Public holidays in Chile
Encyclopedia
This is a list of public holidays (national or otherwise) in Chile; most of them are Christian holidays.
Ramón Barros Luco
promulgated Law 2,977, which arranged all the information insofar about holidays celebrated in Chile. It established or kept the following holidays:
The same law abolished, by omission, four religious holidays: Epiphany ("Adoración de los Santos Reyes", January 6), Carnival
("Carnaval", mobile), Annunciation
("Anunciación del Señor", march 25) and Nativity of the Virgin Mary
("Natividad de la Virgen", September 8). It also shortened the national independence holiday
to two days (until 1914, they occupied September 18, 19 and 20).
On November 14, 1921, President Arturo Alessandri Palma promulgated Law 3,810, marking October 12 (Columbus Day
) as holiday.
On April 30, 1931, President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo
promulgated the "Decree Enforceable as Law" ("Decreto con Fuerza de Ley") 130, marking May 1 (May Day
) as holiday.
In 1932, Provisional President Bartolomé Blanche
reinstated the September 20 holiday, which existed until 1944.
In 1968 the holidays of Saint Peter and Saint Paul
, Ascension of Jesus Christ and Corpus Christi
were eliminated by Article 144 of Law 16,840. The Catholic Church agreed to celebrate them on the nearest Sunday.
September 11 (the day of the military coup in 1973
) was established as a holiday (Día de la Liberación Nacional, "Day of National Liberation") by the military regime in 1981. In 1998 it was replaced by the Día de la Unidad Nacional ("Day of National Unity"), to be observed the first Monday in September. In march 2002 the latter was abolished.
The holiday on June 29 (Saint Peter and Saint Paul
) was reestablished in September 1985.
In 1987, during a visit by Pope John Paul II
, Corpus Christi
was reestablished (although the Church continued to observe the holiday on the nearest Sunday).
On March 10, 2000, Law 19,668 moved the Saint Peter and Saint Paul
, Columbus Day
and Corpus Christi
holidays to the preceding Monday, if they were to fall on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, or to the following Monday, if they were to fall on a Friday. Additionally, the designation of Columbus Day
was changed from Aniversario del Descubrimiento de América to Día del Descubrimiento de Dos Mundos ("Discovery of Two Worlds' Day"), an obvious corruption from the then-recent ubiquitous "Encuentro de dos mundos" ("The Meeting of Two Worlds") slogan.
On January 6, 2007 Law 20,148 replaced Corpus Christi
with Our Lady of Mount Carmel
, to be observed July 16, starting that year.
On September 14, 2007 Law 20,215 declared holidays all September 17s falling on a Monday and all September 20s falling on a Friday.
On October 11, 2008 Law 20,299 established Reformation Day
on October 31 as a national holiday, starting that year. This holiday is moved to the preceding Friday if it falls on a Tuesday, or to the following Friday if it falls on a Wednesday.
Besides yearly holidays, since 1901 presidential elections are declared holidays, as mandated by successive versions of the General Elections law (law 18,700 being the current one; see laws 1,464, 1,752, 2,977, decree-law 542, 6,250, 6,834, 9,334 and 12,891). Since the late XX century, parliamentary and municipal elections are also public holidays (see law 18,700). Censuses, held every ten years, are also declared holidays since 1982; that year's census and 1992's were so due to ad-hoc laws; censuses taken from 1992 onwards are declared holidays due to a reform in the Census law.
