Singapore has 11 gazetted public holidays in 2026, and the Ministry of Manpower confirmed the dates on 16 June 2025. Three of them, Vesak Day, National Day and Deepavali, fall on a Sunday, so the following Monday is a public holiday for anyone whose rest day is Sunday. That quirk, plus Good Friday, Labour Day and Christmas all landing on a Friday, gives the year six long weekends. This guide lists every 2026 date, explains the Sunday-to-Monday rule and the Saturday off-in-lieu rule, and shows exactly which annual leave days to book so a small leave balance turns into several week-long trips.
These are the gazetted dates from MOM. Two of them are floating Islamic holidays, Hari Raya Puasa and Hari Raya Haji, which depend on the lunar calendar. MOM has gazetted the dates below, but the actual day can shift by a day on moon-sighting confirmation, so treat those two as firm but not impossible to move.
Chinese New Year is the only two-day holiday, covering both the first and second day of the new year. Every other holiday is a single day.
| Holiday | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | 1 January | Thursday |
| Chinese New Year | 17 February | Tuesday |
| Chinese New Year | 18 February | Wednesday |
| Hari Raya Puasa | 21 March | Saturday |
| Good Friday | 3 April | Friday |
| Labour Day | 1 May | Friday |
| Hari Raya Haji | 27 May | Wednesday |
| Vesak Day | 31 May | Sunday |
| National Day | 9 August | Sunday |
| Deepavali | 8 November | Sunday |
| Christmas Day | 25 December | Friday |
Three 2026 holidays fall on a Sunday: Vesak Day on 31 May, National Day on 9 August and Deepavali on 8 November. Under the Employment Act, when a public holiday falls on your rest day, the next working day becomes a paid public holiday. For most people on a Monday-to-Friday week, Sunday is the rest day, so the Monday after each of these three becomes a holiday.
That turns 1 June, 10 August and 9 November 2026 into public holidays for the typical office worker. You do not apply for this and your employer cannot make you work the Sunday instead; the substitute Monday is automatic once the holiday lands on your rest day.
The mechanics matter because the Sunday itself was already a non-working day for most people. The value sits entirely in the bonus Monday. Three of the six long weekends in 2026 come from exactly this rule.
| Holiday | Sunday date | Public holiday in lieu |
|---|---|---|
| Vesak Day | 31 May 2026 | Monday 1 June 2026 |
| National Day | 9 August 2026 | Monday 10 August 2026 |
| Deepavali | 8 November 2026 | Monday 9 November 2026 |
Hari Raya Puasa on 21 March 2026 falls on a Saturday. Saturday is not a rest day for most people; on a five-day week it is a non-working day, and the rule is different from the Sunday case.
When a public holiday falls on a non-working day like Saturday, MOM says you are entitled to either a day off in lieu or an extra day's salary at your gross rate of pay. There is no automatic Monday holiday. Whether you get the day off or the pay is set by your employer's policy or your employment contract, so check how your company handles it rather than assuming a long weekend.
This is the one holiday in 2026 where the benefit depends on your employer. If your company gives an off-in-lieu day, you can park it next to another holiday to build your own long break. If it pays you in lieu instead, you get the cash but no extra day off.
One caveat: the off-in-lieu and salary-in-lieu rules cover employees under the Employment Act. Managers and executives earning above the salary cap, and certain other roles, may have different contractual terms, so the contract is the final word for higher earners.
A long weekend forms when a holiday sits next to the weekend. In 2026 that happens six times: three from Friday holidays and three from the Sunday-to-Monday rule. Time Out and local press reported six long weekends after MOM's announcement, up from four in 2025.
