National Holidays in Argentina for 2012

Find out Argentina's 2012 holidays (Source: GatewayToLA)

National holidays in Argentina have increased this year due to President Cristina Kirchner’s promise of giving more holidays to the Argentineans. Some of the holidays are movable or extended to create a 4 day weekend depending on whether the holiday falls on the previous or the subsequent day. This measure is called “the holiday bridge” (feriado puente) and is intended to encourage local tourism so that people can take advantage of the long weekend and get away from the cities. Don´t worry if the banks are closed; or if you try desperately to call your travel agent in Argentina and they don’t answer; it is not because of bankruptcy or a revolution, it is probably that they are on their holidays!!! 

If you want to plan your vacation in Argentina, make sure you take a note of the holidays as last minute bookings may be difficult to arrange, especially for transfer services; tango shows, or other travel services such as, Colonia Day Tours or Montevideo Day Tours that have limited availability and can become overbooked.

Take note of the holidays in this calendar and plan your trip according to the National Holidays in Argentina and make the most of your vacation during 2012:

JANUARY
1st = New Year’s Day
** 7th = Christmas Day (Eastern Orthodox)
 
FEBRUARY
20th – 21st = Carnival 

27th = Bicentennial Day of the Creation and First Pledge of Allegiance in Argentina

MARCH
24th = National Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice

APRIL

2nd = Falklands War Memorial Day
** 5th = Holy Thursday Christian Feast
6th = Good Friday
** 6th – 8th = Jewish Festival of Passover
** 12th – 14th = Jewish Festival of Passover
** 24th = Day of Action for Tolerance and Respect Among People (Armenian community)
30th = Tourist National Holiday

MAY
1st = Labour Day
25th = Day of the May Revolution

JUNE
20th = Day of the National Flag

JULY
9th = Argentina’s Independence Day

AUGUST
** 18th = Eid al-Fitr (Islam) End of Ramadan (dates may vary)

* 20th = Anniversary of the Death of General Jose San Martin

SEPTEMBER
** 16th = Jewish New Year
** 25th = Jewish Festival of Yom Kippur

OCTOBER
* 8th = Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity (Columbus Day)
** 25th = Eid al Adha (Islam) Festival of Sacrifice (dates may vary)

NOVEMBER** 14th = Hijri New Year (Islam) (dates may vary)
* 26th = Day of National Sovereignty

DECEMBER
8th = The Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary
24th = Tourist National Holiday
25th = Christmas Day
31st = New Year’s Eve

* These are moveable holidays, where if the original date falls on a Tuesday or Wednesday, the holiday is moved to the preceding Monday. If the holiday coincides with a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, the holiday is moved to the following Monday.

** There are a further 9 non-working holidays throughout the year however, these only apply to festival corresponding to their religion.

In total, Argentina has 18 National holidays meaning on average one every 3 weeks. When added to the other non-working days throughout the year, the total comes to an unbelievable 121 days where no-work is done which equates to a third of the whole year!  So if you plan a relaxed lifestyle outside of the cruel Monday to Friday working routine you´ll probably want to consider moving to Argentina to take advantage of the flexible and extensive holiday’s calendar!

If you are looking for tours and activities in Buenos Aires during the month of January, visit our official website www.bsas4u.com.