Dates for the year 2011
| Month | Day | English Name | Local Name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1 (Saturday) | New Year's Day New Year's Day New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome... |
Año Nuevo | |
| February | No holidays | |||
| March | No holidays | |||
| April | 22 (Friday) | Good Friday Good Friday Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of... |
Viernes Santo | |
| 23 (Saturday) | Holy Saturday Holy Saturday Holy Saturday , sometimes known as Easter Eve or Black Saturday, is the day after Good Friday. It is the day before Easter and the last day of Holy Week in which Christians prepare for Easter... |
Sábado Santo | ||
| May | 1 (Sunday) | Labour Day Labour Day Labour Day or Labor Day is an annual holiday to celebrate the economic and social achievements of workers. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for... |
Día del Trabajo | On this day, more stores and services will close than any other holiday. |
| 21 (Saturday) | Navy Day Navy Day Several nations observe or have observed a Navy Day to recognize their navy. The term is also used in Britain to mean an open day at a dockyard such as HMNB Portsmouth, when the public can visit military ships and see air displays, roughly along the lines of an American Fleet Week .- Argentina... |
Día de las Glorias Navales | Commemorates the Battle of Iquique Battle of Iquique The Battle of Iquique was a confrontation that occurred on May 21, 1879, during the naval stage of the War of the Pacific, a conflict between Chile and Peru and Bolivia. The battle took place off the, by then, Peruvian port of Iquique... . Annual speech by the President President of Chile The President of the Republic of Chile is both the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Chile. The President is responsible of the government and state administration... to Congress. |
|
| 31 (Tuesday) | Centenary of Puerto Natales Puerto Natales Puerto Natales is a city in Chilean Patagonia. Puerto Natales is the capital of both the commune of Natales and the province of Última Esperanza, , one of the four provinces that make up the Magallanes and Antartica Chilena Region in the southernmost part of Chile... ' foundation |
centenario de la fundación de Puerto Natales Puerto Natales Puerto Natales is a city in Chilean Patagonia. Puerto Natales is the capital of both the commune of Natales and the province of Última Esperanza, , one of the four provinces that make up the Magallanes and Antartica Chilena Region in the southernmost part of Chile... |
To be observed only during year 2011, in the Puerto Natales Puerto Natales Puerto Natales is a city in Chilean Patagonia. Puerto Natales is the capital of both the commune of Natales and the province of Última Esperanza, , one of the four provinces that make up the Magallanes and Antartica Chilena Region in the southernmost part of Chile... commune. |
|
| June | 27 (Monday) | Saint Peter and Saint Paul Feast of Saints Peter and Paul The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, or the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, is a liturgical feast in honour of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June... |
San Pedro y San Pablo | |
| July | 16 (Saturday) | Our Lady of Mount Carmel Our Lady of Mount Carmel Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land during the late 12th and early to mid 13th centuries... |
Virgen del Carmen | Established in 2007, it replaced Corpus Christi Corpus Christi (feast) Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in... . The Catholic Church's official name for this day is Solemnidad de la Virgen del Carmen, Reina y Patrona de Chile, but the law that created this holiday (20,148) doesn't use it. |
| August | 15 (Monday) | Assumption of Mary Assumption of Mary According to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life... |
Asunción de la Virgen | |
| September | 18 (Sunday) | National holiday National Day The National Day is a designated date on which celebrations mark the nationhood of a nation or non-sovereign country. This nationhood can be symbolized by the date of independence, of becoming republic or a significant date for a patron saint or a ruler . Often the day is not called "National Day"... |
Fiestas Patrias Fiestas Patrias (Chile) The Fiestas Patrias of Chile consists of two days:*September 18, in commemoration of the proclamation of the First Governing Body of 1810, and marking the beginning of the Chilean independence process.... |
Celebrates the establishment of the First Government Junta Government Junta of Chile (1810) Government Junta of the Kingdom of Chile , also known as the First Government Junta, was the organ established to rule Chile following the deposition and imprisonment of King Ferdinand VII by Napoleon Bonaparte... in 1810. |
| 19 (Monday) | Army Day | Día de las Glorias del Ejército | ||
| October | 10 (Monday) | Columbus Day Columbus Day Many countries in the New World and elsewhere celebrate the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas, which occurred on October 12, 1492, as an official holiday... |
Día del Descubrimiento de Dos Mundos | Coloquially known as Día de la Raza ("Race Day") or formally by its older name (Aniversario del Descubrimiento de América). |
| 31 (Monday) | Reformation Day Reformation Day Reformation Day is a religious holiday celebrated on October 31 in remembrance of the Reformation, particularly by Lutheran and some Reformed church communities... |
Día Nacional de las Iglesias Evangélicas y Protestantes | Established in 2008. | |
| November | 1 (Tuesday) | All Saints All Saints All Saints' Day , often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November by parts of Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honour of all the saints, known and unknown... |
Día de Todos los Santos | |
| December | 8 (Thursday) | Immaculate Conception Feast of the Immaculate Conception The Feast of the Immaculate Conception celebrates belief in the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is celebrated on 8 December, nine months before the Nativity of Mary, which is celebrated on 8 September. It is the patronal feast day of the United States and the Republic of the... |
Inmaculada Concepción | |
| 25 (Sunday) | Christmas Day | Navidad / Natividad del Señor | ||
| 31 (Saturday) | Banking holiday | Feriado bancario de fin de año | Banks and other financial institutions close down. Workers in other fields are not given the day off as in the rest of the holidays, though the workday schedule is usually shorter. | |
History
On January 28, 1915, President of ChilePresident of Chile
The President of the Republic of Chile is both the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Chile. The President is responsible of the government and state administration...