The Friday holidays are Good Friday on 3 April, Labour Day on 1 May and Christmas Day on 25 December. Each gives a clean three-day weekend with zero annual leave spent. The three Sunday holidays give Mondays off, so those weekends also run three days from Saturday to Monday.
| Long weekend | Holiday | Days off | Annual leave used |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 April | Good Friday (Fri) | Fri, Sat, Sun | 0 |
| 1 to 3 May | Labour Day (Fri) | Fri, Sat, Sun | 0 |
| 30 May to 1 June | Vesak Day (Sun) plus Mon | Sat, Sun, Mon | 0 |
| 8 to 10 August | National Day (Sun) plus Mon | Sat, Sun, Mon | 0 |
| 7 to 9 November | Deepavali (Sun) plus Mon | Sat, Sun, Mon | 0 |
| 25 to 27 December | Christmas Day (Fri) | Fri, Sat, Sun | 0 |
Parents have a second calendar to juggle. The Ministry of Education set the 2026 school year to run from 2 January to 20 November, split into four terms with a one-week break between Terms 1 and 2, the long mid-year vacation, a week between Terms 3 and 4, and the year-end break. Match your annual leave to these windows and the whole family is off together, which beats burning leave on a random week when the kids are still in class.
The two windows that overlap public holidays are the best value. The March mid-term break runs Saturday 14 March to Sunday 22 March and ends right on Hari Raya Puasa, so a short trip there piggybacks on a holiday. The mid-year vacation runs Saturday 30 May to Sunday 28 June, opening the day before Vesak Day and the bonus Monday, which means the first long weekend of the school break is almost free of leave for a working parent too.
Three scheduled school holidays sit outside the public holiday list: Youth Day on Monday 6 July (observed), Teachers' Day on Friday 4 September and Children's Day on Friday 2 October for primary schools. These are days the children are off but most parents are not, so they are the days to spend a leave day if you want a family outing without the public-holiday crowds.
| Period | Dates | Overlaps a public holiday |
|---|---|---|
| Term 1 | 2 Jan to 13 Mar | New Year, Chinese New Year |
| Term 1-2 break | 14 to 22 Mar | Hari Raya Puasa (21 Mar) |
| Term 2 | 23 Mar to 29 May | Good Friday, Labour Day, Hari Raya Haji |
| Mid-year vacation | 30 May to 28 Jun | Vesak Day plus 1 Jun Monday |
| Term 3 | 29 Jun to 4 Sep | National Day plus 10 Aug Monday |
| Term 3-4 break | 5 to 13 Sep | None |
| Term 4 | 14 Sep to 20 Nov | Deepavali plus 9 Nov Monday |
| Year-end vacation | 21 Nov to 31 Dec | Christmas Day (25 Dec) |
The point of a holiday calendar for your wallet is leverage on annual leave. A single day of leave next to a public holiday can buy a four-day weekend; a couple of leave days around a two-day holiday can buy nine days off. The best opportunities in 2026 are Chinese New Year, the late-May cluster and National Day.
Chinese New Year is the standout. The two holidays fall on Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 February. Take Monday 16 February as one leave day and you get Saturday through Wednesday, five days off for one day of leave. Add Thursday 19 and Friday 20 February, two more leave days, and the break runs Saturday 14 February to Sunday 22 February, nine days off for three leave days.
Late May has two holidays close together. Hari Raya Haji is Wednesday 27 May and Vesak Day is Sunday 31 May with Monday 1 June off. Take Thursday 28, Friday 29 and Tuesday 2 June, that is leave used across the gap, and you can chain a long stretch from the Wednesday holiday through to the following weekend. The exact plan depends on whether your company gives the Hari Raya Puasa Saturday in lieu earlier in the year.
National Day on Sunday 9 August gives Monday 10 August off. Take Tuesday 11 to Friday 14 August, four leave days, and you get Saturday 8 August to Sunday 16 August, nine days off. The same trick works for the Deepavali Monday in November.
