Mexico Holidays And Festivals

Mexico loves to celebrate its rich history, and nearly every month boasts a national holiday. In addition to these official fiestas, cities and towns across the country host smaller-scale but lively events to honor patron saints or local traditions. Further information about these frequent celebrations can be found in individual city listings. Sundays are always special; “daily” schedules frequently refer only to Monday through Saturday.

Most Mexican businesses close to observe national holidays, and hotels and sights flood with vacationing families. Advance reservations are absolutely necessary when planning travel during Semana Santa and the Christmas holidays. Dates listed below are for 2008 and 2009.

Date	Name	Description
January 1	Año Nuevo	New Year’s Day
January 6	Día de los Reyes	Mexicans have traditionally honored the historic journey of the Three Wise Men by giving and receiving gifts on this day (rather than on Christmas).
January 17	Día de San Antonio de Abad	Feast of the Blessing of the Animals
February 2	Día de la Candelaria	Candlemas commemorates Mary’s purification 40 days after the birth of Jesus.
February 5	Día de la Constitución	Constitution Day
February 24	Día de la Bandera	Flag Day
Jan. 31-Feb. 5 2008 February 19-24 2009	Carnaval	A spectacular week-long festival of indulgences before the 40-day abstinence of Lent. The liveliest celebrations take place in coastal cities such as Mazatlán.
March 21	Día del Nacimiento de Benito Juárez	Birthday of Benito Juárez, 1806
March 16-23 2008 April 4-19 2009	Semana Santa	Mexico’s most popular holiday is marked by colorful processions re-enacting the resurrection of Jesus and highways clogged with vacationing families.
April 30	Día de los Niños	Children’s Day
May 1	Día del Trabajo	Labor Day
May 5	Cinco de Mayo	Anniversary of the Mexican victory at the Battle of Puebla, 1862
May 10	Día de las Madres	Mother’s Day
June 1	Día de la Marina	Navy Day
August 15	La Asunción (Feast of the Assumption)	Churches are carpeted with flowers to celebrate the feast day of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
September 16	Día de la Independencia	Anniversary of the Cry of Dolores, 1810
October 12	Día de la Raza	Day of Race, honoring Mexico’s cultural diversity.
November 1-2	Día de Todos Santos and Día de los Muertos	Families honor the souls of their ancestors, who are thought to return to Earth on this day, by visiting cemeteries and creating shrines laden with offerings.
November 20	Día de la Revolución	Anniversary of the Revolution, 1910
December 12	Día de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe	Feast day of Mexico’s patron saint.
December 16-24	Posadas	Candlelit processions that celebrate the voyage of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem.
December 24	Nochebuena	Christmas Eve
December 25	Navidad	Christmas Day