In Brazil, public holidays may be legislated at the federal, statewide and municipal levels. Most holidays are observed nationwide. Apart from the yearly official holidays (listed below), the

Constitution of Brazil The Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil ( pt, Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil) is the supreme law of Brazil. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of Brazil and the feder ...

also establishes that

election day Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections ar ...

s are to be considered national holidays as well.

General election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

s are biennially held on the first Sunday of October in the first round, and on the last Sunday of October in the second round. Numerous religious and ethnic holidays are also celebrated in Brazil.

Secondary holidays

Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fat ...

, The day of

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

. *

Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and falls on the first day of Lent (the six weeks of penitence before Easter). It is observed by Catholics in the Rom ...

Wednesday after Carnival, the last Carnival day. *

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...

, the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, is a municipal holiday in many places. *

Dia das Mães DIA or Dia may refer to: Government establishments * Defense Intelligence Agency, United States foreign military intelligence agency * Defence Intelligence Agency (India) Indian foreign military intelligence agency * Department of Internal Affa ...

, the Brazilian observation of Mother's Day, is celebrated every second Sunday in May. * Corpus Christi is celebrated on the Thursday, 60 days after Easter Sunday. *

Dia dos Namorados Dia dos Namorados (, ''Lovers' Day'') is a special date celebrated on June 12 in Brazil. The date is celebrated with gifts, romantic activities, decorations and festivities. The date is June 12 since it is close to Saint Anthony's Day on June ...

, the Brazilian equivalent of

St. Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...

, is observed on June 12. On this day, boyfriends and girlfriends, husbands and wives, exchange gifts, cards, or a flower bouquet. It is celebrated on the eve of

St. Anthony of Padua Anthony of Padua ( it, Antonio di Padova) or Anthony of Lisbon ( pt, António/Antônio de Lisboa; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order. He was bor ...

's day, because, in Brazil, he is considered the patron of those who wants a loving companion. *

Festas Juninas ''Festas Juninas'' (, ''June Festivals'', "festivities that occur in the month of June"), also known as ''festas de São João'' for their part in celebrating the nativity of St. John the Baptist (June 24), are the annual Brazilian celebrations ...

, the Catholic feasts of Santo Antônio, São João and São Pedro are celebrated June 13, 24, and 29 respectively in many Brazilian cities, especially in the Northeast region. *

Dia dos Pais DIA or Dia may refer to: Government establishments * Defense Intelligence Agency, United States foreign military intelligence agency * Defence Intelligence Agency (India) Indian foreign military intelligence agency * Department of Internal Affa ...

, the Brazilian observation of Father's Day, is celebrated every second Sunday in August. *

Dia das Crianças DIA or Dia may refer to: Government establishments * Defense Intelligence Agency, United States foreign military intelligence agency * Defence Intelligence Agency (India) Indian foreign military intelligence agency * Department of Internal Affa ...

, the Brazilian Children's Day, is celebrated on October 12, coinciding with the feast of Our Lady of Aparecida.

Regional holidays

Federal law gives each state the right to create one state holiday, and each municipality to create up to four municipal holidays. Some of the more notable ones are: * January 12: Founding of Belém, City of Belém only. * January 20: Saint Sebastian (São Sebastião), City of Rio de Janeiro only. * January 22: Founding of the first city in Brazil, São Vicente. City of São Vicente only. * January 25: Founding of São Paulo (Aniversário de São Paulo), City of São Paulo only. * January 26: Founding of Santos (Aniversario de Santos), City of Santos only. * April 21: Founding of Brasilia (Aniversário de Brasília), coinciding with Tiradentes, Federal District only. * April 23: Saint George (São Jorge), City of Rio de Janeiro only. In 2007, governor Sérgio Cabral expanded this holiday to all the State of Rio de Janeiro. * July 2: Bahia Independence Day, State of Bahia only. * July 8: Sergipe Political Emancipation Day, State of Sergipe only * July 9: Constitutionalist Revolution (Revolução Constitucionalista), State of São Paulo only. * August 15: Our Lady of the Good Voyage (Nossa Senhora da Boa Viagem), City of

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...

only. * August 26: Emancipation of the city of Campo Grande, City of Campo Grande only. * September 8: Our Lady of the Light in the Pine (Nossa Senhora da Luz dos Pinhais), City of Curitiba only. * September 20: Farroupilha's Revolution (Revolução Farroupilha), State of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...

only. * October 11: Creation of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, separated from

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – lit. "Thick Bush") is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest by area, located in the Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible for 1.9% of the Brazilian GDP. Neighboring ...

in 1977, State of

Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul () is one of the Midwestern states of Brazil. Neighboring Brazilian states are (from north clockwise) Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay, to the southwest, and ...

only. * October 3: Uruaçú and Cunhaú Martyrs Day, State of Rio Grande do Norte only. * October 24: Founding of Goiânia, City of Goiânia only. * November 4: Founding of

São Carlos São Carlos (Saint Charles, in English, ; named after Saint Charles Borromeo) is a Brazilian municipality in the interior of the state of São Paulo, 254 kilometers from the city of São Paulo. With a population of 254,484 inhabitants, it is th ...

, City of São Carlos only. * November 20: Zumbi of Palmares, Black Awareness Day (Zumbi dos Palmares, Dia da Consciência Negra), cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro only. * November 21: Our Lady of Apresentação (Nossa Senhora da Apresentação) Day, City of Natal only. * November 30: Evangelical Day (Dia do Evangélico), Federal District only. * December 8: Our Lady of Conceição (Dia de Nossa Senhora da Conceição), State of Pernambuco, City of

, City of Dourados, and Cities of Santa Maria and São Leopoldo (Rio Grande do Sul) only. * December 19: Emancipation of the Province of Paraná, State of Paraná only.

References

... {{DEFAULTSORT:Public Holidays In Brazil Brazil

Public holidays A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history, ...

Observances in Brazil Brazilian entertainment-related lists

Holidays A holiday is a day set aside by Norm (social), custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate ...