Public holidays in Mexico
In Mexico there are three major kinds of public holidays:
- Statutory holiday: Holidays observed nationwide. Employees are entitled to a day off with regular pay and schools are closed.
- Civic holiday: These holidays are observed nationwide, but employees are not entitled to a day off with pay.
- Festivities: These are traditional holidays to honor religious events, such as Carnival, Holy Week, Easter, etc. or public celebrations, such as Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day, etc.
Statutory holidays
Statutory holidays are legislated through the federal government and ruled by the Federal Labor Law. Most workers, public and private, are entitled to take the day off with regular pay. However, some employers may require employees to work on such a holiday, but the employee must be paid:- the regular pay for the statutory holiday if no work is performed by the employee, and
- the regular pay and two additional daily salary rates if work is performed by the employee, for a total of triple the usual rate.
Date | English name | Spanish name | Remarks |
January 1 | New Year's Day | Año Nuevo | First day of the year. |
February 5 | Constitution Day | Día de la Constitución | Celebrates the promulgations of the 1857 and 1917 Constitutions . Observance: First Monday of February. |
March 21 | Benito Juárez's Birthday | Natalicio de Benito Juárez | Commemorates President Benito Juárez's birthday on March 21, 1806. Observance: Third Monday of March |
May 1 | Labour Day | Día del Trabajo | Commemorates the Mexican workers' union movements. |
September 16 | Independence Day | Día de la Independencia | Commemorates the start of the Independence War by Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla in 1810. |
November 20 | Revolution Day | Día de la Revolución | Commemorates the start of the Mexican Revolution by Francisco I. Madero on November 20, 1910. Observance: Third Monday of November. |
December 25 | Christmas Day | Navidad | Christmas celebration; secular and religious holiday. |
In addition to these dates, election days designated by federal and local electoral laws are also statutory holidays.