Public Holidays in
Ecuador
Ecuador's public holidays
mostly celebrate historic events and religious festivals.
Some public holidays are national and apply to the
whole of Ecuador, some
are local to a particular city. A public or bank holiday may
be applied on a Friday if the actual date falls at the weekend or
midweek. In this case it is common for festivities to happen
on the actual date and then people have the day off on the official
date anyway, thus getting two holidays for the price of one.
Some celebrations are not
actually public holidays, but the public stop working and celebrate
anyway and there is very little that the goverment can do about it.
In general, if there is an excuse for a party, people in
Ecuador will celebrate it.
National Public Holidays in
Ecuador
Regional Public
Holidays, or Festivals not officially Public
Holidays but widely celebrated anyway
February/March - Carnival
(Carnaval,
just before Lent) Dates vary, in 2009 Carnival public holidays are 23
& 24 February, but workers must compensate by working 2
Saturdays in March. Carnaval involves flinging water and/or
flour
at everyone, including total strangers and tourists with expensive
cameras - be warned. Throwing water in through the windows of
moving vehicles is not outside the rules either.
March/April - Easter
(Semana Santa, literally Holy Week). Dates vary, Good Friday
is 10 April in 2009. Holy
(Maundy)
Thursday
(Jueves Santo) is widely celebrated, but the official public
holiday is Good
Friday (Viernes
Santo). The parade in Quito´s Old Town attracts
large crowds
as the cross is carried past the old colonial churches.
1 May - Labour Day
(Dia del Trabajo)
24 May - Battle of
Pichincha
(Batalla del Pichincha)
24 July Birthday of Simón Bolivar (Nacimiento
de Bolívar)
10 August - Independence
Day
(Primer Grito de Independencia)
9
October - Independence of Guayaquil (Guayaquil only)
(Independencia de Guayaquil) Usually celebrated in Guayaquil
with a
parade.
2 November - Day of the
Dead, or All Souls´Day
(Día de los Difuntos) Families visit cemeteries and leave
offerings of bread
figurines for deceased relatives. The traditional
food at this time is bread babies (guaguas de pan) and a
purple
drink (colada morada).
3 November - Independence of Cuenca (Independencia de
Cuenca)
6
December -
Foundation of Quito (Quito
only) (known
as "las fiestas de Quito")
with parades, parties and bullfights in
Quito.
Effectively marks the beginning of Christmas for most
Quiteños, many of whom put up Christmas trees as well as the
Quito
flag.
25 December - Christmas
Day (Navidad) The present-giving and Christmas dinner
actually take
place at midnight on 24th December (the "noche buena" or good night, so
the 25th is usually spent
recovering.
31 December - New
Year´s Eve (Nochevieja, literally "old
night",
or Fin de Año, end of year)
when symbolic figures of the old year are burnt to signify a fresh
start to the new year. Also expect lots of fireworks.
1 January - New Year
(Año Nuevo)
Public holidays in
Ecuador are often celebrated with family, which for many people means
travelling back to their home town or village.
Consequently buses
are often packed around these dates, so either try to avoid travelling
around public holiday dates, if possible, or else reserve a ticket
ahead of time.
Public
Holidays in Ecuador
Ecuador public holidays - dates and traditions. Religious
festivals, regional celebrations, popular fiestas and traditional
holiday observances in Ecuador. Information is given in good
faith and no responsibilty can be taken for errors or omissions.
