The following are considered

holiday A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...

s in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. Some are official holidays, and some are not.

History

In 2016, the

Tsai Ing-wen Tsai Ing-wen (; pinyin: ''Cài Yīngwén''; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician and legal scholar who served as the seventh president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2016 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party ...

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. 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. The removed public holidays were: * January 2, the day after

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

* March 29,

Youth Day Youth Day or National Youth Day is a commemorative holiday in honour of youth, young people, celebrated in different parts of the world on various dates throughout the year. Many countries' observance of the day corresponds with International Yo ...

(commemorating the Huanghuagang Uprising) * September 28, Confucius' Birthday * October 25,

Retrocession Day Retrocession Day is the annual observance and former public holiday in Taiwan commemorating the end of Japanese rule of Taiwan and Penghu and the claimed return of Taiwan to the Republic of China on 25 October 1945. However, the idea of " Taiw ...

(commemorating the end of Japanese rule of

and

Penghu The Penghu ( , Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī, POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘'' or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, about west of the main island of Taiwan across the Penghu Ch ...

and the return of Taiwan to the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

) * October 31, Chiang Kai-shek’s birthday * November 12, Sun Yat-sen's birthday * December 25,

Constitution Day Constitution Day is a holiday to honour the constitution of a country. Constitution Day is often celebrated on the anniversary of the signing, promulgation or adoption of the constitution, or in some cases, to commemorate the change to constitut ...

Attempted Reinstatement of Removed Holidays in 2025

A longstanding political debate over reinstating the removed public holidays was reignited during the second session of the

Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan () is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a ...

in February, 2025.

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

legislators said they would seek to reinstate the holidays by amending labor regulations. The proposal received support from a

Taiwan People's Party The Taiwan People's Party (TPP) is a centre-left political party in Taiwan. It was formally established on 6 August 2019 by Ko Wen-je, who served as its first chairman. The party considers itself as an alternative third party to both the De ...

legislator who said their party would support the change. The

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...

caucus suggested the proposal was

populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...

. On May 9, 2025, the Legislative Yuan passed the

third reading A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature. In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming ...

of the Memorial Days and Holidays Implementation Act, upgrading the prior administrative-level regulations to legal status. The reform introduces four new national holidays:

Lunar New Year's Eve Chinese New Year's Eve is the day before the Chinese New Year. The holiday falls between January 21 and February 20 on the Gregorian calendar. Evolving over a long period of time, it is considered a reunion day for every ethnic Chinese family. The ...

, Confucius' Birthday (September 28), Taiwan Retrocession and Battle of Guningtou Memorial Day (October 25), and

(December 25). Additionally,

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

(May 1), previously a holiday only for laborers, is now a national holiday for all citizens. The revised law also guarantees that the Lunar New Year break will span at least seven days, potentially extending to ten. Further adjustments include allowing Indigenous peoples to choose three holidays based on their specific traditional ceremonies. New commemorative days such as Freedom of Speech Day (April 7), Indigenous Resistance Day (June 16), and

Human Rights Day Human Rights Day (HRD) is list of minor secular observances#December, celebrated annually around the world on 10 December every year. The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December ...

(December 10) were also added.

Table of Taiwan holidays

Public holidays

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. 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.

References

External links

Holidays and Festivals in Taiwan

{{DEFAULTSORT:Public Holidays in the Republic Of China

Observances in Taiwan

Holidays A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...