Holidays and Public Holidays in Paraguay: The Expat Calendar

Paraguay has a dozen national holidays, plus long weekends, holidays declared during the year, and a series of popular festivals that are not public holidays but slow the country down just as much. Newcomers unfamiliar with this calendar often find themselves facing closed doors: closed banks, closed government offices, medical practices on holiday, shops with reduced hours, and no one to have warned them. This guide provides landmarks, traditions, what closes and what remains open, and above all, how to enjoy these days rather than endure them.

A methodological warning from the outset: not all Paraguayan public holiday dates are fixed. The law distinguishes between religious holidays, which always fall on their given date, and civic holidays known as trasladables, which are moved to the nearest Monday depending on the day of the week they fall, in order to create long weekends. In addition, the executive can declare a limited number of exceptional holidays during the year. In other words: check the official calendar each year rather than relying on a fixed list, including this one. The national press publishes the definitive calendar at the beginning of the year.

Fundamentally, Paraguayan festive culture blends three registers. First, a religious register, in a predominantly Catholic country where celebrations punctuate the year: Christmas, Easter, the Virgin of Caacupé, patron saints, processions. Second, a register of historical memory: the country's two major conflicts, the War of the Triple Alliance and then the Chaco War, have left deep marks, and commemorations are solemn and well-attended. Finally, a register of popular joy, with neighborhood festivals, celebrations, and carnivals where the energy and generosity of the welcome often surprise Europeans.

