The Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Labor has officially released the 2026 holiday calendar, implementing the nation’s unique holiday rescheduling system established by Law 139-97. This longstanding legislation allows for the strategic movement of midweek holidays to Mondays, creating extended weekends throughout the year.
According to the published schedule, Dominican workers can anticipate seven extended holiday weekends during 2026. The system operates on the principle that when a holiday falls on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, it is automatically relocated to the preceding Monday, effectively creating three-day weekends. This approach applies regardless of whether the original holiday date falls on a Friday, with the weekend extending through Sunday.
The 2026 holiday calendar begins with Three Kings’ Day, originally falling on Tuesday, January 6th but officially moved to Monday, January 5th. This creates the first extended weekend starting at noon on Saturday, January 3rd through Monday, January 5th.
Subsequent extended weekends include:
– January 24th-26th: Celebrating Juan Pablo Duarte’s birthday
– February 27th-29th: National Independence Day observances
– April 3rd-5th: Holy Week holidays (Good Friday observance)
– May 2nd-4th: Labor Day celebrations (moved from first Friday of May)
– November 7th-9th: Constitution Day observances
– December 25th-27th: Christmas celebrations
Additionally, 2026 features five fixed-date holidays that maintain their original scheduling: New Year’s Day (January 1), Our Lady of Altagracia Day (January 21), Corpus Christi Day (June 4), Restoration Day (August 16), and Our Lady of Mercy Day (September 24). This brings the total number of official holidays for 2026 to twelve, with seven offering extended weekend opportunities for Dominican workers and families.