Holidays and Fiestas
in Mexico

Date	Holiday	Description
Jan. 1 +	New Years Day Año Nuevo
Jan. 6	Feast of Epiphany Día de los Santos Reyes	The three kings bring gifts to the children. End of the Christmas festivities. A rich, twisted bread with a doll hidden inside called roscas de reyes is sold.
Jan. 17	Feast of San Antonio Abad Día de San Antonio Abad	Honors animals. Pets and livestock are decorated with flowers and ribbons and taken to church to be blessed.
Jan. 20	Feast of San Sebastian	Celebrated by the Mixtec indians in Pinotepa Don Luis nearPinotepa Nacional.
Feb. 2	Día de la Candelaria	Streets are decorated with lanterns and there are fiestas, parades, and bullfights. Plants, seeds, and candles are blessed.
Feb. 5 +	Constitution Day	Commemorates the constitutions of 1857 and 1917.
Feb. 24 +	Flag Day
The week before Ash Wednesday, usually late Feb.	Carnival	A five-day celebration beginning the weekend before Lent. Food, music, dancing. This is big in Barra de Navidad, Jalisco.
Mar. 17	Día de San Patricio Day of St. Patrick	Honors the patron saint of towns with that name, such as San Patricio Melaque, Jalisco, where they have bullfights, fireworks, etc..
Mar. 19	Día de San José Day of St. Joseph	Honors the patron saint of towns with that name.
Mar. 21 +	Birthday of Benito Juárez	A Zapotec indian born in Guelatao, Oaxaca, who became governor of Oaxaca and president of Mexico.
Easter Sunday + is the first Sunday after the full moon on or after March 21.	Holy Week Semana Santa	The week ending with Easter Sunday. A major Mexican holiday with many celebrations in most every town. Many Mexicans go on vacation at this time.
about April 26 to about May 10	Fiesta de Mayo	Manzanillo's main celebration with sports events, art exhibits, parades, concerts, native dances, carnival.
April 30	Día del Niño Childrens' Day	Celebrated in schools with gifts, cakes, candies, piñatas and festivals.
May 1 +	Labor Day Primero de Mayo	Workers parade through the streets.
May 3	Día de la Santa Cruz Day of the Holy Cross
May 5 +	Cinco de Mayo Batalla de Puebla Battle of Puebla	The French invasion was defeated at Puebla in 1862. The French were there to collect on a debt but also had designs on establishing an empire in Mexico. This holiday is actually celebrated more by latinos in the U.S.A. than in Mexico.
May 10 +	Mother's Day
May 15	Feast of San Isidro Labrador	New seeds and animals are blessed.
June 1 +	Navy Day Día de la Marina	Celebrated in Mexican seaports such as in Puerto Angel and Puerto Escondido.
June 1	Feast of Corpus Christi	Celebrated in various ways.
June 24	Saint John the Baptist Day	Celebrated by dunking and throwing water on one another
June 29	Día de San Pedro	Patron saint of San Pedro Amusgos near Pinotepa Nacional. Religious processions and dancing.
The two Mondays following July 16	Lunes del Cerro Guelaguetza Dance Festival	Dates back to pre-Columbian times, celebrated in the city of Oaxaca. Guelaguetza is a zapotec word meaning to participate and cooperate.
July 25	Feast of Santiago	Patron Saint of Pinotepa Nacional. Celebrated in some places with Mexican-style rodeos charreadas.
Aug 5	Fisherman's Day Día del Pescador	Celebrated in Puerto Angel.
Aug 15	Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary	Celebrated with religious processions
Aug 26	Feast of San Agustín	Customary to prepare chiles en nogada.
Sep 14	Día de Charro Cowboy Day	Celebrated throughout Mexico.
Sep 15	Independence Day	In the evening, mayors reenact Father Hidalgo's Grito de Delores from city hall balconies.
Sep 16 +	Independence Day	In 1810, Father Hidalgo y Costilla and his followers initiated an uprising against the Spanish.
1st Sunday Oct.	Virgin of the RosaryVirgen de la Rosario	Celebrated in San Pedro Amusgos near Pinotepa Nacional. Religious processions and dancing.
Oct. 1	Día del Angel Day of the Angel	A large procession, fireworks, and dancing honors the patron saint of Puerto Angel.
Oct. 4	Día de San Francisco Day of St. Francis	Honors the patron saint of towns with this name.
Oct. 12 +	Columbus Day Día de la Raza	Celebrating the arrival of Christopher Columbus on the continent.
Nov. 1	Día de Muertos Chiquitos, or The Day of the Little Dead, and Día de Todos Santos All Saints' Day	Begins the celebration of Días de los Muertos by honoring the souls of children.
Nov. 2	Día de los Muertos Day of the Dead All Souls' Day	A festive celebration honoring the departed. Graves are decorated with flowers and food.
Nov. 6-28 (approximate)	Puerto Escondido's November Festival	An annual event featuring beauty contests, sailfishing tournament, surfing competition, native dancing, races, art exhibitions, music.
Nov. 20 +	Anniversary of the Mexican Revolution	In the revolution of 1910-17, revolutionaries overthrew the dictatorship of General Porfirio Díaz.
Nov. 29	Día de San Andres	Patron saint of San Juan Colorado near Pinotepa Nacional. A Mixtec celebration with church services and dancing.
Dec. 1	Inauguration Day	Occurs every 6 years: 2000, 2006, etc.
Dec. 12	Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe Día de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe	Mexico's patron saint
Dec. 12 +	Flag Day	Honoring the flag of Mexico.
Dec. 16	Las Posadas	Candlelight processions celebrating Joseph and Mary's search for shelter in Bethlehem. Celebrations continue through January 6.
Dec. 18	Virgen de Soledad	A fiesta honoring Oaxaca's patron saint and protector of fishermen. Celebrated in Puerto Escondido.
Dec. 23	Noche de Rabano Feast of the Radishes	Celebrated in Oaxaca. Carved radishes are displayed, buñuelos are served, ceramic plates are smashed in the streets.
Dec. 25 +	Christmas Navidad	During the week before Christmas are candlelight processions, parties, and piñatas filled with candy and toys. This is a major holiday period and vacations are often taken at this time.

+ National Holiday

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