The government has published the list of public holidays for 2027 after the cabinet approved it. Government officials and employees will get 29 days of public holidays next year, general holidays and those declared by executive order together.
The Ministry of Public Administration issued the notification on Thursday, November 5. As this year, there will be five days off for Eid al-Fitr, six for Eid al-Adha and two for Durga Puja.
According to the notification, there are 14 general holidays and 15 holidays by executive order, 29 in all. Seven of them fall on a Friday or Saturday, so government employees will in effect get 22 days off. The holidays will be observed in all government and semi-government offices and in statutory, autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies in 2027.
General holidays: February 21, Martyrs’ Day and International Mother Language Day; March 5, Jumatul Wida; March 10, Eid al-Fitr; March 26, Independence and National Day; April 13, Chaitra Sankranti; May 1, May Day; May 17, Eid al-Adha; May 20, Buddha Purnima (Baishakhi Purnima); August 5, July Mass Uprising Day; August 15, Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi; August 25, Janmashtami; October 10, Durga Puja (Bijaya Dashami); November 7, National Revolution and Solidarity Day; December 16, Victory Day; and December 25, Christmas Day.
Holidays by executive order: January 24, Shab-e-Barat; March 7, Shab-e-Qadr; four days around Eid al-Fitr, March 8 and 9 before it and March 11 and 12 after it; April 14, Bengali New Year; five days around Eid al-Adha, May 15 and 16 before it and May 18 to 20 after it; June 16, Ashura; and October 9, the Maha Navami day of Durga Puja.
Optional holidays: For Muslims, the optional holidays are January 6, Shab-e-Miraj; March 13, the third day after Eid al-Fitr; May 21, the fourth day after Eid al-Adha; July 28, Akheri Chahar Shamba; September 13, Fateha-e-Yazdaham; and December 26, Shab-e-Miraj.
For Hindus, they are February 11, Saraswati Puja; March 6, Shivaratri; March 22, Dol Jatra; April 4, the birth anniversary of Harichand Thakur; September 30, Mahalaya; October 7 and 8, Durga Puja (Saptami and Ashtami); October 14, Lakshmi Puja; and October 28, Shyama Puja.
For Christians, they are January 1, New Year’s Day; February 10, Ash Wednesday; March 25, Maundy Thursday; March 26, Good Friday; March 27, Holy Saturday; March 28, Easter Sunday; and December 24 and 26, the days before and after Christmas.
For Buddhists, they are February 20, Maghi Purnima; April 13, Chaitra Sankranti (for the communities concerned outside the three hill districts); May 19 and 21, the days before and after Buddha Purnima; July 18, Ashari Purnima; September 15, Madhu Purnima; and October 14, Prabarana Purnima (Ashwini Purnima).
For employees from ethnic minority communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and elsewhere, April 12 and 15 are optional holidays for Baisabi and the similar festivals of the other communities of the hill districts.
The notification says an employee may be allowed up to three days of optional holidays a year according to their own religion. Each employee must get prior approval from the proper authority at the start of the year for the three days they choose. Optional holidays may be taken together with general holidays, executive-order holidays and the weekly days off.
Offices whose hours and holidays are governed by their own laws, and offices, bodies and institutions whose service the government has declared essential, will declare these holidays under their own rules with the public interest in mind, the notification says.
The cabinet approved the list at its meeting at the Secretariat on Monday, November 2, chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report