Uruguay keeps a secular calendar with its own official names: Holy Week is Tourism Week and 6 January is Children's Day. Some holidays are paid and some are not, and the difference shows on the payslip.

How people take the days

Tourism Week is the country's effective holiday week: offices, schools and much of retail close, and it coincides with the Criolla del Prado.

If you're visiting

Uruguay's carnival is the longest in the world — forty days of tablados and llamadas parades in Montevideo, with two holidays in the middle.

If you live here

Unpaid holidays don't automatically entitle you to the day's wage if you don't work; check your sector's collective agreement.

What these days actually mean

Observance, business closures and transport impact for the next few dates.

Day of the race

12 Oct 2026

Public

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.

Deceased ones day

2 Nov 2026

Public

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

Public

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.

UYUruguay · 2026

How the holiday year works in Uruguay

The calendar

How people take the days

If you're visiting

If you live here

What these days actually mean

Day of the race

Deceased ones day

Christmas Day

Uruguay · 2026