A timely opening: Eid Mubarak and why this matters now

How Egypt’s holiday system is really structured

The cleanest way to understand holidays in Egypt is to think in three layers. First, there is the nationwide official holiday calendar published by the Presidency. Second, there is the labour-law framework, which sets rights to paid holidays, weekly rest and compensation. Third, there are the practical implementation decrees issued by the prime minister, the labour ministry and, in some sectors, regulators such as the Central Bank. That third layer matters a great deal, because the observed holiday date in Egypt is often fixed by decree rather than simply by the nominal calendar date.

Since 1 September 2025, the relevant private-sector framework has been Labour Law No. 14 of 2025, which replaced the older 2003 labour law. That matters for any current discussion of public holidays, weekly rest and religious leave.

The nationwide holiday calendar now shown for 2026

According to the Presidency’s current National Holidays 2026 page, Egypt’s nationwide holiday calendar presently includes the following dates and holiday periods. Importantly, some of these are already observed dates, not merely the nominal anniversary date.

• 7 January 2026: Coptic Christmas.
• 29 January 2026: the observed paid holiday for the 25 January Revolution and Police Day.
• 19–23 March 2026: the official public holiday period for Eid al‑Fitr; the feast itself began on Friday, 20 March 2026, after Dar al‑Ifta confirmed the sighting.
• 13 April 2026: Sham El‑Nessim, Egypt’s spring holiday, which falls on the Monday after Coptic Easter.
• 25 April 2026: Sinai Liberation Day.
• 7 May 2026: the observed Labour Day holiday.
• 26 May 2026: Arafat Day.
• 27–31 May 2026: the official public holiday period for Eid al‑Adha.
• 17 June 2026: Islamic New Year.
• 30 June 2026: 30 June Revolution anniversary.
• 23 July 2026: 23 July Revolution Day.
• 26 August 2026: Mawlid al‑Nabi, the Prophet’s Birthday.
• 6 October 2026: Armed Forces Day.
• 
  

For Islamic holidays, however, this should always be read as a planning calendar rather than the final word. Moon sighting and later decrees can still affect the final observed day, as official coverage has shown for past Hijri holidays.

What the law says about holidays, weekends and religious observance

Under the current labour law, Article 120 grants workers a paid weekly rest period of at least 24 continuous hours after a maximum of six consecutive working days. Article 122 requires employers to post the weekly rest day and working hours clearly. If work takes place on a weekly rest day, Article 121 grants the employee an additional day’s wage and a substitute day off in the following week. Article 124 is also important for planning: annual leave does not include official holidays, public occasions or weekly rest days.

For public holidays specifically, Article 129 states that employees are entitled to paid leave on official holidays and occasions as determined by the competent minister, while non-Muslim religious holidays are governed by the applicable Cabinet decisions. If an employee must work on an official holiday, the law provides either double wage for that day or, if the employee submits a written request, a substitute day off. In addition, Article 130 grants an employee who has completed five consecutive years with the same employer a one-month paid leave once in the entire employment 

relationship for Hajj or a visit to Jerusalem.

In everyday practice, the formal economy in Egypt usually works on a Sunday-to-Thursday rhythm, with Friday and Saturday functioning as the practical weekend for ministries, much of the public sector and the banking system. That is why Sunday remains an ordinary working day in many settings and why Christian holiday rules needed to be clarified explicitly.

That clarification came in the labour minister’s decree of 30 December 2025. For Coptic Orthodox Christians, the recognised paid religious holidays include Christmas, Epiphany, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Easter. For Coptic Catholic and Protestant Christians, paid leave applies to New Year’s Day, Christmas and Easter. The decree also allows Christian employees to begin work at 10 a.m. on Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Epiphany, subject to workplace rules. This is a very important practical distinction: some Christian observances are now clearly protected for employees under labour law, even though they are not identical to the nationwide state-holiday list.

