Dates and meanings for holidays in 2024

Navigating Chile
1

Quick guide to why nothing gets done here

Holidays Chile 2024

• Monday 01 January - New Years (irrenunciable)
• Friday 29 March - Good Friday
• Saturday 30 March - Even Better Saturday
• Weds 01 May - Labor Day - Comintern Celebration (irrenunciable)
• Tuesday 21 Mayonnaise - Glorious Navy Day
• Sunday 09 June - Primary Elections, Alcaldes and governors (irrenunciable)
• Thursday 20 June - Indigenous People Warpaint Day
• Saturday 29 June, San Pedro and San Pablo
• Tuesday 16 July, Pisco Virgen del Carmen Day
• Thursday 15 August - Flying Virgin Day
• Weds 18 September, National Independence (irrenunciable)
• Thursday 19 September, Glorious Army Day (irrenunciable)
• Friday 20 September, Bonus Fiestas Patrias and Extra Pisco Day
• Saturday 12 October, Don’t Call It Columbus Day
• Sunday 27 October, Elections - Municipal, Regional bureaucrats (irrenunciable)
• Thursday 31 October, Every Day is Like Halloween in Chile Day
• Friday 01 November, All Saints Come Marching In Day
• Sunday 08 December, Immaculate Copulation Day
• Wednesday 25 December, Xmas (irrenunciable)

Compare to eleven US federal holidays in 2024

  1. New Year’s Day - January 1st
  2. Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Third Monday of January
  3. Washington’s Birthday - Third Monday of February
  4. Memorial Day - Last Monday of May
  5. Juneteenth - June 19th
  6. Independence Day - July 4th
  7. Labor day - First Monday of September
  8. Columbus Day - Second Monday of October
  9. Veterans Day - November 11th
  10. Thanksgiving Day - Fourth Thursday of November
  11. Christmas Day - December 25th
2

Quite the joke as one who worked in the USA private sector with our measly 5 holidays a year with no sandwich days permitted, ever.

3

And Public Holidays are all paid. Hence the parliamentary populist enthusiasm for creating more. The idea is that It makes the proponent look good to the electorate, while the employer foots the bill, son generosos con lo ajeno.

But Chileans are both forgetful and ungrateful, so in the end its a pointless gesture. It also underlines the concept that work is bad, and the idea is to do the least amount possible. Hell of a way to run a country.