Dates of Significance
Author
Nina Evason,
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The following dates are celebrated or recognised throughout Venezuela. However, there are many more regional festivals and celebrations (fiestas) specific to different states and regions of the country.
National Dates
- New Year’s Day – 1st of January
- Independence Declaration Day – 19th of April
- Labour Day – 1st of May
- Battle of Carabobo/St John’s Day – 24th of June1
- Independence Day – 5th of July
- Simón Bolívar’s Birthday – 24th of July
- Discovery of America/Indigenous Resistance Day – 12th of October2
- New Year’s Eve – 31st of December
Catholic Dates
- St. Joseph’s Day (Día de San José) – 19th of March
- Epiphany (Día de Reyes) – 6th of January
- Carnaval – Monday and Tuesday prior to Ash Wednesday
- Easter (Semana Santa) – Varies each year
- Assumption of Mary – 15th of August
- All Saints Day (Día de Todos los Santos) – 1st of November
- Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Inmaculada Concepción) – 8th of December
- Christmas Day (Navidad) – 25th of December
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1 Celebrates St John the Baptist’s birthday, as well as the Battle of Carabobo in 1821.2 This date marks the anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival to the American continent in 1492. However, in 2004, Hugo Chavez’s government declared October 12th to be the “Day of Indigenous Resistance” in recognition of the devastating impact the so-called ‘discovery’ of the Americas brought upon the indigenous people of the region.