Public Holidays in Georgia (2026)

Georgia’s public holidays are set by Article 30 of the Labour Code. There are fourteen fixed dates plus an Easter block of four consecutive days, which moves with the Orthodox calendar — eighteen days in a typical year.

Why “typical”: because Easter moves, it can land on a fixed holiday. In 2029, Easter Monday falls on 9 April, the Day of National Unity — two holidays, one day off, so that year has seventeen days rather than eighteen. A calendar that prints a hardcoded 18 is wrong roughly once a decade.

Want the dates rather than the law? The Georgian Holiday Calendar lists every year with a subscribable .ics feed and a JSON API, and computes the moving Easter dates for you.

Two things surprise newcomers. First, Easter is Orthodox, so it usually falls later than in Western Europe and lands on a different date each year. Second, the calendar is dense in the first half of the year: between January and May there are twelve holidays, and then a four-month gap until late August.

The fixed holidays

Date	Holiday
1–2 January	New Year holidays
7 January	Christmas Day — Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ
19 January	Epiphany — Baptism of Our Lord Jesus Christ
3 March	Mother’s Day
8 March	International Women’s Day
9 April	Day of the Act of Restoring Independence of Georgia; day of national unity, national consent, and commemoration of those who died for the national integrity of Georgia
9 May	Victory Day over Fascism
12 May	Day of Georgia as the abode of the Holy Mother; Commemoration Day of St Andrew the Apostle, Founder of the Apostolic Church of Georgia; Day of Hope
17 May	Family Purity and Respect for Parents Day
26 May	Independence Day of Georgia
28 August	Assumption of the Virgin Mary — Mariamoba
14 October	Mtskhetoba — Svetitskhovloba, Robe of Jesus
23 November	St George’s Day — Giorgoba

The Easter block — the one that moves

Article 30(1)(g) treats Easter as a single block of four consecutive days: Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday (Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ) and Easter Monday (All Souls’ Day). It is a movable feast — the dates change every year with the Orthodox calendar.

Year	Easter Sunday	The four-day block
2026	Sunday 12 April	10–13 April
2027	Sunday 2 May	30 April – 3 May

Because the block reaches from Friday to Monday, it produces the longest continuous shutdown of the year outside New Year. If you are planning travel, a property purchase, a bank appointment or anything at the Public Service Hall in that window, move it.

What the law actually gives you

Article 30 is short, and two of its three paragraphs are about flexibility rather than the list itself. They are worth reading properly, because they cut in opposite directions.

You may ask to swap a holiday for a different rest day. Under Article 30(2), an employee has the right to request other rest days in place of the statutory holidays, and those replacement days are then determined by the employment agreement. Note the shape of this: it is a right to request and to have the outcome written into the contract — not a right to take a different day unilaterally. If you would rather work on 9 May and take a day in August, that is a conversation with your employer, and the answer belongs in your agreement.

The Government can add days off — but those are weaker. Under Article 30(3), the Government may declare further days off by ordinance, which in practice is how a holiday falling next to a weekend gets bridged. The catch is in the same paragraph: where a day off comes from a government ordinance rather than from the Labour Code itself, the employer may require the employee to work instead on their next rest day (Article 24(7)). So a bonus day announced by ordinance is not quite the same thing as a holiday listed in Article 30 — it can be moved onto you.

What closes

The statute governs employment; it does not tell you which shop will be shut. In practice:

Closed on the major holidays — banks, the Public Service Hall and government offices, most companies and offices. Public transport typically runs a reduced timetable.

Usually open — shops, cafés, restaurants and pharmacies, though often on shorter hours. Tourist areas keep working, particularly around Easter and the summer holidays.

Longest shutdowns — the New Year period (1–2 January, with many businesses effectively closed until after 7 January) and the Easter block. Anything administrative — a bank account, a residence-permit appointment, a company filing — should be scheduled clear of both.

For employers

If you employ staff in Georgia, the holiday list is a floor, not a ceiling: your employment agreements can provide more, and Article 30(2) means an employee can ask to shift a statutory holiday to another rest day, with the result recorded in the contract. The broader framework — contracts, working time, leave, notice and payroll — is in Employing Staff in Georgia.

A note on scope

This page reproduces Article 30 and explains what it says. It does not cover how work performed on a holiday is paid, or how holidays interact with annual leave and overtime — those sit in other articles of the Labour Code and in your contract. The English consolidated text on the Legislative Herald can lag the Georgian, and the Government may add days off during the year, so confirm the current position before relying on a specific date, particularly for anything with a deadline. This is information about the law as published — it is not legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

How many public holidays does Georgia have?

Eighteen days in a typical year. Article 30 of the Labour Code lists fourteen holidays on fixed dates, plus the Easter block of four consecutive days — Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday — which moves with the Orthodox calendar. Because Easter moves, it occasionally lands on a fixed holiday: in 2029 Easter Monday falls on 9 April, the Day of National Unity, so that year has seventeen days off rather than eighteen.

When is Easter in Georgia in 2026?

Georgia follows the Orthodox calendar, so Easter falls later than in most of Western Europe. In 2026 Orthodox Easter Sunday is 12 April, making the four-day holiday block 10–13 April. In 2027 Easter Sunday is 2 May, so the block runs 30 April–3 May. Because the date moves each year, check it before booking travel around that week.

Can I work on a public holiday instead and take a different day off?

You can ask. Article 30(2) gives an employee the right to request other rest days in place of the statutory holidays, and those days are then set in the employment agreement. It is a right to request and agree, not a right to demand unilaterally — the substitution has to be reflected in the contract.

Can the Government add extra days off?

Yes. Article 30(3) allows the Government to declare further days off by ordinance — for example bridging a holiday that falls next to a weekend. There is a catch for employees: where a day off comes from a government ordinance rather than the Labour Code itself, the employer may require the work to be performed instead on the employee's next rest day.

Do businesses and banks actually close?

On the major holidays, largely yes — banks, government offices including the Public Service Hall, and most companies close, and public transport runs a reduced service. Shops, cafés and restaurants often stay open. Around Easter and New Year the closures are longest, so plan any errand at a bank or a government office around them.

Am I paid for a public holiday?

Article 30 lists the holidays; it does not itself set the pay rules for them, and the treatment of work performed on a holiday sits elsewhere in the Labour Code and in your employment agreement. Check your contract and confirm the current position before assuming either paid leave or a premium rate.