Long weekends in Ethiopia, 2026
In 2026, holidays give Ethiopia5 runs of at least three consecutive days off. Below they are listed in calendar order, followed by the bridge days that stretch a short break into a long one.
Every long weekend, in date order
| Starts | Ends | Days off | Because of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 17 Jan | Mon 19 Jan | 3 days | Epiphany (Orthodox) |
| Sat 28 Feb | Mon 2 Mar | 3 days | Adwa Victory Day |
| Fri 10 Apr | Sun 12 Apr | 3 days | Good Friday, Easter Sunday |
| Fri 1 May | Sun 3 May | 3 days | International Workers' Day |
| Fri 11 Sep | Sun 13 Sep | 3 days | Enkutatash |
Bridge days
A bridge day is a lone working day sitting between a holiday and the weekend. Book that one day as leave and the time off joins up into four days or more. Offices tend to be quiet on these dates even though nobody is officially off.
| Date | Weekday | Next to |
|---|---|---|
| 4 May 2026 | Monday | Ethiopian Patriots' Victory Day |
| 29 May 2026 | Friday | Downfall of the Derg |
The cheapest leave of the year: spending 2days of annual leave on the bridges above gives you 2 breaks of at least four days. Expect colleagues to have the same idea, so request these early.
How we find them
Each day of 2026 is marked as a working day or a day off, using Ethiopia's weekend pattern and its nationwide holidays. Consecutive days off are joined into runs; a run of three days or more that includes at least one holiday counts as a long weekend. A plain two-day weekend never qualifies.
Regional holidays are not part of this calculation. If your region has its own dates, you may get extra long weekends that do not appear in the national list.
Back to the Ethiopia2026 holiday calendar or check working days between two dates.