This is a comprehensive listing of official and non-official holidays and long weekends set for 2012. These dates are important to know, both for work and for programming vacation time. Note as elsewhere in the world, long weekends will bring droves of locals to hotels all around the country, with the consequential bottlenecks on highways and crowded establishments in the resort areas. It is also a good time to enjoy the cities.
Official holidays 2012 [2011]
These holidays will be celebrated on their actual days in 2012:
- Sunday, 1 January: New Year's Day.
- Saturday, 21 January: Our Lady of Altagracia Day.
- Monday, 27 February: Independence Day.
- Thursday, 16 August: Restoration Day.
- Monday, 24 September: Our Lady of Mercedes Day.
- Tuesday, 25 December: Christmas Day.
Rotating official holidays:
The following holidays are being celebrated on the closest Monday to the actual date:
- Monday, 9 January: Three Kings Day. Actually falls on Friday, 6 January.
- Monday, 30 January. Day of Duarte. Actually falls on Thursday, 26 January.
- Monday, 30 April. Labor Day. Actually falls on Tuesday, 1 May.
Non-rotating official holidays following the Roman Catholic Church calendar:
- Friday, 6 April: Good Friday.
- Thursday, 23 June: Corpus Christi Day.
Not a holiday, but observed by many:
- Thursday, 5 April. The Thursday before Good Friday that falls on 6 April.
- Thursday, 26 April. National Secretary Day.
- Sunday, 27 May. Mother's Day. Last Sunday in May.
- Sunday, 29 July. Father's Day. Last Sunday in July.
- Monday, 24 December. Christmas Eve Day.
- Tuesday, 31 December. New Year's Eve.
Note that December is for Dominicans, what August is for Europeans. Do not expect too much to be done in December, unless entertainment related. Too many parties going on.
Long weekends in 2012 (with Monday's falling on a holiday):
- 6, 7, 8, 9 January. 3 Kings Day Long Weekend. Dominicans may take off from Thursday, 6 January, extending the holidays for a weekend dedicated to the family. This actually marks the end of the Christmas holidays.
- 27, 28, 29, 30 January. Duarte Day. Actually celebrated on 26 January, but it is moved to Monday, creating the long weekend.
- 5, 6, 7, 8 April. Dominicans will take off from Thursday, 5 April. This is a peak vacation time for domestic travelers. Good Friday falls on 6 April in 2011.
- 27, 28, 29 30 April. Labor Day is celebrated on Monday, 30 April making for a long weekend.
- 7, 8, 9 June. Thursday, 7 June celebrates Corpus Christi Day, a religious holiday, and many will make it the first summer vacation, converting it into a long weekend.
- 16, 17, 18, 19 August. This marks the Restoration Day holiday and this year a new President will be sworn in. The 16th falls on a Thursday, so for many Restoration Day will create a very long weekend, especially since this is August, near the end of school vacation period.
- 21, 22, 23, 24 September. Mercedes Day long weekend. Mercedes Day falls on a Monday creating the long weekend.
- 2, 3, 4, 5 November. Constitution Day long weekend.