The Official Public Holiday Calendar

National Public Holidays

Date	Holiday	Type	What Happens	What Closes
January 1st	Año Nuevo	Universal holiday, fixed date	New Year's Eve is the most festive night of the year. Families gather for an asado late in the evening, and at midnight, fireworks launch from everywhere – gardens, terraces, and rooftops – for a good half hour. Hugs, cheers, then the party continues until early morning in bars and on Paseo Carmelitas. Two points of caution. First, pets: explosions start well before midnight and cause real panic among dogs and cats, many of whom flee and get lost that night. Keep them indoors, windows closed, in a quiet room, and ensure their identification is up to date. Second, firecrackers: burns and injuries to hands and eyes are common during this period, especially among children. Keep them at a safe distance from launches, never relight a device that didn't go off, and keep your hands free, without a glass, if you're handling anything.	Everything closes for twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Supermarkets and restaurants are closed, with the exception of a few hotel establishments; public transport is reduced. The return to normal on January 2nd is slow, with many Paraguayans taking the entire week off.
March 1st	Día de los Héroes	Civic commemoration, movable	Commemoration of the death of Marshal Francisco Solano López at Cerro Corá on March 1, 1870, which marked the end of the War of the Triple Alliance between Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. This conflict resulted in considerable human and material losses for the country, the exact extent of which remains debated by historians, and it holds a central place in national memory. Ceremonies are held at the Panteón Nacional de los Héroes, with wreath-laying and military parades. The day is solemn and should be treated as such in conversations.	Government offices, banks, and schools closed. Supermarkets open with reduced hours, restaurants open normally.
Maundy Thursday and Good Friday (March or April, variable dates)	Semana Santa	Religious holiday, variable but non-movable date	This is the big break of the year. The two public holidays are Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, but the entire week slows down: many Paraguayans leave for San Bernardino and Lake Ypacaraí, to estancias or to family in the provinces, and the main roads out of Asunción are saturated on Wednesday and Thursday. As for traditions, processions and Stations of the Cross gather large crowds, and churches are full. Chipá is the emblematic dish of this week: large quantities are prepared and offered to neighbors. On Friday, fish replaces meat, and fish soup is the dish of the day.	Almost everything closes from Thursday to Easter Sunday. Government offices are shut down all week, banks close for several consecutive days, and many businesses pull down their shutters for the week. Do your shopping at the beginning of the week: shelves are cleared out as early as Tuesday.
May 1st	Día del Trabajador	Social holiday, fixed date	Labor Day, marked by union parades and speeches, but mainly experienced as a day of family rest: asados, outings, busy parks.	Government offices, banks, and schools closed. Supermarkets with reduced hours, restaurants open.
May 14th and 15th	Independencia	National holiday, fixed dates	Independence declared in May 1811, and the only national holiday in the region celebrated over two days: the night of the 14th corresponds to the revolution, the 15th to its consolidation. Military parades, marching bands, official ceremonies, and especially red, white, and blue flags everywhere, on windows, cars, in shop windows. National pride is very visible on these days. May 15th is also Mother's Day, which doubles the social significance of the day.	Everything closes for both days: government offices, banks, schools, and a large part of businesses. Supermarkets have reduced hours, restaurants are partially open and often fully booked on the 15th. This is a long weekend, to be anticipated.
June 12th	Paz del Chaco	Civic commemoration	Commemoration of the armistice ending the Chaco War against Bolivia in the 1930s, a conflict from which Paraguay emerged victorious and which established the country's sovereignty over the Chaco. The ceremonies are military and the last, very elderly, witnesses are honored. A solemn day, less festive than the national holiday.	Government offices, banks, and schools closed. Supermarkets with reduced hours.
June 20th	Jura de la Constitución Nacional	Civic commemoration, movable	Commemoration of the promulgation of the 1992 Constitution. This is the newest public holiday on the Paraguayan calendar, effective from 2026, and it is movable: depending on the day it falls, it is postponed to the preceding or following Monday. Many calendars and guides still in circulation do not mention it.	Government offices, banks, and schools closed. Businesses with reduced hours.
August 15th	Fundación de Asunción	Local holiday, nationally observed, fixed date	The founding of Asunción in 1537, one of the oldest cities in South America, nicknamed the "mother of cities." Ceremonies, concerts, and cultural activities are concentrated in the capital; elsewhere in the country, the day is primarily a day of family rest. The date is not movable, even when it falls on a weekend.	Government offices, banks, and schools closed. Supermarkets with reduced hours.
September 29th	Victoria de Boquerón	Civic commemoration, movable	Commemoration of the Battle of Boquerón, Paraguay's first major victory in the Chaco War, which became a symbol of resistance. Military ceremonies and parades. Like other civic holidays, the date can be moved to the nearest Monday.	Government offices, banks, and schools closed. Supermarkets with reduced hours.
December 8th	Virgen de Caacupé	Major religious holiday, fixed date	The feast day of Paraguay's patron saint, the Virgin of Miracles of Caacupé, is the country's main religious event. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims converge on the Basilica of Caacupé, about fifty kilometers from Asunción, and some of them make the journey on foot during the night of December 7th to 8th. The roads fill with walkers, refreshment points distribute water, fruit, and chipás, and the atmosphere blends fervor, fatigue, and joy. It's a striking experience, even for non-believers. If you plan to walk, take it seriously: it's about fifty kilometers at night, in the middle of the austral summer, with heat that remains strong after sunset. Wear broken-in shoes, bring plenty of water, sun protection for the end of the journey, take regular breaks, and don't go alone. Aid stations line the route: do not hesitate to report any discomfort, stop walking if necessary, and plan a return solution. This is not an ordeal to improvise after a few weeks in the country.	Almost everything closes. Most importantly, do not drive towards Caacupé on December 7th and 8th: roads are saturated or closed to traffic for many hours. Government offices, banks, and schools are closed; supermarkets have very reduced hours.
December 25th	Navidad	Religious and family holiday, fixed date	Christmas in Paraguay is celebrated in the middle of summer, in shorts and flip-flops, under temperatures that can be disorienting the first year. The Christmas tree is artificial, Santa Claus sweats, but the essence is elsewhere: families gather on the evening of the 24th, Nochebuena, around an asado or poultry, gifts are opened at midnight, children stay awake, and fireworks resume. The nativity scene, the pesebre, is present in almost every home, and clericó, a wine-based fruit punch, is the drink of the evening. It is drunk cold and quickly: it is an alcoholic cocktail, served in large carafes and often underestimated, especially in strong heat. The precautions regarding firecrackers and animals apply to this night as well as New Year's.	Everything closes on the 25th. Supermarkets and restaurants are closed, except for hotels; transport is reduced. The period from December 20th to early January constitutes the country's major summer break: many businesses slow down and administrative procedures should be avoided.

