The calendar
Nicaragua combines national holidays with deeply rooted religious celebrations such as La Purísima on 7 December, plus each city's patron-saint festival.
Country view
Nicaragua · 2026
12 recorded days · 12 public · 0 bank · 0 school · 0 regional
SponsoredYour ad here · 728 × 90
12In 26 days
Indigenous Resistance Day
Monday · 12 Oct 2026 · Public
DateHolidayTypeShops shut?
01JanNew Year's Day
Nationwide
PublicShut
Air Force Day
Nationwide
PublicShut
Holy Thursday
Nationwide
PublicShut
Labour Day
Nationwide
PublicShut
Army Day
Nationwide
PublicShut
Liberation Day
Nationwide
PublicShut
Battle of San Jacinto
Nationwide
PublicShut
Independence Day
Nationwide
PublicShut
Indigenous Resistance Day
Nationwide
PublicShut
Immaculate Conception
Nationwide
PublicShut
Christmas Day
Nationwide
PublicShut
New Year's Eve
Nationwide
PublicShut
● Public most things closed · ● Bank banks only · ● Regional some areas · ● School term dates
Bridge days worth booking
One day of leave, four days off. These are the 2026 dates where the maths works.
Immaculate Conception
Tuesday · 8 Dec 2026
Falls on a Tuesday. Book the Monday off and you get a four-day weekend — expect a lot of colleagues to do exactly that.
Book off: 7 Dec 2026
New Year's Eve
Thursday · 31 Dec 2026
Falls on a Thursday. Book the Friday off and you get a four-day weekend — the classic bridge day.
Book off: 1 Jan 2027
How the holiday year works in Nicaragua
How people take the days
Holy Week is the long stop of the year, and Managua's August festivities for Santo Domingo give local days off that the national calendar doesn't show.
If you're visiting
On La Purísima households open their doors for the gritería, singing and handing out sweets: on the night of 7 December the whole city is outside.
If you live here
Check your city's municipal holidays as well as the national list; Managua and León differ.
What these days actually mean
Observance, business closures and transport impact for the next few dates.
Indigenous Resistance Day
12 Oct 2026
- Observance
- Officially recognised as a public holiday, so most people have the day off work.
- Business
- Expect offices, banks and the majority of shops to be closed.
- Transport
- Public transport usually runs a Sunday or holiday timetable.
General guidance based on this day's official classification, not country-specific reporting.
Immaculate Conception
8 Dec 2026
- Observance
- Officially recognised as a public holiday, so most people have the day off work.
- Business
- Expect offices, banks and the majority of shops to be closed.
- Transport
- Public transport usually runs a Sunday or holiday timetable.
General guidance based on this day's official classification, not country-specific reporting.
Christmas Day
25 Dec 2026
- Observance
- The central Christian winter feast; in most countries the household gathering matters more than the church service.
- Business
- Near-total closure of retail, offices and banks. Expect the preceding afternoon to shut early too.
- Transport
- Skeleton or suspended services in many countries. Book intercity travel well ahead.
New Year's Eve
31 Dec 2026
- Observance
- Officially recognised as a public holiday, so most people have the day off work.
- Business
- Expect offices, banks and the majority of shops to be closed.
- Transport
- Public transport usually runs a Sunday or holiday timetable.
General guidance based on this day's official classification, not country-specific reporting.