Date | Name | Comments |
---|---|---|
March/April | Easter | Celebrated by the large Catholic population in carnival-like events in various cities. |
1 May | Labour Day | International Labour Day |
10 May | Mother’s Day | |
From 1 to 7 August | August Carnival | A week-long festival in honour of El Salvador del Mundo, the patron saint of El Salvador. |
September 15 | Independence Day | Celebration of independence from Spain, achieved in 1821. |
12 October | Columbus Day | This day commemorates the arrival of Europeans in the Americas. |
2 November | Day of the Dead | A day when people usually visit the graves of their deceased loved ones. |
November (last week) | San Miguel Carnival | A week of carnival in San Miguel |
25 December | Christmas Day | Salvadorans stay up until midnight on 24 December to welcome Christmas with a huge “arsenal” of fireworks. |
31 December | New Year’s Eve | Salvadorans stay awake until midnight on 31 December to welcome the New Year in the same way they do Christmas (you can hear the deafening sound of fireworks throughout the country on both days). |