Ecuador decrees five-day New Year’s holiday but there’s a catch

Nov 23, 2019 | 11 comments

The last holiday of 2019 will be the longest of the year, the government decreed on Friday. To boost tourism and post-Christmas commercial activity, the Ministry of Tourism announced that Monday, December 30 and Tuesday, December 31 will be added to the official January 1 New Year’s Day holiday.

Dummies, or monigotes, go up in flames on a Cuenca street during last year’s New Year’s Eve celebration.

“Including the prior weekend, this extension means a five-day holiday in which families can travel and participate in various festivities around the country,” the ministry said. “The president has given his blessing to the plan with Executive Decree 858, understanding the country’s need to recover from the October strike.”

The two extra days off come with a catch, however. Government employees will have to make up the days by working the following two Saturdays.

The extra holidays are optional for businesses but the ministry urged business owners to allow employees to participate in the long weekend.

Official Ecuador Holidays for 2020

New Year’s Day
Wednesday, January 1

Carnival
Monday 24 and Tuesday February 24 and 25

Good Friday
Friday, April 10

Labor Day
Friday, May 1, 2020

Battle of Pichincha
Sunday, May 24

Guayaquil Festival
Saturday, July 25

First Cry of Independence
Monday, August 10

Guayaquil’s independence
Friday, October 9

Day of the Dead
Saturday, November 2