That distinction is especially relevant for foreign companies. The nationwide Presidency list includes Coptic Christmas and Sham El‑Nessim, but it does not list Epiphany, Palm Sunday or Easter Sunday as general public holidays. Likewise, 1 January does not appear on the nationwide 2026 state-holiday list, even though it does appear in the Christian employee rules for certain denominations.

How Egypt actually shifts holidays

A common misconception is that Egyptian holidays are “usually moved to the next Sunday.” The stronger evidence points in a different direction. Since 2020, the state’s recurring practice has been to move many fixed-date weekday holidays — and sometimes holidays falling near or on the weekend — to Thursday in order to create a longer weekend. That policy has been described explicitly in repeated official holiday reporting.

Clear examples include the 25 January 2026 holiday being observed on Thursday, 29 January; Labour Day 2026 being observed on Thursday, 7 May instead of Friday, 1 May; the 23 July 2025 holiday being moved to Thursday, 24 July; Armed Forces Day 2025 being moved from Monday, 6 October, to Thursday, 9 October; and the 30 June 2025 revolution holiday being observed on Thursday, 3 July.

But it is not a rigid universal formula. Ahram Online noted in January 2026 that this Thursday-substitution practice, first introduced in 2020, applies broadly to national holidays except Eid al‑Fitr, Eid al‑Adha and Christmas. Beyond that, the government can still keep holidays on their original dates or apply case-specific exceptions. 30 June 2024 was observed on Sunday, 30 June; Mawlid al‑Nabi 2024 was observed on Sunday, 15 September; Sinai Liberation Day 2026 stayed on Saturday, 25 April; and in 2021 the cabinet explicitly decided not to move Labour Day and Sham El‑Nessim to Thursday. So the real rule is not “always Sunday” and not even “always Thursday,” but rather: watch the decree.

What this means for companies, builders and operators

For German SMEs and other international firms, the practical takeaway is straightforward. Around major holidays — especially Eid al‑Fitr and Eid al‑Adha — ministries, public authorities, local administration, state companies and banks slow down or close entirely. At the same time, essential activities can continue, and the law allows holiday work with compensation. So Egypt’s holiday system does not automatically mean total shutdown, but it does mean that permits, signatures, public-office response times, banking actions and administrative processing must be planned carefully.

For the immediate Eid al‑Adha 2026 period, the implication is concrete: Egypt has declared a six-day paid holiday from 26 to 31 May, and banks are closed during the same period, reopening on Monday, 1 June. However, the CBE has also said that ATMs will remain stocked and digital banking channels and InstaPay will continue to operate. In operational terms, that means teams should complete bank-facing transactions, payroll preparation, approvals and ministry-facing paperwork before the break, while field execution can often still be managed if staffing has been planned properly.

A second practical lesson is that Egyptian holiday effects often come from clusters, not just single dates. In April 2026, Christian private-sector employees could effectively benefit from a five-day break by combining Maundy Thursday, the regular Friday/Saturday weekend, Easter Sunday and Sham El‑Nessim on Monday. In the banking sector, all banks were closed on Sunday, 12 April, and Monday, 13 April 2026, for Easter and Sham El‑Nessim. For project teams, that is exactly the kind of overlap that affects site planning, approvals, transportation, purchasing and staffing.

The most useful summary for a business audience is therefore this: in Egypt, holidays are not just dates on a wall calendar. They are a three-part operational system made up of a formal calendar, labour-law rights and last-mile government decrees. Once you understand that structure, Egyptian holidays become much easier to plan around. 

Presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt – National Holidays 2026

https://www.presidency.eg/en/مصر/العطلات-الرسمية/

Ahram Online – Egypt declares Thursday, 29 January, paid public holiday for 25 January Revolution and Police Day

https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/560711.aspx

Ahram Online – Egypt declares 7 May paid holiday for Labour Day

https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/2/566491/Egypt/Society/Egypt-declares--May-paid-holiday-for-Labour-Day.aspx

Ahram Online – Egypt designates Thursday 24 July official holiday to mark 23 July Revolution

https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/2/549731/Egypt/Society/Egypt-declares-Thursday--July-an-official-holiday-.aspx

Ahram Online – Thursday, 9 October, public holiday on anniversary of October War victory

https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/2/554023/Egypt/Society/Thursday,-9-October,-public-holiday-on-anniversary-.aspx

Ahram Online – 26 June, 3 July paid holidays in Egypt for Hijri New Year, 30 June Revolution anniversary

https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/2/548275/Egypt/Society/-June,-3-July-paid-holidays-in-Egypt-for-Hijri-New-.aspx

Ahram Online – Egypt PM Madbouly declares April 25 paid holiday for Sinai Liberation Day

https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/2/566238/Egypt/Society/Egypt-PM-Madbouly-declares-April--paid-holiday-for.aspx

Ahram Online – Egypt declares Monday, 13 April, public holiday for Sham El-Nessim

https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/2/565416/Egypt/Society/Egypt-declares-Monday,-13-April-public-holiday-for-Sh.aspx

Experience Egypt – A Feast for the Senses

https://www.experienceegypt.eg/en/home/culture

Ahram Online – Egypt declares 19–23 March paid Eid Al-Fitr holiday for private-sector workers

https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/563890.aspx

Ahram Online – Eid Al-Fitr to begin Friday in Egypt

https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/564313.aspx

Ahram Online – Egypt declares six-day Eid Al-Adha holiday from 26 to 31 May

https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/2/569208/Egypt/Society/Egypt-declares-sixday-Eid-AlAdha-holiday-from--to-.aspx

Ahram Online – Egypt announces six-day banking holiday for Eid Al-Adha

https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/569302/Business/Economy/Egypt-announces-sixday-banking-holiday-for-Eid-AlA.aspx

Egypt Today – Minister of Labor: Eid al-Adha holiday from Tuesday, May 26 to Sunday, May 31

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/147342/Minister-of-Labor-Eid-al-Adha-holiday-from-Tuesday-May

Ahram Online – Egypt’s labour minister issues decree defining religious holidays to Christian workers

https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/2/559611/Egypt/Society/Egypt’s-labour-minister-issues-decree-defining-rel.aspx

Egypt Independent – Egypt prepares for five-day national break starting Thursday

https://www.egyptindependent.com/egypt-prepares-for-five-day-national-break-starting-thursday/

Central Bank of Egypt official LinkedIn announcement on Easter and Sham El-Nessim bank closure

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cbe_البنكاالمركزيالمصري-centralbankofegypt-activity-7447940311777021952-ylfn

Arab Finance – CBE declares April 12th-13th bank holiday on Coptic Easter, Sham El-Nessim

https://www.arabfinance.com/en/news/newdetails/cbe-declares-april-12th-13th-bank-holiday

EY – Egypt enacts new labor law affecting employers from 1 September 2025

https://www.ey.com/en_gl/technical/tax-alerts/egypt-enacts-new-labor-law-with-changes-affecting-employers-beginning-1-september-2025

Ministry of Labor Egypt – Arabic official text of Labour Law No. 14 of 2025

https://www.labour.gov.eg/media/0iedik3q/القانون-رقم-14-لسنة-2025-بإصدار-قانون-العمل.pdf

Andersen Egypt – English translation of Labour Law No. 14 of 2025

https://eg.andersen.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Translation-of-Labor-law-No.-14-of-2025.pdf

Ministry of Labor Egypt – laws and legislation portal

https://www.labour.gov.eg/ar/القوانين-والتشريعات/

Banque Misr – branch hours operating in non-official working hours

https://www.banquemisr.com/en/ABOUT-US/Bank-branches-operating-in-non-official-working-hours

CIB Egypt – FAQs showing Sunday to Thursday working hours for client advisors

https://www.cibeg.com/en/personal/faqs