Public holidays in Taiwan

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New Year's fireworks around Taipei 101. Taipei 101 New Year Firework Tai Bei 101Kua Nian Yan Huo  - panoramio.jpg
New Year's fireworks around Taipei 101.

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

Contents

History

In 2016, the Tsai Ing-wen government removed seven public holidays. The holidays were removed due to a political compromise arising from a campaign promise Tsai made while running for president that committed her government to providing two days off per week for all workers. [1]

When implementing the change, the government faced opposition from various interests including businesses, and a compromise was reached to provide two days off per week and remove seven paid public holidays. [2]

The removed public holidays were:

A longstanding [4] political debate over reinstating the removed public holidays was reignited during the second session of the Legislative Yuan in February, 2025. Kuomintang legislators said they would seek to reinstate the holidays by amending labor regulations. The proposal received support from a Taiwan People's Party legislator who said their party would support the change. The Democratic Progressive Party caucus suggested the proposal was populist. [5]

Table of Taiwan holidays

Public holidays

2025 Gregorian Date(s) ObservedType of calendar followedDate on calendarEnglish NameChinese NameRemarks
January 1 Gregorian calendar January 1Founding 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 25-27 Lunisolar calendar Last day (29th/30th day) of the 12th month Taiwanese New Year 農曆除夕Eve of the Taiwanese New Year.
January 28-February 2 Lunisolar calendar First 3 working days of the 1st month Taiwanese New Year 農曆新年/過年Day of Taiwanese New Year.
February 28-March 2 Gregorian calendar February 28 Peace Memorial Day 228和平紀念日 Commemorates the February 28 Incident in 1947.
April 3-6 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 3-6 Gregorian calendar 15th day after the Spring Equinox Tomb Sweeping Day 淸明節To remember and honor ancestors at grave sites
May 30-June 1 Lunisolar calendar 5th day of the 5th month Dragon Boat Festival 端午節Commemorates the death of the patriot Qu Yuan.
October 4-6 Lunisolar 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 10-12 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
DateEnglish nameLocal nameRemarks
February 4 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
May 1 Labor Day 勞動節Government offices and schools remain open; banks and financial markets closed
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. [6] [7]
June 3Opium Suppression Movement Day禁菸節Commemorates burning of opium in the First Opium War of 1839
August 1Indigenous Peoples’ Day原住民族日On July 31, 2005, the Council of Indigenous Peoples hosted its inaugural ceremony for the rectification of the name ‘indigenous peoples.’ President Chen Shui-bien spoke at the event and declared August 1 to be Indigenous Peoples' Day. In 2016, the administration under President Tsai Ing-wen approved a proposal that designated 1 August as Indigenous Peoples' Day in Taiwan.
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 1Journalist' Day記者節Commemorates the promulgation of the Protection of Journalists and Public Opinion Organizations law in 1933 [8]
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
DateEnglish nameLocal nameRemarks
15th day of 1st lunar month Lantern Festival 元宵節Based on Chinese calendar
15th day of 1st lunar monthTourism 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 monthGod 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-ta'ai 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
1.1 of Tibetan calendar Losar ལོ་གསར藏曆新年Tibetan community in Taiwan
30.6 of Tibetan calendar Sho Dun ཞོ་སྟོན།雪頓節Tibetan community in Taiwan
1.10 of Islamic calendar Eid ul-Fitr عيد الفطر開齋節 Muslim community in Taiwan, not only Hui people, but also Filipino Muslim, Malay and Indonesian immigrants
10.12 of Islamic calendar Eid al-Adha عيد 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 month Sam Nyied Sam Sam Nyied Sam三月三 Zhuang community in Taiwan

See also

References

  1. "Is Taiwan Out of Kilter with Reality?|Politics & Society|2017-02-17|CommonWealth Magazine". CommonWealth Magazine (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on September 15, 2024. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  2. "Is Taiwan Out of Kilter with Reality?|Politics & Society|2017-02-17|CommonWealth Magazine". CommonWealth Magazine (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on September 15, 2024. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  3. "An Introduction to the National Revolutionary Martyrs' Shrine of R.O.C". February 10, 2025. Archived from the original on May 21, 2024. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  4. staff, Asia Times (September 27, 2017). "Taiwan workers say 7 public holidays should be restored". Asia Times. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  5. Thomson, Jono (February 2, 2025). "Taiwan opposition lawmakers propose restoring 7 public holidays". Taiwan News. Retrieved February 2, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. Camaron Kao (May 14, 2012), "Thousands of believers mark Buddha's birthday", China Post , archived from the original on June 16, 2013
  7. 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.
  8. 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