Updated October 25, 2026. The 2026 dates come from the holiday list published by Puerto Rico's government HR office (OATRH), as reported by Metro Puerto Rico and El Vocero; the 2027 dates come from OATRH memo ME 12-2026, as reproduced by Microjuris. The Governor can move a holiday by proclamation, so check close to the date.
Puerto Rico has 18 official public holidays in 2026: the U.S. federal holidays plus island holidays such as Three Kings Day, Emancipation Day, Constitution Day and Puerto Rico Discovery Day. On these days government offices, banks and most schools close. Shops, restaurants and attractions usually stay open, but hours can change.
2026 official holidays in Puerto Rico
| Date (2026) | Holiday |
|---|---|
| Thu, Jan 1 | New Year's Day (Año Nuevo) |
| Tue, Jan 6 | Three Kings Day (Día de Reyes) |
| Mon, Jan 19 | Martin Luther King Jr. Day |
| Mon, Feb 16 | Presidents' Day and Día de las Mujeres y Hombres Próceres de Puerto Rico |
| Mon, Mar 2 | American Citizenship Day (Día de la Ciudadanía Americana) |
| Sun, Mar 22 | Emancipation Day (Día de la Abolición de la Esclavitud) |
| Fri, Apr 3 | Good Friday (Viernes Santo) |
| Mon, May 25 | Memorial Day |
| Fri, Jun 19 | Juneteenth |
| Sat, Jul 4 | U.S. Independence Day |
| Sat, Jul 25 | Puerto Rico Constitution Day |
| Mon, Jul 27 | José Celso Barbosa Day |
| Mon, Sep 7 | Labor Day |
| Mon, Oct 12 | Día de la Raza / Columbus Day |
| Wed, Nov 11 | Veterans Day |
| Thu, Nov 19 | Discovery of Puerto Rico Day (Día de la Puertorriqueñidad) |
| Thu, Nov 26 | Thanksgiving (Día de Acción de Gracias) |
| Fri, Dec 25 | Christmas Day |
Source: OATRH 2026 list. For 2026 the Governor also gave public employees Jan 2 and Jan 5 off, charged to vacation leave (Executive Order OE-2025-058), so many government offices were closed those days too.
Puerto Rico holidays 2027
OATRH’s list for 2027 again has 18 official holidays. Four fall on a weekend: Juneteenth (Saturday), Independence Day (Sunday), Constitution Day (Sunday) and Christmas (Saturday).
| Date (2027) | Holiday |
|---|---|
| Fri, Jan 1 | New Year's Day (Año Nuevo) |
| Wed, Jan 6 | Three Kings Day |
| Mon, Jan 18 | Martin Luther King Jr. Day |
| Mon, Feb 15 | Presidents' Day / Próceres Day |
| Tue, Mar 2 | American Citizenship Day |
| Mon, Mar 22 | Emancipation Day |
| Fri, Mar 26 | Good Friday (Viernes Santo) |
| Mon, May 31 | Memorial Day |
| Sat, Jun 19 | Juneteenth |
| Sun, Jul 4 | U.S. Independence Day |
| Sun, Jul 25 | Puerto Rico Constitution Day |
| Tue, Jul 27 | Barbosa Day (José Celso Barbosa) |
| Mon, Sep 6 | Labor Day |
| Mon, Oct 11 | Día de la Raza / Columbus Day |
| Thu, Nov 11 | Veterans Day |
| Fri, Nov 19 | Discovery of Puerto Rico Day |
| Thu, Nov 25 | Thanksgiving |
| Sat, Dec 25 | Christmas Day |
Federal offices go by OPM’s observed dates instead: Friday, June 18 for Juneteenth, Monday, July 5 for Independence Day and Friday, December 24 for Christmas. Puerto Rico’s Governor may also shift a holiday to the closest Monday or Friday through a proclamation. To see what’s next at a glance, use our Puerto Rico holidays calendar.
Long weekends in 2027: Monday holidays land on January 18, February 15, March 22, May 31, September 6 and October 11, and Friday holidays on January 1, March 26 (Good Friday) and November 19. Expect busier beaches, ferries and hotels on those weekends.
The holidays that are uniquely Puerto Rican
Three Kings Day (January 6). The Epiphany is the traditional gift-giving day. On the night of January 5, children leave a box of grass for the Kings' camels, and in the morning the grass is gone and gifts appear. Many families now celebrate both Christmas and Reyes.
Presidents' Day and Próceres Day (third Monday in February). Puerto Rico combines the federal holiday with a day honoring island figures. The official 2026 list names 22 people, among them Eugenio María de Hostos, José de Diego, Luis Muñoz Rivera, Ramón Emeterio Betances, Luis Muñoz Marín, Lola Rodríguez de Tió, Julia de Burgos, Luisa Capetillo, Felisa Rincón de Gautier and Roberto Clemente.
