (21 January, honoring the Virgin Mary protector of the Dominican Republic) combines with Duarte Day (celebrated on 25 January, honoring the founder of the Dominican nation).
1, 2, 3, 4 April. Dominicans will take off from Thursday, the latest for the Easter holidays, a peak vacation time. Good Friday falls on 2 April this year.
3, 4, 5, 6 June. Thursday, 3 June celebrates Corpus Christi Day, a religious holiday, but many will make it the first summer vacation.
14, 15, 16 August. This marks the Restoration Day holiday, and the start of the 2010-2016 Congress and Municipal new governments. The 16th August holiday falls on a Monday, making for a long weekend.
24, 25, 26 September. Celebrates the Day of Mercedes on Friday, 24 September honoring the Virgin Mary patron saint.
23, 24, 25, 26 December. Christmas Eve this year falls on a Friday, so expect people to start taking off by Thursday, the 23rd.
30, 31 December 2010 - 1, 2 January 2011. New Year's Eve falls on Friday, 31 December, turning this into the last long weekend of the year.
Dominican Holidays 2010
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