# Public holidays in Moldova

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Public holidays in the Republic of Moldova refer to the celebrated non-working days established by the Government of Moldova and valid for the whole territory of the country. Autonomous territorial units Gagauzia and Transnistria, 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 from Moldovan 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 the New Year's Day, Easter Monday, Victory Day, Independence Day, Labour Day, Romanian Language Day and Christmas.
The holiday season in the winter traditionally ran between New Year's Day until Old new Year's Day. 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 the capital city Chișinău's Christmas tree at the end of November or very beginning of December, when other than Christmas, some locals celebrate Winter solstice, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. 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

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 the Gregorian calendar year. Festivities include counting down to midnight (12:00 AM) on the preceding night, New Year's Eve. Traditional beginning of holiday 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 commemorates Victory in Europe Day. |
| 1 June | Children's Day | It commemorates the Children's Day. |
| 27 August | Independence Day | It commemorates the founding of the Declaration of Independence of Moldova. |
| 31 August | National Language Day | It commemorates the national language of Moldova, the Romanian language. |
| 25 December | Christmas Day | |

## Other observances

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 the Soviet–Afghan War. |
| 27 April | Flag Day | It commemorates the adoption of the Moldovan flag. |
| 10 June | Border Guards Day | It commemorates the founding of the Moldovan 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 the Constitution of Moldova. |
| 24 August | Liberation Day | It celebrates the end of the Second Jassy–Kishinev offensive. It is also celebrated in neighboring Romania as the Liberation from Fascist Occupation Day. |
| 3 September | National Army Day | It commemorates the founding of the Moldovan Armed Forces. |
| 8 October | National Wine Day | It commemorates the production of Moldovan wine. |
| 18 December | Police Day | It commemorates the founding of the Moldovan Police Forces |

## Local holidays

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 for Bălți |
| 28 June | Gagauzia Liberation Day | Public holiday just for Gagauzia. |
| 14 October | Capital's Day | Public holiday just for Chișinău. |
| 21 November | Cahul Day | Public holiday just for Cahul. |