In Malta, all official holidays will be regulated and governed by the 1975 act of National and other holidays. This act was amended in 1977’s legal notices 59 and 38. It is evident that the act can be amended at any given time as long as the people who are responsible deem the amendments necessary. With this in mind, there have been more amendments which have occurred in 1980 by Act X, 1987 legal notices 40 and 8, Act VIII in 1989 and Act II in 2005.

Every time there are changes in the holidays, there is implementation to that effect which creates a change in the calendar for that particular year and consecutive years until a new change is implemented. Currently, Malta has five national holidays. They have certain characteristics which will be explained by the method the acts use to govern and regulate the holidays.

Malta Holiday

Malta Holiday

Weekend holidays in Malta were moved to the following Monday if the holiday fell on Saturday or Sunday. However, with the changes in the 2005 act, this common tradition was changed such that holidays occurring over the weekend were celebrated the same day without them being moved to the following Monday. Apart from the act, there is the presence of a law which has enabled full implementation of the act and therefore putting a complete end to the practice of celebrating weekend based holidays on the following Monday. This has spanned a lot of vocal protests from the public. As a result, business visitors to Malta are advised to avoid making any business related plans for the Monday which follows a holiday on the weekend. The visitors are also advised to consult with the particular business entity that they are dealing with in order to have confirmation of the state of affairs. Some of the businesses will tend to work on such Mondays while others will remain closed. Visitors are also advised to note the dates of election in any election year. In most cases Mondays that come after an election are at times consider dot be holidays by members of the public. Most business will remain closed during such a time and school transportation is likely to be unavailable. Such conditions can affect a business transaction especially if it has to be completed by the end of business in that particular day.

Malta Holidays

Malta Holidays

With all these factors in mind, it is advisable to have a look at the public holidays that are official in Malta. Looking at the public holidays will help a visitor know when they can handle business in Malta. The official public holiday calendar in Malta looks like this:

January has one holiday which is internationally observed:

  • Sunday January 1st – New Year’s Day.

February has one official day that is celebrated only in Malta.

  • Friday February 10th – Feast of St. Paul’s Shipwreck

March has two holidays

  • Monday March 19th – Feast of St. Joseph
  • Saturday March 31st – Freedom day.

April also has two holidays

  • Friday April 6th – Good Friday.
  • Monday April 9th – Bank Holiday. Though this day is not officially a holiday in Malta, banks tend to be closed on this day. The banks generally tend to follow the international standards of Easter Holidays which some countries observe until this Monday. With this in mind, banks in Malta also tend to remain closed during this period. A visitor is therefore advised to avoid having any bank related transaction on this day.

May

  • Tuesday May 1st – Worker’s Day. In most countries around the world, this date is considered to be a public holiday. It is commonly referred to as Labor Day or May Day. This is a day that worker’s can get information on he improvements of their working conditions. In Malta, the government decides to give announcements about the regulations and conditions which companies have to adhere to in order to have continued licensing. When there is an increase in the minimum wage, it is likely to be announced during this day. At the same time, any concerns that were mentioned in the course of the year relating to workers will also be addressed on this day. Most, if not all business will remain closed during this day.

June has two holidays

  • Thursday June 7th – Sette Giugno.
  • Friday June 29th – Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul

July does not have any national holiday.

August has a single holiday

  • Wednesday August 15th – Feast of the Assumption

September has two holidays

  • Saturday September 8th – Feast of Our Lady of Victories
  • Friday September 21st – Independence Day

October does not have a single holiday

November does not have a holiday:

December has four holidays in Malta making it the busiest holiday month:

  • Saturday December 8th – Feast of Immaculate Conception
  • Thursday December 13th – Republic Day
  • Tuesday December 25th – Christmas day
  • Wednesday December 26th – Bank Holiday

All these are the official holidays observed and celebrated in Malta. When it comes to Bank holidays, one should understand that though the public does not necessarily celebrate them, they may be observed by the greater public. As this is the case, some of the businesses will not be operational on such days. This is attributed to the fact that banks have a direct impact on the financial status of the businesses running in Malta. When banks do not open, most businesses will remain closed. If you are planning a business or business related trip to Malta, you should have this calendar in mind. Some of the holidays like the ones pertaining to a feast will not be observed by all businesses. This means that you can be able to do a business transaction on such days despite them being mentioned and recorded as public holidays. At the same time, the regulating and governing bodies for public holidays have the authority to make last minute and / or arbitrary changes to these dates. This may include postponement or cancellation of the same. Be sure you make the necessary consultations before you decide on a business date.

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