American Citizenship Day (March 2). Commemorates the 1917 Jones Act, the law that granted U.S. citizenship to people born in Puerto Rico.
Emancipation Day (March 22). Remembers the day in 1873 when slavery ended on the island.
Constitution Day (July 25). Marks the Commonwealth constitution of 1952. July 25 is also the date U.S. troops landed at Guánica in 1898.
José Celso Barbosa Day (July 27). Honors José Celso Barbosa (born July 27, 1857), the physician known as the father of Puerto Rico's statehood movement.
Discovery of Puerto Rico Day (November 19). Marks Columbus's arrival on his second voyage in 1493 and is also called Día de la Puertorriqueñidad.
Christmas in Puerto Rico, step by step (2026–27 season)
Puerto Rico stretches the holidays over roughly 45 days, from Thanksgiving into the second half of January. This is how the coming season lines up:
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Thu, Nov 26, 2026 | Thanksgiving (Acción de Gracias). For many families, Christmas decorating starts the moment Thanksgiving dinner is over. |
| Through December | Parrandas. Friends gather at a door late at night and launch into aguinaldos (Christmas songs) with cuatro, güiro and panderetas; the hosts bring out food and drinks and often join the group for the next house. |
| Thu, Dec 24 | Nochebuena. For many Puerto Ricans the biggest night of the season: lechón, pasteles, arroz con gandules and coquito, and for some, Misa de Gallo (midnight Mass). |
| Fri, Dec 25 | Christmas Day (official holiday). Many museums and cultural sites close, so plan a beach day and a late lunch. |
| Thu, Dec 31 | Nochevieja. Some people eat 12 grapes at midnight, one per wish, or toss water out the door to get rid of the old year’s bad luck. |
| Fri, Jan 1, 2027 | New Year’s Day (official holiday). |
| Tue, Jan 5 | Three Kings’ Eve. Children fill a shoebox with grass for the Kings’ animals and leave it under the bed or by the tree. |
| Wed, Jan 6 | Three Kings Day (official holiday). Gifts in the morning, then parades and music in many towns. |
| Thu, Jan 7–Thu, Jan 14 | Las Octavitas. Eight more days of parrandas and music after Reyes; the name comes from octava, the Catholic custom of extending a feast for eight days. |
| Thu, Jan 21–Sun, Jan 24, 2027 | Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián (SanSe) in Old San Juan, the unofficial close of the season: cabezudos (big-headed parade figures), artisan stalls and live music. |
Big celebrations that aren't official holidays
- The long Christmas season. Puerto Rico's Christmas starts after Thanksgiving and runs until the Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián in Old San Juan in mid- to late January (January 21–24 in 2027). Expect parrandas (musical house-to-house visits) and holiday food.
- Noche de San Juan (June 23). On the eve of the feast of St. John the Baptist, the island's patron saint, people gather on the beaches. A popular custom: at midnight, back into the water and dunk yourself for luck.
- Easter Sunday. A religious holiday; Good Friday is the official day off.
- Patron saint festivals (fiestas patronales). Every town celebrates its patron saint with a street festival on its own dates.
Fiestas patronales: patron saint festivals by month
Every town honors its patron saint once a year. The Catholic Church handles the religious side, with Masses and processions, and the municipality puts on the party in the main plaza: carnival rides, food stands, games of chance and concerts. The celebrations once ran about ten days; most towns now keep them to around four. The dates below are the saints’ feast days as listed by EnciclopediaPR, the Puerto Rico Endowment for the Humanities’ encyclopedia. Each municipality sets its own festival dates around them, so check the town’s announcements before you go. That list doesn’t cover every municipality (Camuy and Florida, for example, aren’t on it).