Other Closing Days to Be Aware Of

Type	Comment
Exceptional holidays declared	The law allows the executive to declare a limited number of additional public holidays during the year, for specific circumstances or to promote domestic tourism. They are announced at short notice, sometimes only a few days in advance. If you have a sensitive administrative or banking appointment, confirm the day before.
Local patron saint festivals	Every town and every neighborhood honors its patron saint. These days are not national holidays, but local activity is noticeably affected, with shops closed and streets blocked for processions and stalls.
School holidays	The Paraguayan school calendar follows the austral year: long summer holidays from December to February, and two weeks of winter holidays in July. These periods empty offices and complicate appointments, without being public holidays.
A useful clarification	Contrary to what some calendars intended for foreigners indicate, Ascension Day and Corpus Christi are not national holidays in Paraguay, unlike in several neighboring countries. These are observed religious dates, not days off work.

Non-Public Popular Festivals

Events Not to Be Missed

Event	Period	Description	For the Expat
Carnival	February, dates vary according to the liturgical calendar	Paraguayan carnival is not a scaled-down copy of Brazilian carnival: it has its own style. The most famous is the carnaval encarnaceno, in Encarnación, in the south of the country, with its comparsas, feathered costumes, percussion, and parades spread over several weekends. In Asunción, carnival is more discreet: neighborhood parties, batucadas, costume parties. For the spectacle, Encarnación is the place to go.	Book accommodation several months in advance; hotels are fully booked and prices rise significantly during this period. Expect an entrance fee of a few tens of dollars depending on the location. On site, the usual precautions for large gatherings apply: keep personal belongings safe, agree on a meeting point with your group, stay hydrated, and arrange your return transport in advance.
Día de la Madre	May 15th, at the same time as the national holiday	Mother's Day falls on the same day as the second day of independence, and both are celebrated simultaneously. Given the central role of mothers in Paraguayan families, it's a very involved day: flowers, gifts, family meals, visits, and calls.	As a practical consequence, restaurants are fully booked and florists run out of stock. Book one to two weeks in advance and order flowers several days before. And if you have local family ties, note that this date really matters to your loved ones: a gesture, however simple, will be noticed.
Día del Amigo	July 30th	Friendship Day, very popular in the Southern Cone. Friends meet for lunch, dinner, or a drink, and greeting messages circulate all day. Restaurants and bars are full.	A simple ¡feliz día del amigo! sent to your Paraguayan contacts is always well-received, and this date is an excellent opportunity to suggest an outing without having to invent an excuse. For a newcomer looking to build connections, it's one of the best days of the year.
Fiestas patronales	All year round, depending on the locality	Every town and every neighborhood celebrates its patron saint: processions, masses, concerts, food stalls, rides, and fireworks, over one to three days. It's when a community celebrates its unique identity, and the festivities are open to everyone.	Ask your neighbors or the building's caretaker when your neighborhood's celebration is, ¿cuándo es la fiesta patronal de nuestro barrio?, and participate. Prices are modest, and it's one of the most direct ways to integrate locally.
San Juan	Around June 24th	The country's most characteristic popular festival. Schools, neighborhoods, and associations organize fairs with chipás, empanadas, and pasteles stalls, music, and traditional games. Many of these games are pyrotechnic and are the festival's claim to fame: the pelota tatá, a flaming rag ball kicked with the foot, the toro candil, a bull structure filled with fireworks carried through the crowd, walking on embers, or the greasy pole. It's spectacular and deeply rooted in local culture.	Go there, it's an experience to live. But stick to being a spectator for games involving fire: they cause real burns every year, even among those who grew up with them. Stay away from the trajectory of the pelota tatá and the toro candil, keep children close to you and never in the front row, avoid synthetic and loose clothing, and locate exits in enclosed spaces. A burn, even if it appears benign, should be cooled for a long time with temperate water and shown to a doctor as soon as it exceeds the size of a coin, affects the face, hands, or a joint.
Ñandutí Festival	July, in Itauguá	The festival of ñandutí lace, an emblematic Guaraní craft, in the town that is its birthplace, about thirty kilometers from Asunción. Artisans display pieces of great finesse, colorful and entirely handmade, and the festival is accompanied by concerts, dances, and gastronomy.	This is an opportunity to buy directly from the artisans, at prices that remain modest given the work involved, and to bring back to France items that are truly unobtainable elsewhere. Buy from the creators rather than resellers: the difference goes to those who made the piece.
Trans Chaco Rally	Around October	The country's biggest motor race, and one of the most demanding on the continent: several hundred kilometers of tracks across the Chaco, over several days, in heat and dust, with cars, motorcycles, and trucks. The spectator camps along the route are as much a party as a sporting event.	If you go, prepare seriously: the Chaco is an isolated region where the heat is extreme and assistance is far away. You'll need a suitable vehicle in good condition, much more water than you think you'll need, fuel, sun protection, and someone to inform of your itinerary. On site, stay only in designated public areas and well away from the track: off-road excursions happen, and a vehicle speeding through dust cannot see spectators.
End-of-year celebrations	December	December is a month of continuous celebration: Caacupé on the 8th, Christmas, New Year's, company dinners, neighborhood parties, and school year-ends. It's also the most expensive month, boosted by the payment of the thirteenth month salary, the aguinaldo: stores are full and some prices rise.	Enjoy, but plan ahead: restaurant reservations one to two weeks in advance, gifts bought before mid-December, administrative procedures completed by early December. And be extra careful on the road, as discussed below.

