Legal Regulations
The listed holidays are United States federal holidays established by law (5 U.S.C. § 6103) for federal government offices and employees. Private sector observance is not mandated by federal law but is common practice. The standard full-time work schedule is typically 40 hours per week, Monday through Friday.
The legal framework for working days in Iraq is based on the Iraqi Labor Law. The standard workweek is 48 hours, typically spread over six days, with the official weekend being Friday and Saturday. Public holidays are mandated as paid non-working days for all employees, with specific provisions for overtime pay on holidays and weekends.
Insights
Strategic vacation planning is popular, with articles suggesting the best days to take off to combine with public holidays for extended breaks. The day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday, is not a federal holiday but is a common day off for many employees, creating a four-day weekend.
Iraq observes a dual holiday system with secular national holidays and Islamic holidays following the lunar Hijri calendar, causing dates to shift yearly. Celebrations for holidays like Republic Day and Army Day often include military parades and cultural shows. Islamic holiday dates are officially announced following traditional moon sighting methods, creating some uncertainty in advance planning.
Iraq's weekend is Friday and Saturday, aligning with many Muslim-majority countries. The holiday calendar creates extended breaks, such as a four-day period in late March combining Nowruz and Eid al-Fitr. Work culture often involves a midday break, especially in the hotter months, and business hours may be adjusted during Ramadan.
2026 Working days summary for Karbala, Iraq
Karbala, Iraq has 249 working days in 2026. This is calculated from 365 total calendar days, minus 96 weekend days (Saturday-Sunday), and minus 20 holidays. The standard work week runs Monday through Friday.
249
Working Days
96
Weekend Days
20
Holidays
Monthly Breakdown
| Month | Working | Weekend | Holidays | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19 | 10 | 2 | 31 |
| February | 20 | 8 | 0 | 28 |
| March | 21 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
| April | 22 | 8 | 0 | 30 |
| May | 19 | 7 | 5 | 31 |
| June | 19 | 8 | 3 | 30 |
| July | 21 | 9 | 1 | 31 |
| August | 21 | 9 | 1 | 31 |
| September | 22 | 8 | 0 | 30 |
| October | 21 | 9 | 1 | 31 |
| November | 22 | 8 | 0 | 30 |
| December | 22 | 7 | 2 | 31 |
| Total | 249 | 96 | 20 | 365 |
2026 Calendar for Karbala, Iraq
January 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 New Year's Day New Year's Day | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
5 | 6 Army Day Army Day | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
19 working days, 10 weekend days, and 2 holidays in January 2026.
February 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ||||||
2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
20 working days, 8 weekend days in February 2026.
March 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ||||||
2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 National Day of Tolerance and Coexistence National Day of Tolerance and Coexistence | 7 | 8 |
9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 Eid al-Fitr Eid al-Fitr | 21 Eid al-Fitr Eid al-Fitr | 22 Eid al-Fitr Holiday Eid al-Fitr Holiday |
23 Eid al-Fitr holiday Eid al-Fitr holiday | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
30 | 31 |
21 working days, 5 weekend days, and 5 holidays in March 2026.
April 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
22 working days, 8 weekend days in April 2026.
May 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Labour Day Labour Day | 2 | 3 | ||||
4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
25 | 26 | 27 Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha | 28 Eid al-Adha Holiday Eid al-Adha Holiday | 29 Eid al-Adha Holiday Eid al-Adha Holiday | 30 Eid al-Adha holiday Eid al-Adha holiday | 31 |
19 working days, 7 weekend days, and 5 holidays in May 2026.
June 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 Eid al-Ghadeer Eid al-Ghadeer | 5 | 6 | 7 |
8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
15 | 16 Islamic New Year Islamic New Year | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
22 | 23 | 24 | 25 Ashura Ashura | 26 | 27 | 28 |
29 | 30 |
19 working days, 8 weekend days, and 3 holidays in June 2026.
July 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
13 | 14 Republic Day Republic Day | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
21 working days, 9 weekend days, and 1 holiday in July 2026.
August 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | |||||
3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
24 | 25 Mawlid al-Nabi Mawlid al-Nabi | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
31 |
21 working days, 9 weekend days, and 1 holiday in August 2026.
September 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
28 | 29 | 30 |
22 working days, 8 weekend days in September 2026.
October 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 Independence Day Independence Day | 4 | |||
5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
21 working days, 9 weekend days, and 1 holiday in October 2026.
November 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ||||||
2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
30 |
22 working days, 8 weekend days in November 2026.
December 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
7 | 8 | 9 | 10 Victory Day Victory Day | 11 | 12 | 13 |
14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 Christmas Day Christmas Day | 26 | 27 |
28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
22 working days, 7 weekend days, and 2 holidays in December 2026.
Changelog
| 2026-05-17 22:25:17 | The holiday set for 2026 has been expanded with additional observances and some holidays now include designated holiday periods. |
| 2026-05-05 10:50:21 | The holiday set for 2026 has been expanded to include additional observances, resulting in an increased number of holidays. |