Taiwan National Holidays: Lunar New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Public Holidays

Taiwan has 12 official national holidays per year, set under the Statute for Employees' Leave-Taking (勞工請假規則). The critical practical reality: lunar-calendar holidays shift by several weeks from one year to the next, so the exact dates you see for 2024 will be wrong for 2025. Always verify against Taiwan's Directorate-General of Personnel Administration (DGPA) calendar, which publishes confirmed bridge-day and makeup-day rules in October for the following year.

The Six Fixed-Date Holidays

These fall on the same Gregorian date every year, making forward planning straightforward.

• January 1, Founding Day of the Republic of China (中華民國開國紀念日): New Year's Day. Banks, government offices, and most retail chains close. Convenience stores (7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Hi-Life) remain open 24/7 as always.
• February 28, Peace Memorial Day (和平紀念日): Commemorates the 1947 crackdown. A solemn, quiet day; major museums often run free admission. Public transport runs normally.
• April 4, Children's Day (兒童節): Frequently bridges into Tomb Sweeping Day on April 5 to form a 2–4 day long weekend.
• April 5, Tomb Sweeping Day (清明節): Families visit ancestral graves. Expressways and rail to southern Taiwan are heavily congested from the night before, book tickets on the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) app at least two weeks out.
• October 10, National Day (國慶日, "Double Ten"): The biggest civic holiday. A military parade proceeds down Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei, directly in front of the Presidential Office. Hotels around Zhongzheng District book out weeks in advance.
• December 25, Constitution Day (行憲紀念日): A public holiday, though Christmas is not culturally significant; most businesses treat it as a regular holiday.

The Four Lunar Holidays (Dates Shift Every Year)

These four are the ones that will disrupt your plans if you forget they move.

Lunar New Year (春節) is the largest disruption of the Taiwanese calendar. The official holiday is three days, the eve through the second day, but DGPA bridge days typically extend it to 7–10 consecutive days off. During this window:

• Night markets in Taipei (Shilin, Raohe) close for the first 2–4 days, then reopen.
• High-speed rail (THSR) tickets for the holiday period sell out within minutes of release, often 20 days before travel.
• Domestic flights to Kinmen and Penghu are fully booked weeks ahead.
• Most independent restaurants, small shops, and hair salons close for the full stretch.
• ATMs in rural areas can run dry during peak travel days.

Dragon Boat Festival (端午節) is a single day in late May or early June. Traffic near Tamsui River and Zuoying in Kaohsiung is heavy due to boat races. Sticky rice dumplings (粽子, zòngzi) sell out quickly at traditional vendors, Wan Wan (萬萬) and Jin Feng (金峰) branches in Taipei see long queues from the morning before.

Ghost Festival / Ghost Month (中元節) is technically not a public holiday, but businesses may observe it in late August. The seventh lunar month, not just one day, is considered inauspicious for travel by some locals, expect occasional seaside swimming warnings posted by local governments.

Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節) falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month (typically mid-September to early October). It is a single-day holiday, do not expect a long weekend unless a bridge day is awarded. The cultural anchor is mooncake gifting: department stores including Shin Kong Mitsukoshi (新光三越) and Pacific SOGO (太平洋崇光) launch mooncake gift sets from August onward. BBQ on balconies and rooftops is the distinctly Taiwanese tradition, driven by a 1980s soy sauce advertisement that lodged permanently in the national consciousness.

Practical Rules for Visitors

• Banking: All banks close on every public holiday. ATMs remain operational, but foreign card fees apply, Citibank (花旗) and E.SUN Bank (玉山銀行) branches have good English-language ATM interfaces.
• Pharmacies: Chain pharmacies like Watson's and Cosmed stay open on most holidays except Lunar New Year days 1–2.
• Post offices: Chunghwa Post (中華郵政) closes on all 12 official holidays.
• Museums: The National Palace Museum in Shilin stays open on most holidays, with free admission on certain dates, confirm on its official site before visiting.
• Advance booking: For any travel overlapping Lunar New Year or National Day, book accommodation and transport at minimum one month ahead. Two months ahead is safer for Lunar New Year.