How public holidays work in Bangladesh

Updated: 5 Nov 2026 · 4 min read

Bangladesh announces each year’s public holidays in advance, but they don’t all work the same way. Some are for everyone, some only for employees of one faith, and some move with the moon. This year’s dates are on public holidays.

Who sets the list

The Ministry of Public Administration drafts the next year’s list, the cabinet approves it, and the ministry issues it as a notice. The 2026 list was approved by the interim government’s Advisory Council on 6 November 2025 and issued on 9 November 2025. The cabinet approved the 2027 list, 29 days in all (15 general, 14 by executive order), on 2 November 2026.

The list covers government, semi-government and autonomous offices. Bodies that run under their own laws, or whose services are declared essential, set their own holidays.

Days can be added later. In 2026 a separate notice gave a holiday for the parliamentary election, and a cabinet decision added 18 March, making Eid ul-Fitr a seven-day break (17 to 23 March). Some holidays are local, such as Chaitra Sankranti in the three hill districts.

Three kinds of holiday

The 2026 notice has 14 general holidays and 14 by executive order, 28 in all, a few of them on a Friday or Saturday. Optional holidays are counted separately.

Kind	What it covers	2026 examples
General (সাধারণ ছুটি)	National days and the main day of big festivals	21 February, 26 March, both Eid days, Bijoya Dashami, 16 December, Christmas
Executive order (নির্বাহী আদেশে ছুটি)	Days around festivals and other occasions	Days around each Eid, Shab-e-Barat, Pahela Baishakh, Ashura, Maha Navami
Optional (ঐচ্ছিক ছুটি)	Festivals of your own faith	5 days listed for Muslims, 9 for Hindus, 8 for Christians, 7 for Buddhists, 2 for small ethnic communities

The notice gave Eid ul-Fitr five days in all, Eid ul-Adha six and Durga Puja two. An employee may take up to three optional days a year for their own religion, with approval at the start of the year, and may join them to general, executive-order or weekly holidays.

Holidays that depend on the moon

The two Eids, Shab-e-Barat, Shab-e-Qadr, Ashura and Eid-e-Miladunnabi follow the Hijri lunar calendar. The list gives an expected date, and the notice says holidays that depend on moon sighting may change.

The final date is set by the National Moon Sighting Committee. Chaired by the religious affairs minister, it meets in the evening at the Islamic Foundation at Baitul Mukarram, and sightings are reported to deputy commissioners and upazila nirbahi officers. If the moon is seen after the 29th fast, Eid is the next day; if not, Ramadan runs to 30 days. So a holiday can shift by a day.

In 2026 the moon was not seen on the evening of 19 March, so Eid fell on Saturday 21 March, as listed; a sighting would have brought it a day earlier.

Banks can differ

Bangladesh Bank sends scheduled banks their own holiday circular based on the government notice: 28 days besides weekly holidays in 2026. New holidays bring new circulars; all banks were shut on 11 and 12 February 2026 for the election.

1 July and 31 December are also “bank holidays” every year. They are not on the government list, but banks close their books for the half-year and the year and serve no customers. On 1 July 2026, branch cash, cheque clearing and pay orders stopped and the stock exchanges did not trade, while ATMs, cards and mobile banking kept working, though some interbank services may pause.

When you plan

Check the date on public holidays, which updates daily from Google’s Bangladesh holiday calendar; the government notice is final.
Leave a day’s margin around moon-dependent holidays when booking travel.
Watch for new notices from the Ministry of Public Administration and Bangladesh Bank.
Finish bank work early before long breaks, 1 July and 31 December.
Request optional days early in the year. Private offices and essential services may follow other rules; ask your employer.

Sources

Written by bdrate.fyi. Rules and prices change: check the latest notice from the body concerned before you decide. Spotted a mistake? Tell us: [email protected]