Public holidays in Moldova

Public holidays in theRepublic of Moldova refer to the celebrated non-working days established by theGovernment of Moldova and valid for the whole territory of the country. Autonomous territorial unitsGagauzia andTransnistria, as well cities, communes and cantonal authorities also establish local holidays, which are, however, not non-working days. There are 14 nationally celebrated holidays in the modern Moldova. Most holidays celebrated in the Republic of Moldova recognize events or people fromMoldovan history. Most retail businesses close on New Year's and Independence Day, but remain open on all other holidays. Private businesses often observe only the big holidays such as theNew Year's Day, Easter Monday,Victory Day,Independence Day,Labour Day,Romanian Language Day andChristmas.

Mărțișor, an informal spring holiday celebrated in Moldova and Romania

Theholiday season in the winter traditionally ran betweenNew Year's Day untilOld New Year. As of 2009, the holiday season now officially begins with Western Christmas on 25 December, now a legal holiday in the Republic of Moldova. The holiday seasons gets underway much earlier with the official lighting of thecapital city Chișinău's Christmas tree at the end of November or very beginning of December, when other than Christmas, some locals celebrateWinter solstice,Hanukkah, andKwanzaa. The Summer holiday season traditionally (though unofficially) starts in May with celebrations of anniversary of most important localities (Bălți, 22 May) and culminates in the end of August with the celebrations of the Independence Day and the National Language Day.

National holidays

edit

These holidays are designated by the Government of the Republic of Moldova, in accordance with the legislation of the country.IT

Date	Official name	Remarks
1 January	New Year's Day	Celebrates beginning of theGregorian calendar year. Festivities include counting down to midnight (12:00 AM) on the preceding night,New Year's Eve. Traditional beginning ofholiday season.
7-8 January	Orthodox Christmas
8 March	International Women's Day
April/May	Orthodox Easter
April/May	Easter of Blajini
1 May	Labour Day
9 May	Victory Day	It commemoratesVictory in Europe Day.^[1]
1 June	Children's Day	It commemorates the Children's Day.
27 August	Independence Day	It commemorates the founding of theDeclaration of Independence of Moldova.
31 August	National Language Day	It commemorates the national language of Moldova, theRomanian language.
25 December	Christmas Day

Other observances

edit

International Children's Day celebrations inChișinău, 2012

A concert in honor of the National Wine Day in 2006

In addition to the holidays, mentioned above, the following days are observed:

Date	Official name	Notes
15 February	Afghan War Veterans Day	It commemorates the end of theSoviet–Afghan War.^[2]
27 April	Flag Day	It commemorates the adoption of theFlag of Moldova.^[3]
10 June	Border Guards Day	It commemorates the founding of theMoldovan Border Police.
23 June	Sovereignty Day	It commemorates the founding of the Declaration of Sovereignty of Moldova.
29 July	Constitution Day	It commemorates the adoption of theConstitution of Moldova.
24 August	Liberation Day	It celebrates the end of theSecond Jassy–Kishinev offensive. It is also celebrated in neighboringRomania as theLiberation from Fascist Occupation Day.
3 September	National Army Day	It commemorates the founding of theMoldovan Armed Forces.
8 October	National Wine Day	It commemorates the production ofMoldovan wine.
18 December	Police Day	It commemorates the founding of the Moldovan Police Forces

Local holidays

edit

In addition to the national holidays, cities, communes and cantonal authorities observe the following holidays:

Date	Official name	Remarks
22 May	Bălți Day	Public holiday just forBălți
28 June	Gagauzia Liberation Day^[4]	Public holiday just forGagauzia.
14 October	Capital's Day	Public holiday just forChișinău.
21 November	Cahul Day	Public holiday just forCahul.