Public holidays and closing days in Syria

Three separate calendars feed the Syrian year: fixed-date national holidays, Islamic festivals that follow the lunar calendar, and Christian feasts kept by two different reckonings. What matters to anyone planning a trip is when they collide and what is shut on the day.

Fixed-date national holidays

1 January New Year, 18 March Syrian Revolution Day, 21 March Newroz and Mother’s Day, 17 April Independence Day, 1 May Labour Day, 8 December Liberation Day, 25 December Christmas. The list was rewritten by decree in October 2025: the 8 March Revolution Day, Teachers’ Day, Tishreen Liberation War Day and Martyrs’ Day were dropped, and 18 March and 8 December added. Newroz became a public holiday in January 2026; the same decree recognised Kurdish as a national language. On these days government offices, banks and museums close, while restaurants and the souqs stay open.

Festivals on the lunar calendar

Four are official: Eid al-Fitr (1 Shawwal), Eid al-Adha (10 Dhu al-Hijjah), Mawlid (12 Rabi al-Awwal) and the Islamic New Year (1 Muharram). Because the lunar year is shorter than the solar one, these days move back by about 11 days each year and work their way through the whole calendar over three decades. The exact date depends on the sighting of the moon and can shift by a day, and how many days the public holiday runs is announced separately each year.

Ramadan and the two Eids in 2027

The approximate dates: Ramadan begins on 8 February 2027 and ends on 8 March, Eid al-Fitr falls around 9 March, and Eid al-Adha around 16 May. For comparison, 2026: Ramadan ran 18 February to 19 March, Eid al-Fitr 20-22 March, Eid al-Adha 26-30 May. All of these are approximate — check the official announcement for the year before you book a ticket or a room.

Travelling during Ramadan

Many restaurants close during daylight or work behind a curtain; places that serve people who are not fasting exist, but you have to look for them. Government hours shorten and so do museum hours. Traffic locks up as the fast-breaking meal approaches, then the street empties in a moment. The lull is short. After the meal the souqs stay open until midnight, and that is when the city really fills. The last week before the Eid is the busiest the markets get. On the first day of the Eid almost everything is shut and transport and hotels are full.

Two Easters

Easter is an official holiday on both the Gregorian and the Julian reckoning, because the Christian communities in the country keep two different calendars. In most years there is a week between them: in 2026 Western Easter fell on 5 April and Eastern Easter on 12 April. In 2027 the gap is five weeks, 28 March against 2 May. In 2028 the two land on the same day, 16 April. Around Bab Touma in Damascus and in Maaloula you see the difference directly: two separate weeks, two separate preparations.

How Friday works

The weekend is Friday and Saturday, and the official working week runs Sunday to Thursday. For anyone arriving from Turkey or Lebanon this is inverted, and it bites on the plan: on Friday government offices, banks and consulates are closed. Saturday too. At the time of Friday noon prayers the souqs and shops shut for an hour or two and mosques close to visitors, then everything opens again. Friday afternoon is the liveliest part of the week in the cities, and the hardest time to find an intercity car.

When museums and souqs close

The weekly closing day differs from one museum to the next and has moved several times in the last two years. We do not print a day on this page, because printing the wrong day is worse than printing none — have your hotel telephone ahead. Hours move too. Museums are closed on national holidays and on the first day of an Eid. The souqs open every day apart from the hour of Friday prayers, though individual shops keep their own closing days.