If you are putting numbers to a trip, the leave-to-days-off ratio is the figure to chase. One leave day for a four-day weekend is a 1-to-4 return; four leave days for nine days off is better than 1-to-2. Plan the year in January, get the requests in before colleagues claim the same dates, and slot the trip cost into your personal budget calculator so the airfare and accommodation do not blow the month.
| Holiday window | Leave days to take | Total days off | Leave-to-off ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese New Year (17 to 18 Feb) | 16 Feb | 5 (14 to 18 Feb) | 1 : 5 |
| Chinese New Year (17 to 18 Feb) | 16, 19, 20 Feb | 9 (14 to 22 Feb) | 1 : 3 |
| National Day (Mon 10 Aug) | 11 to 14 Aug | 9 (8 to 16 Aug) | 1 : 2.25 |
| Deepavali (Mon 9 Nov) | 10 to 13 Nov | 9 (7 to 15 Nov) | 1 : 2.25 |
| Good Friday (3 Apr) | 30 Mar to 2 Apr | 9 (28 Mar to 5 Apr) | 1 : 2.25 |
Here is the full year laid out, holiday by holiday, with the single cheapest leave move next to each one. The plans assume a Monday-to-Friday week with Saturday and Sunday off. A blank in the leave column means the holiday already sits on a Friday or gives a Monday off, so the long weekend costs nothing.
The three no-cost dates need no planning beyond booking ahead. The dates worth a leave day are the mid-week ones, where a single day bridges the holiday to the nearest weekend. New Year's Day on a Thursday is the small exception: one leave day on Friday 2 January turns the start of the year into a four-day break before work has properly begun.
| Holiday | Falls on | Smartest leave day | Resulting break |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | Thu 1 Jan | Fri 2 Jan | 1 to 4 Jan, 4 days |
| Chinese New Year | Tue-Wed 17-18 Feb | Mon 16 Feb | 14 to 18 Feb, 5 days |
| Hari Raya Puasa | Sat 21 Mar | Fri 20 Mar (if off-in-lieu given) | Depends on employer |
| Good Friday | Fri 3 Apr | None | 3 to 5 Apr, 3 days |
| Labour Day | Fri 1 May | None | 1 to 3 May, 3 days |
| Hari Raya Haji | Wed 27 May | Thu 28, Fri 29 May | 27 May to 1 Jun, 6 days |
| Vesak Day | Sun 31 May plus Mon 1 Jun | None | 30 May to 1 Jun, 3 days |
| National Day | Sun 9 Aug plus Mon 10 Aug | None | 8 to 10 Aug, 3 days |
| Deepavali | Sun 8 Nov plus Mon 9 Nov | None | 7 to 9 Nov, 3 days |
| Christmas Day | Fri 25 Dec | None | 25 to 27 Dec, 3 days |
Long weekends are when fares and hotel rates spike, because half of Singapore is trying to leave at once. The cheapest move is the short hop. Johor Bahru is a bus or train ride away and a Friday-holiday weekend there costs a fraction of a regional flight. Our Johor Bahru budget guide breaks down transport, food and the currency maths.
For flights, the holidays that fall mid-week are your friend. Hari Raya Haji on Wednesday 27 May and the Chinese New Year Tuesday-Wednesday both let you fly out on a quieter day rather than the Friday-evening crush, which usually means lower fares and emptier airports.
Book the no-leave long weekends early. Good Friday, Labour Day and Christmas are fixed and everyone can see them coming, so flights and hotels for those dates climb fastest. The Sunday-to-Monday weekends in late May, August and November are slightly less obvious to casual planners, so there is sometimes more value left on those.
Whatever you book, keep the trip funded from a sinking fund rather than the credit card. Set aside a fixed amount each month into a separate pot for travel, and the long weekend is paid for before you go. If that money sits idle for months, park it somewhere that earns interest while it waits.
Not everyone gets the day off. Retail, food and beverage, healthcare and many service jobs run through the holidays. If you are covered by the Employment Act and you work on a gazetted public holiday, your employer owes you an extra day's salary at the basic rate of pay on top of your gross pay for that day, or by mutual agreement a substitute day off or time off in lieu.
