Public holidays in Cyprus

Cypriots value not only siesta, but also fiesta — they truly know how to celebrate. On official public holidays, life on the island slows down: government offices and most private businesses are closed. In tourist areas you may find some shops open, but that’s more of an exception than the rule. Even museums and archaeological sites close their doors, for example on Easter Sunday.

• 1 January — New Year’s Day
• 6 January — Epiphany (Feast of Saint Epiphanius)
• 25 March — Greek Independence Day
• 1 April — EOKA Day / Cyprus National Day (anniversary of the start of the national liberation struggle against British colonial rule)
• 1 May — Labour Day
• 15 August — Dormition of the Virgin Mary (Assumption Day)
• 1 October — Independence Day of the Republic of Cyprus
• 28 October — Ohi Day (commemorating Greece’s rejection of Mussolini’s ultimatum in 1940)
• 24 December — Christmas Eve
• 25 December — Christmas Day
• 26 December — Boxing Day

Movable feasts (dates vary each year)

• Clean Monday (Green Monday) — 50 days before Orthodox Easter, marking the beginning of Great Lent.
• Good Friday — the Friday before Orthodox Easter.
• Easter Monday (Bright Monday) — the day after Easter Sunday.
• Kataklysmos (Festival of the Flood/Water Festival) — celebrated on the 50th day after Easter (Holy Trinity Monday). Many shops and government offices remain closed also 1–2 days before the festival.