Ramón Barros Luco
Ramón Barros Luco
Ramón Barros Luco was President of Chile between 1910 and 1915.Barros Luco was born in 1835 in Santiago, Barros Luco was son of Ramón Luis Barros Fernández and Dolores Luco Fernández de Leiva. He graduated from Law School in 1858...
promulgated Law 2,977, which arranged all the information insofar about holidays celebrated in Chile. It established or kept the following holidays:
- Sundays year-round.
- January 1 (Feast of the Circumcision of Christ at the time; New YearNew YearThe New Year is the day that marks the time of the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. For many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner....
in the late 20th and 21st centuries), June 29 (Saint Peter and Saint PaulFeast of Saints Peter and PaulThe Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, or the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, is a liturgical feast in honour of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June...
), August 15 (Assumption of MaryAssumption of MaryAccording to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...
), December 8 (Immaculate ConceptionImmaculate ConceptionThe Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...
), December 25 (Christmas Day), and the floating holidays of the Ascension of Jesus Christ and Corpus ChristiCorpus Christi (feast)Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...
. - Fridays and Saturdays during Holy WeekHoly WeekHoly Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
. - September 18, Establishment of the First Government JuntaGovernment Junta of Chile (1810)Government Junta of the Kingdom of Chile , also known as the First Government Junta, was the organ established to rule Chile following the deposition and imprisonment of King Ferdinand VII by Napoleon Bonaparte...
in 1810. - September 19 and May 21, in celebration of the glories of the Army and the Navy.
- The day of election of electors of the President of the Republic.
The same law abolished, by omission, four religious holidays: Epiphany ("Adoración de los Santos Reyes", January 6), Carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
("Carnaval", mobile), Annunciation
Annunciation
The Annunciation, also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Virgin Mary, that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus the Son of God. Gabriel told Mary to name her...
("Anunciación del Señor", march 25) and Nativity of the Virgin Mary
Nativity of the Theotokos
The Nativity of the Theotokos, celebrating the birth of Mary, is one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the Eastern Orthodox liturgical year. It is celebrated on September 8 on the liturgical calendar .According to the sacred tradition of the Orthodox Church,...
("Natividad de la Virgen", September 8). It also shortened the national independence holiday
Fiestas Patrias (Chile)
The Fiestas Patrias of Chile consists of two days:*September 18, in commemoration of the proclamation of the First Governing Body of 1810, and marking the beginning of the Chilean independence process....
to two days (until 1914, they occupied September 18, 19 and 20).
On November 14, 1921, President Arturo Alessandri Palma promulgated Law 3,810, marking October 12 (Columbus Day
Columbus Day
Many countries in the New World and elsewhere celebrate the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas, which occurred on October 12, 1492, as an official holiday...
) as holiday.
On April 30, 1931, President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo
Carlos Ibáñez del Campo
General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo was a Chilean Army officer and political figure. He served as dictator between 1927 and 1931 and as constitutional President from 1952 to 1958.- The coups of 1924 and 1925 :...
promulgated the "Decree Enforceable as Law" ("Decreto con Fuerza de Ley") 130, marking May 1 (May Day
May Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
) as holiday.
In 1932, Provisional President Bartolomé Blanche
Bartolomé Blanche
General Bartolomé Guillermo Blanche Espejo was a Chilean military officer and provisional president of Chile in 1932....
reinstated the September 20 holiday, which existed until 1944.
In 1968 the holidays of Saint Peter and Saint Paul
Feast of Saints Peter and Paul
The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, or the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, is a liturgical feast in honour of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June...
, Ascension of Jesus Christ and Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi (feast)
Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...
were eliminated by Article 144 of Law 16,840. The Catholic Church agreed to celebrate them on the nearest Sunday.
