As in every country, public holidays in Jordan depend on each year: there are a series of fixed dates that are symbolic and are celebrated throughout the country or in a certain region. But depending on the day of the week on which it falls, it will be considered an official (non-working) holiday or not. In this post we indicate what these reference days are, taking into account that the official calendar of each year is published by the Jordanian government at the end of the previous year or at the beginning of the current year.
Major Holidays in Jordan
Below we show you eight very important days in the Jordanian calendar and that, with exceptions, are usually public holidays and therefore not working days. Since this post is written in 2025, we take this year’s dates as a reference:
- New Year’s Day: January 1
- Eid al-Fitr: March 30 – April 2, 2025
- Labor Day: May 1
- Independence Day: May 25
- Eid Al-Adha: June 5-9, 2025
- Islamic New Year: June 26, 2025
- Mawlid Al-Nabi: September 4, 2025
- Christmas: December 25
Some considerations about Jordanian holidays
When taking a look at this list, several things may catch your attention. For example, the fact that the feast of reference for Christians is also a holiday in Jordan: Christmas. Let us not forget that Jesus Christ is considered a prophet in Islam, so he is a figure who is not deeply respected among Muslims. But in addition, let us remember that some important places in his life happened precisely in Jordanian territory, as is the case of his baptism at the hands of St. John the Baptist.
Another striking fact is the combination of fixed dates of the Western (Gregorian) calendar with those of the Islamic calendar. This is because, on a general level, life in Jordan runs to the rhythm of the most universal calendar, which is the Gregorian calendar, which allows for greater unification with the rest of the world. But for religious celebrations, it is the Islamic calendar that is still used as a reference.
It should be remembered that the Islamic calendar is lunar and not solar, so the months are shorter and, therefore, so is the year. That means that the same religious celebration ‘falls’ on different dates from one year to the next, happening about 11 days earlier than the previous year’s celebration.
This is the case with Eid al-Fitr, Eid Al-Adha and Mawlid Al-Nabi, common to the rest of Muslim countries. And in addition, the Islamic New Year is celebrated, so that Jordanian citizens celebrate this day twice, as they turn the page on two different years: the one that takes the birth of Christ as a reference and the one that takes as a reference the beginning of the Hijrah of Muhammad. In the first, we are going for 2025, and in the second, for 1446.
How the holidays affect daily life
On all these holidays, official buildings and other establishments important for daily life, such as banks, close. Religious festivities have a greater impact, as Jordanians spend them with family or community. For the foreign traveler, this can be a setback in the opening and closing times of certain places, although the large tourist destinations do not usually close any day of the year, such as the Petra site.
And as far as the week is concerned, the day considered a holiday or rest day is Friday, joining in many cases to Saturday to make up the Jordanian weekend. This means a greater influx of local public to museums and monuments, but it does not usually imply the closure of tourist spaces.