The concept of "puente" and "asuetos"

How days off are organized

Two mechanisms, often confused, explain why the Paraguayan calendar is more fluid than it appears.

The first is enshrined in law: civic holidays are movable. When one of these dates falls at the beginning of the week, it is moved to the previous Monday; when it falls at the end of the week, it is moved to the following Monday. The stated objective is to create three-day weekends, favorable for domestic tourism. Religious holidays, however, remain on their original dates, as do certain dates considered non-movable. Direct consequence: the actual non-working day may differ from the commemorated date, and the official calendar for the year is authoritative.

The second is the puente, or bridge, which is more a custom than a right. When a non-working day leaves an isolated day before or after the weekend, many businesses, schools, and administrations close for that day without being asked. In addition to this are the asuetos, days off granted by public decision, often announced at short notice. The result: the country can shut down for four or five consecutive days without this appearing on any calendar printed at the beginning of the year. Follow the national press, which systematically relays these announcements.

For expatriates, these periods are primarily opportunities to travel: the Jesuit missions, the Chaco, the Monday Falls, San Bernardino, or Encarnación are just a few hours' drive away. Book in advance, as accommodations fill up quickly and roads are busy on departure and return. The opposite option is equally valid: Asunción during a long weekend is a quiet city, where traffic is easy and restaurants have space. Many expatriates end up preferring to stay.