September 11 (the day of the military coup in 1973
Chilean coup of 1973
The 1973 Chilean coup d'état was a watershed event of the Cold War and the history of Chile. Following an extended period of political unrest between the conservative-dominated Congress of Chile and the socialist-leaning President Salvador Allende, discontent culminated in the latter's downfall in...
) was established as a holiday (Día de la Liberación Nacional, "Day of National Liberation") by the military regime in 1981. In 1998 it was replaced by the Día de la Unidad Nacional ("Day of National Unity"), to be observed the first Monday in September. In march 2002 the latter was abolished.
The holiday on June 29 (Saint Peter and Saint Paul
Feast of Saints Peter and Paul
The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, or the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, is a liturgical feast in honour of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June...
) was reestablished in September 1985.
In 1987, during a visit by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
, Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi (feast)
Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...
was reestablished (although the Church continued to observe the holiday on the nearest Sunday).
On March 10, 2000, Law 19,668 moved the Saint Peter and Saint Paul
Feast of Saints Peter and Paul
The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, or the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, is a liturgical feast in honour of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June...
, Columbus Day
Columbus Day
Many countries in the New World and elsewhere celebrate the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas, which occurred on October 12, 1492, as an official holiday...
and Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi (feast)
Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...
holidays to the preceding Monday, if they were to fall on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, or to the following Monday, if they were to fall on a Friday. Additionally, the designation of Columbus Day
Columbus Day
Many countries in the New World and elsewhere celebrate the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas, which occurred on October 12, 1492, as an official holiday...
was changed from Aniversario del Descubrimiento de América to Día del Descubrimiento de Dos Mundos ("Discovery of Two Worlds' Day"), an obvious corruption from the then-recent ubiquitous "Encuentro de dos mundos" ("The Meeting of Two Worlds") slogan.
On January 6, 2007 Law 20,148 replaced Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi (feast)
Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...
with Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land during the late 12th and early to mid 13th centuries...
, to be observed July 16, starting that year.
On September 14, 2007 Law 20,215 declared holidays all September 17s falling on a Monday and all September 20s falling on a Friday.
On October 11, 2008 Law 20,299 established Reformation Day
Reformation Day
Reformation Day is a religious holiday celebrated on October 31 in remembrance of the Reformation, particularly by Lutheran and some Reformed church communities...
on October 31 as a national holiday, starting that year. This holiday is moved to the preceding Friday if it falls on a Tuesday, or to the following Friday if it falls on a Wednesday.
Besides yearly holidays, since 1901 presidential elections are declared holidays, as mandated by successive versions of the General Elections law (law 18,700 being the current one; see laws 1,464, 1,752, 2,977, decree-law 542, 6,250, 6,834, 9,334 and 12,891). Since the late XX century, parliamentary and municipal elections are also public holidays (see law 18,700). Censuses, held every ten years, are also declared holidays since 1982; that year's census and 1992's were so due to ad-hoc laws; censuses taken from 1992 onwards are declared holidays due to a reform in the Census law.
Meaning of the January 1 holiday
Shortly after Chile's independence, an 1824 (government-approved) Church decree reduced the amount of religious holidays, enumerating and the surviving holidays, including the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ, observed on January 1. Law 2,977 (passed in 1915, still in vigour) lists this holiday by date only, without using any name, but does treat it as religious one. However, nowadays (as of 2009) it's widely celebrated as the (civic) New Year holiday. As a matter of fact, there aren't any known regulations later than 1915 that use the "Circumcision of Christ" name, while "New Year" is used by numerous regulations of all types (laws (19.925), decree-laws (decretos ley) (1.299, 1.613 and 2,408), decrees enforceable as law (decretos con fuerza de ley) (D.F.L 338 of 1960), ministerial decrees and resolutions (decree 6234 of 1929 of the Public Education Ministry (the oldest such regulation), decree 83 of 1985 of the Labor Ministry, decree 48 of 2007 of the Labor Ministry, et cetera) and municipal decrees and ordinances (decree 1316 of 2004 of the Las Condes Municipality, decree 23 of 2006 of the Padre Las Casas Municipality, decree 23 of 2009 of the San Carlos Municipality, et cetera).Sources
- Fiesta de la Virgen de Carmen (in Spanish)
- Compilation of holiday-related laws (in Spanish)
- Días Feriados en Chile (in Spanish)
- Online laws at the Chilean National Congress' Library (in Spanish)
External links
- Chilean calendar with holidays (in Spanish)