| Month | Feast day, patron saint and towns |
|---|---|
| January | Jan 9, Sagrada Familia: Corozal Jan 17, San Antonio Abad: Añasco Jan 20, San Sebastián: San Sebastián |
| February | Feb 2, Virgen de la Candelaria: Coamo, Lajas, Manatí, Mayagüez Feb 3, San Blas: Coamo (its second patron) |
| March | Mar 17, San Patricio: Loíza Mar 19, San José: Ciales, Gurabo, Lares, Luquillo, Peñuelas Mar 31, San Benito: Patillas |
| April | Apr 29, San Pedro Mártir: Guaynabo |
| May | May 1, San Felipe Apóstol: Arecibo May 3, Santa Cruz: Bayamón, Trujillo Alto May 15, San Isidro: Maunabo, Sabana Grande May 30, San Fernando: Carolina, Toa Alta |
| June | Jun 13, San Antonio de Padua: Barranquitas, Ceiba, Dorado, Guayama, Isabela Jun 24, San Juan Bautista: Maricao, Orocovis, San Juan (the eve is the Noche de San Juan beach night) Jun 30, San Pedro Apóstol: Toa Baja |
| July | Jul 16, Virgen del Carmen: Arroyo, Barceloneta, Cataño, Cidra, Culebra, Hatillo, Morovis, Río Grande, Villalba Jul 25, Santiago Apóstol: Aibonito, Fajardo, Guánica, Loíza (its second patron), Santa Isabel Jul 31, San Germán: San Germán |
| August | Aug 6, Santo Cristo de la Salud: Comerío Aug 10, San Lorenzo: San Lorenzo Aug 15, Virgen de la Asunción: Cayey Aug 21, San Joaquín and Santa Ana: Adjuntas Aug 30, Santa Rosa de Lima: Rincón Aug 31, San Ramón Nonato: Juana Díaz |
| September | Sep 8, Virgen de la Monserrate: Aguas Buenas, Hormigueros, Jayuya, Moca, Salinas Sep 29, San Miguel Arcángel: Cabo Rojo, Naranjito, Utuado |
| October | Oct 2, Ángeles Custodios: Yabucoa Oct 4, San Francisco de Asís: Aguada Oct 7, Virgen del Rosario: Naguabo, Vega Baja, Yauco Oct 12, Virgen del Pilar: Canóvanas, Río Piedras (San Juan) Oct 24, San Rafael Arcángel: Quebradillas |
| November | Nov 4, San Carlos Borromeo: Aguadilla |
| December | Dec 8, Inmaculada Concepción: Guayanilla, Humacao, Juncos, Las Marías, Las Piedras, Vega Alta, Vieques Dec 12, Virgen de Guadalupe: Ponce |
What’s open and closed on Puerto Rico holidays
| Type of place | On official holidays |
|---|---|
| Puerto Rico government offices and public schools | Closed on the days in the OATRH list, including the island-only ones: Three Kings Day, American Citizenship Day, Emancipation Day, Good Friday, Constitution Day, Barbosa Day and Discovery Day. |
| Federal offices, such as post offices | Closed on the 11 federal holidays, using OPM’s observed dates, but they work on island-only holidays like Three Kings Day and Good Friday. |
| Banks | Usually closed; ATMs keep working. |
| Restaurants, shops and malls | Mostly open, sometimes with shorter hours. Discover Puerto Rico warns that plenty of attractions, restaurants and businesses trim hours or shut on December 24, December 25, January 1 and January 6 (Three Kings Day). |
| Museums and cultural sites | Many close on December 25; on other holidays, check each site’s schedule. |
| Beaches, parks and ferries | Open and at their busiest on long weekends; book Culebra and Vieques ferry seats early. |
Tips for travelers
- Banks and government offices close on official holidays. ATMs keep working.
- Beaches and parks get busy on long weekends, especially in summer and around Easter. Ferries to Culebra and Vieques fill up fast, so book early. See how to get to Culebra.
- Plan around the season: our guide to the best times to visit covers weather and crowds.
- Want to celebrate like a local? Start with things to do in Old San Juan and our history of Puerto Rico.
FAQ
How many public holidays does Puerto Rico have? 18 in 2026 and 18 in 2027, under the government's official lists.
Is Three Kings Day a holiday in Puerto Rico? Yes. January 6 is an official holiday, and Three Kings' Eve on January 5 is a big family night.
Does Puerto Rico celebrate the Fourth of July? Yes. U.S. Independence Day is an official holiday.
What is Puerto Rico's most important holiday season? Christmas, which runs from after Thanksgiving to the San Sebastián Street Festival in January.
What is celebrated on November 19 in Puerto Rico? Discovery of Puerto Rico Day, marking Columbus's arrival in 1493.
What are the Puerto Rico holidays in 2027? The 18 official days run from New Year’s Day (Friday, January 1) and Three Kings Day (Wednesday, January 6) through Thanksgiving (November 25) and Christmas (Saturday, December 25). The full list is in the 2027 table above.
What are three important holidays in Puerto Rico? Three Kings Day (January 6), the gift-giving high point of the Christmas season; Constitution Day (July 25), for the 1952 Commonwealth constitution; and Discovery of Puerto Rico Day (November 19). Christmas Eve isn’t an official holiday, but for many families it’s the biggest celebration of the year.
When is SanSe 2027? January 21–24, 2027, in Old San Juan, as announced by San Juan’s mayor.
Are businesses open on holidays in Puerto Rico? Most shops and restaurants are, often with shorter hours, while government offices and banks close. Closures peak on December 24 and 25, January 1 and January 6.
Originally published on PuertoRico.com (2023-01-24); last updated 2026-10-25.