The practical calendar for expatriates

Month by month: what to expect

Month	Holidays and events	Impact on your daily life
January	New Year, summer vacation	The quietest month of the year. Many people are away, offices are slow, and schools are closed. Paradoxically, it's a good time for administrative procedures after the first week: queues are short.
February	Carnival, school re-entry	Activity resumes with the new school year. If you're tempted by the Encarnación carnival, planning should be done well in advance.
March	Día de los Héroes, sometimes Semana Santa	Solemn day at the beginning of the month. If Easter falls in March, anticipate errands and appointments.
April	Semana Santa, if not in March	The big break of the southern autumn: several days of closures, busy roads, slow commerce. Everything must be planned in advance, without exception.
May	Labor Day, Independencia and Mother's Day	The most fragmented month of the year, with three public holidays and frequent long weekends. Book for May 15th, restaurants are swamped.
June	Paz del Chaco, Jura de la Constitución, San Juan	Two commemorations and the liveliest popular festival of the calendar. The month now has one more holiday than before, which many old calendars still ignore.
July	Winter school holidays, Ñandutí festival, Día del Amigo	No national holiday, but two weeks of school holidays that empty offices and fill roads. On the 30th, go out with your friends.
August	Fundación de Asunción, Asunción marathon	Day of local pride in the capital. Good time for outdoor sports, as temperatures are still mild.
September	Victoria de Boquerón, southern spring	Spring arrives and lapachos bloom: the city is covered in pink and yellow. It's one of the most beautiful times of the year in Asunción.
October	Trans Chaco Rally	No holiday, but the country's major sporting event for motorsport enthusiasts.
November	All Saints' Day (observed, not a holiday), end of school year	The month of exams, graduations, and school performances. If you have children, your agenda fills up quickly.
December	Virgen de Caacupé, Christmas, New Year, company parties	The busiest, most festive, and most expensive month. Complete your administrative tasks early in the month, book early, and be particularly vigilant on the road.

Practical tips

How to manage public holidays

• Check the official calendar every year. This is the most useful advice on this page. Between movable holidays, long weekends, and decreed days off during the year, a fixed list of dates quickly becomes inaccurate. The national press publishes the definitive calendar at the beginning of the year and relays announcements throughout the months.
• Do your shopping in advance, not the day before. Meat, bread, and beverage aisles are cleared out before major holidays, especially before Semana Santa and between Christmas and New Year's. Two or three days in advance makes all the difference; the day before is mayhem.
• Confirm before traveling. Banks, administrations, and medical offices close, sometimes beyond the holiday itself. A message before leaving avoids an unnecessary trip: most establishments announce their hours on their networks or respond via messaging.
• Keep cash. ATMs are often emptied the day before holidays and not refilled for several days. A reasonable reserve at home allows you to pay for small shops, stalls, and transport. Distribute it rather than keeping it all in one place, and don't carry all of it with you.
• Be extra cautious on the road. The eves of holidays and public holidays are the periods with the most accidents of the year: dense traffic, long journeys, fatigue, and alcohol combine. Never drive after drinking, maintain your distance, avoid night departures on major roads, and assume that other drivers may not be in the same state of mind as you. A rideshare here costs a negligible amount compared to what's at stake.
• Anticipate the heat of summer holidays. Christmas, New Year's, and Caacupé fall at the height of the Southern Hemisphere summer. Gatherings are often outdoors and in the evening; dehydration sets in without you noticing, and alcohol accelerates it. Keep water available, seek shade, and pay special attention to children and the elderly.
• Participate. Paraguayan celebrations are open, and foreigners are readily welcomed. Processions, San Juan fairs, neighborhood patron saint festivals, concerts: all are accessible, free or almost, and constitute the most direct way to understand the country. Don't stay at home.
• Learn slowness. This is the most difficult adjustment for many French people. The Paraguayan holiday is not a day to catch up on overdue tasks; it's a day to be together without a plan. Tereré circulates, meat cooks, conversations linger. Resisting the urge to optimize this day is a learning experience in itself, and it's probably one of the least expected benefits of expatriation here.

Conclusion

The Paraguayan festive calendar tells the story of the country: its faith, its history, and its love of gathering. A dozen national holidays, plus long weekends, decreed days off, and popular festivals, result in a year punctuated by more frequent and, above all, more collective breaks than in Europe. Key dates to remember are Semana Santa, which brings the country to a halt for several days, the Virgen de Caacupé and its pilgrimage on December 8, San Juan and its fire games, Independencia on May 14 and 15, and the end-of-year celebrations, held in mid-summer.

Four simple reflexes are enough. Check the current year's calendar, as several dates move and others are added during the year. Plan shopping, reservations, and administrative procedures before major deadlines. Participate, because these festivities are open and are the best gateway to local life. And remain cautious during festive periods, especially on the road, where the unpleasant surprises of these times tend to concentrate.

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