The calendar

Public holidays and festivals in Suriname

The Surinamese holiday calendar is the shortest summary of Surinamese history that exists. It carries Afro-Surinamese, Hindustani, Javanese, Chinese, Christian and Islamic days, and all of them are national holidays, for everyone, not only the community they came from.

It matters for planning: on public holidays there is a lot to see but shops and offices close, and around 25 November and Keti Koti the city is full and flights are expensive.

• Keti Koti

  Keti Koti falls on 1 July each year and marks the abolition of slavery in Suriname on 1 July 1863. It is a national public holiday; the name means "chains broken" in Sranan Tongo.

  1 July · public holiday · Afro-Surinaams

• Independence Day

  Suriname became independent from the Netherlands on 25 November 1975. The day is called Srefidensi in Sranan Tongo and is a national holiday with a military parade, processions and fireworks.

  25 November · public holiday · Nationaal

• Holi Phagwa

  Holi Phagwa is the Hindu spring and colour festival in Suriname and a national public holiday. The date moves each year with the lunar calendar and falls in late February or March.

  Moves, late February or March · public holiday · Hindostaans

• Divali

  Divali is the Hindu festival of lights and a national public holiday in Suriname. It falls in October or November and is marked by rows of diyas, small clay oil lamps, set along pavements, low walls and verandas.

  Moves, October or November · public holiday · Hindostaans

• Javanese Immigration Day

  On 9 August Suriname commemorates the arrival of the first Javanese indentured labourers in 1890; between 1890 and 1939 around 33,000 came from the Dutch East Indies. It is a national public holiday, celebrated most strongly in Blauwgrond and Lelydorp.

  9 August · public holiday · Javaans

• Hindustani Immigration Day

  On 5 June Suriname commemorates the arrival of the ship Lalla Rookh in 1873, carrying 399 Hindustani indentured labourers from British India. It is a national public holiday, and the Lalla Rookh monument on the Waterkant marks the spot.

  5 June · public holiday · Hindostaans

• Owru Yari

  Owru Yari is New Year’s Eve in Suriname and is celebrated during the day: from around midday, enormous pagaras, strings of firecrackers sometimes tens of thousands long, are set off in central Paramaribo.

  31 December · Nationaal

• Chinese New Year

  Chinese New Year has been an official national holiday in Suriname since 2014, recognition of a Chinese community present since 1853. The date moves each year and falls in late January or February.

  Moves, late January or February · public holiday · Chinees

Holidays that follow a lunar calendar. Holi Phagwa, Divali, Chinese New Year and the Islamic days, move each year. We therefore give a window rather than a date; check the exact day for your travel year.