Mauritius Public Holidays List 2026

What Each Mauritian Public Holiday Means?

1. New Year, Day 1 (1 Jan, Thursday) Marks the start of the new year. Mauritius observes two New Year holidays.

2. New Year, Day 2 (2 Jan, Friday) The second New Year holiday, extending the celebration.

3. Abolition of Slavery (1 Feb, Sunday) Commemorates the end of slavery in Mauritius in 1835, with ceremonies at Le Morne.

4. Thaipoosam Cavadee (1 Feb, Sunday) A Tamil Hindu festival honouring Lord Murugan, where devotees carry the cavadee in procession. In 2026 it falls on the same Sunday as Abolition of Slavery.

5. Maha Shivaratree (15 Feb, Sunday) The great night of Shiva, marked by one of the island's largest pilgrimages, to the sacred lake at Grand Bassin.

6. Chinese Spring Festival (17 Feb, Tuesday) Chinese New Year, celebrated by the Sino-Mauritian community, with festivities centred on Port Louis.

7. Independence Day and Republic Day (12 Mar, Thursday) Marks independence from Britain in 1968 and Mauritius becoming a republic in 1992.

8. Ugaadi (19 Mar, Thursday) The Telugu New Year, symbolising renewal and the start of spring.

9. Eid-Ul-Fitr (21 Mar, Saturday) Marks the end of Ramadan. The date is gazetted subject to moon sighting, so it may shift by a day.

10. Labour Day (1 May, Friday) Mauritius's International Workers' Day, honouring the contribution of workers.

11. Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (15 Aug, Saturday) A Catholic holy day observed by the Christian community.

12. Ganesh Chaturthi (16 Sep, Wednesday) Celebrates the birth of Lord Ganesha, with statues carried in procession and immersed in the sea or rivers.

13. Arrival of Indentured Labourers (2 Nov, Monday) Commemorates the first indentured workers who arrived from India in 1834, marked at the Aapravasi Ghat in Port Louis.

14. Divali (8 Nov, Sunday) The festival of lights, one of the most widely celebrated holidays across all communities.

15. Christmas (25 Dec, Friday) The Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus.

Note: Mauritius does not move a public holiday to a weekday when it falls on a weekend, and the official 2026 list adds no compensatory days. That matters this year because six holidays land on a weekend: four on a Sunday (Abolition of Slavery, Thaipoosam Cavadee, Maha Shivaratree and Divali) and two on a Saturday (Eid-Ul-Fitr and the Assumption), so most Monday to Friday staff lose them. Abolition of Slavery and Thaipoosam Cavadee also share the same Sunday, 1 February, which is why the 15 listed holidays cover only 14 distinct dates. Eid-Ul-Fitr is the one date carrying a moon-sighting marker in the official notice, so it can move by a day. How a weekend holiday affects pay depends on the Workers' Rights Act 2019 and the individual employment contract, so employers should confirm entitlements against the Act and any applicable agreement.

How Mauritian Holidays Impact Payroll and Leave Management?

Mauritius packs a lot into its calendar, with fifteen public holidays spanning Hindu, Tamil, Muslim, Chinese, Christian and secular traditions, but 2026 is unusually unkind to anyone hoping for long weekends. Six of those holidays fall on a Saturday or Sunday, and Mauritius does not move a weekend holiday to a weekday, so Abolition of Slavery, Thaipoosam Cavadee, Maha Shivaratree, Eid-Ul-Fitr, the Assumption and Divali all land on the weekend and bring no extra day off for Monday to Friday staff. On top of that, Abolition of Slavery and Thaipoosam Cavadee share the same Sunday on 1 February, so the fifteen holidays really cover only fourteen distinct dates this year. The movable religious dates, especially Eid-Ul-Fitr, are gazetted close to the time and can shift a day, and anyone rostered to work a public holiday is owed a premium under the Workers' Rights Act. Keeping all of that straight by hand across attendance, leave and payroll is where errors creep in, which is why most teams let a system apply each gazette and the weekend rules automatically.