There is a split that catches people out. The extra-day-of-pay rule applies to workmen and to employees covered by Part 4 of the Employment Act, which since April 2019 means non-workmen earning up to 2,600 dollars a month. If you earn above that cap, you are not under Part 4, and the standard arrangement for working a holiday is time off in lieu rather than the extra day's pay. For a holiday you work, that is a full day off if you put in more than half your normal hours, or half a day off if you worked half or less, by mutual agreement.
Part-timers are paid pro-rata. MOM works the holiday entitlement off your contractual hours against a full-timer's, so a three-day-a-week employee gets a smaller holiday-pay figure than a five-day-a-week colleague for the same date. The principle is the same, the number is scaled to the hours you actually work.
The substitute-day option matters for shift workers. Rather than the extra pay, you can agree to take another working day off instead, which is useful if you would rather have the rest than the cash.
If you are weighing the extra pay against a day off, treat the cash as money you can redirect. An extra day's pay banked and not spent is a small top-up to savings or to a goal, and even modest amounts add up when they are not frittered away. The salary calculator can show what an extra day at your rate is actually worth before you decide, and our breakdown of public holiday, leave and overtime pay rules covers the wider entitlements.
Treat the public holiday list as a once-a-year planning document, not a thing you check in passing. Block the long weekends in your calendar in January, decide which one or two you will actually travel for, and get the leave requests in before the popular dates fill up. Leave is a finite budget like money, and the people who plan first get the dates they want.
The pattern of 2026 rewards early planning more than most years because the holidays cluster. February has the Chinese New Year block, late May has Hari Raya Haji and Vesak Day within days of each other, and the back half of the year has National Day and Deepavali both giving Mondays. Spread your leave across these instead of dumping it all in December and you get more breaks for the same number of days.
Keep the spending in check while you are at it. A year with six long weekends is a year with six chances to overspend on travel and dining. Decide the trips and the budget up front, fund them from a dedicated pot, and the holidays stay a source of rest rather than a January credit card bill.
There are 11 gazetted public holidays in 2026, the same number Singapore gets every year under the Employment Act. Chinese New Year accounts for two of them, on 17 and 18 February.
There are six long weekends in 2026. Three come from Friday holidays (Good Friday on 3 April, Labour Day on 1 May, Christmas on 25 December) and three from Sunday holidays where the following Monday is off (Vesak Day, National Day and Deepavali).
Vesak Day (31 May), National Day (9 August) and Deepavali (8 November) all fall on a Sunday in 2026. For anyone whose rest day is Sunday, the following Monday, 1 June, 10 August and 9 November, becomes a paid public holiday.
Hari Raya Puasa falls on Saturday 21 March 2026. When a holiday lands on a non-working day like Saturday, you are entitled to either a day off in lieu or an extra day's salary at your gross rate. Which one you get depends on your employer's policy or contract.
Chinese New Year is the best opportunity: take 16 February for a five-day break, or 16, 19 and 20 February for nine days off using three leave days. National Day and Deepavali each let you turn four leave days into nine days off around the Monday holiday.
If you are covered by the Employment Act and work on a public holiday, you get an extra day's salary at the basic rate of pay on top of your gross pay for that day, or by agreement a substitute day off or time off in lieu.
The Ministry of Manpower gazetted and announced the 2026 public holidays on 16 June 2025. The Hari Raya Puasa and Hari Raya Haji dates can shift slightly on moon-sighting confirmation.
The Ministry of Education set the 2026 school year from 2 January to 20 November. The main breaks are 14 to 22 March between Terms 1 and 2, the mid-year vacation from 30 May to 28 June, 5 to 13 September between Terms 3 and 4, and the year-end break from 21 November to 31 December.
Yes, but it is pro-rated. The Ministry of Manpower scales the holiday entitlement to your contractual hours against a full-timer's, so a part-timer working fewer days a week gets a smaller holiday-pay figure for the same date than a full-time colleague.
The extra day's salary at the basic rate applies to workmen and to employees covered by Part 4 of the Employment Act, which means non-workmen earning up to 2,600 dollars a month. If you earn above that cap, the usual arrangement for working a holiday is time off in lieu rather than the extra day's pay.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.