Singapore Public Holidays - Year 2016

Singapore will have a total of eleven(11) national public holidays in 2016. For other special days celebrated but not officially gazetted, see Other Important Dates and Chinese Calendar (for Chinese customary festivals) links in the menu.

This year, two(2) public holidays fall on Sundays. There is one 'super-long' weekend during Chinese New Year, and five(5) long weekends* (New Year's Day, Good Friday, Labour Day, Hari Raya Haji and Christmas Day).
* A weekend(two days) with a preceding or succeeding official holiday, forming a continuous 3-day break.

The offical rest day of the week is Sunday[1]. Many companies and organizations also do not work on Saturdays[2], or work only 1/2 days while others work on an alternating-Saturday schedule.

The official public holidays (bank holidays) in Singapore for year 2016 are listed below.

New Year's Day

This is the first day of the year, and as with most other countries in the world which have adopted the Gregorian calendar, Singapore welcomes this day with a public rest day.

Chinese New Year / Lunar New Year

For year 2016, the Chinese Lunar New Year starts on a Monday leading to a 'super-long' weekend (Saturday to Tuesday) holiday stretch. Gregorian year 2016 coincides mainly with the year of the Monkey in the Chinese zodiac. The year before would be a Goat year, and the following year(2017) will be the year of the Rooster. The associated heavenly element (one of five) for the Chinese year coinciding mainly with Gregorian year 2016 is the Fire element in the Yang form.

Good Friday

Good Friday is the day Christians commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It is the Friday before Easter Day (Sunday) which is itself not gazetted as a holiday in Singapore.

Labour Day

Labour Day is also commonly known as May Day in Singapore because it is commemorated in on the 1st day of the month of May. This is a gazetted holiday in recognition of workers' contribution to the progress and prosperity of Singapore.

Vesak Day

Vesak Day is observed by Buddhists in Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and many other southeast Asian countries in memory of Gautama Buddha's birth, attainment of Nirvana and passing. Vesak Day (or Wesak as it is knowned in some other countries such as Malaysia) is a gazetted public holiday in multi-religious Singapore.

Hari Raya Puasa

Hari Raya Puasa is the local Malay name for the Muslim religious holiday/celebration of Eid al-Fitr (or Aidil-fitri) which marks the end of the Islamic holy month of fasting, Ramadan.

National Day

In 2016, Singapore celebrates its 51st year of independence since 1965.

Hari Raya Haji

Hari Raya Haji is the local Malay name for the Muslim religious holiday/celebration of Eid al-Adha. It is held to honour the willingness of the prophet Ibrahim(Abraham) to sacrifice his young son Ismail(Ishmael) in submission to Allah(God).

Deepavali

Deepavali, also known as Diwali and, popularly, the Festival of Lights, is an Indian holiday/festival celebrated by Indians, especially by adherents of Hinduism, Sikhism and Jainism.

* From Year 2016, the exact date of Deepavali will be confirmed by the Hindu Endowments Board the year before. In previous years, the date of Deepavali for that year was subject to change and updated in the months of March/April of the year.

Christmas Day

Singapore, with a substantial percentage of the population being of the Christian and Catholic faiths, celebrates this important day as a gazetted national holiday. With an increasing trend of commercialization of this religiously significant season, many Singaporeans(known for their love of shopping), Christians and non-Christians alike, look forward to the December period for its retail sales bonanza as well. In the run-up to Christmas day itself, the Singapore tourism promotion board and retail stakeholders spare no effort to decorate and light up the well-known shopping belt Orchard Road.