Ask a Hong Kong office worker about next year and, before you hear about targets or projects, you’ll hear about the calendar. The 2027 holidays were announced in May 2026, and within a day the newspapers were printing charts of how to stretch them. Taking leave between public holidays to build a longer break even has its own word, 夾假 (gaap3 gaa3), literally “sandwiching holidays”.

Whether you work in Hong Kong, are planning a trip, or keep the festivals going with family abroad, the public holidays shape the year. They decide when the city empties out, when flights cost double and when the office goes quiet. Below is the full list of Hong Kong public holidays for 2027, with their Chinese names, what actually happens on each day, the best long weekends, and the Cantonese you’ll hear around the office when one is coming up.

The full list of Hong Kong public holidays in 2027

Two details catch people out. The second day of Lunar New Year falls on Sunday 7 February, so the fourth day becomes a holiday in its place. Labour Day, on the other hand, falls on a Saturday, and Hong Kong only gives a weekday back when a holiday lands on a Sunday. If you work Monday to Friday, that one simply disappears.

It’s also worth knowing what isn’t there. After Establishment Day on 1 July, there are no public holidays in July or August at all, so the next day off is the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival holiday in September. Schools close on every public holiday too, although their longer breaks around Chinese New Year, Easter and the summer are set separately by each school.

If you’re reading this before the year is out, there are still two 2026 holidays to come: Christmas Day on Friday 25 December 2026, and the first weekday after Christmas Day, which is observed on Saturday 26 December 2026.

The Cantonese words for a day off

You’ll hear these in every office in the weeks before a long weekend:

Two lines will carry you through most holiday small talk. 聽日放假！ (ting1 jat6 fong3 gaa3) is “we’re off tomorrow!”, said with real feeling on a Wednesday afternoon. And 放假去邊呀？ (fong3 gaa3 heoi3 bin1 aa3), “where are you going for the holiday?”, is the question everyone asks in the lift. The honest answer is often 留喺香港 (lau4 hai2 hoeng1 gong2), “staying in Hong Kong”.

What happens on each holiday

New Year’s Day, Friday 1 January 2027

A quiet beginning to the year by Hong Kong standards, after the fireworks over Victoria Harbour the night before. People wish each other 新年快樂 (san1 nin4 faai3 lok6), “happy new year”, and in 2027 it gives everyone a three-day weekend to start the year.

Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year), 6 to 9 February 2027

The big one. 2027 is the Year of the Goat, 羊年 (joeng4 nin4). Lunar New Year’s Day, the third day and the fourth day are all public holidays this year, and the first days are for visiting family, handing out red packets to the kids and eating far too much. Many small shops and restaurants close for the first day or two, so stock up. Offices reopen with more greetings and, often, red packets from the boss. Our guide to Chinese New Year greetings in Cantonese covers what to say and to whom.

Easter, 26 to 29 March 2027

Hong Kong takes four days for Easter: Good Friday, the Saturday after it, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday. For most people it’s a travel weekend rather than a religious one, and the airport is famously busy. Easter is 復活節 (fuk6 wut6 zit3), and the chocolate eggs in every supermarket are 復活蛋 (fuk6 wut6 daan2).

Ching Ming Festival, Monday 5 April 2027

Ching Ming is the grave-sweeping festival. Families travel to cemeteries to clean their ancestors’ graves, offer food and burn incense, which is called 拜山 (baai3 saan1), literally “paying respects at the hill”. Expect crowded buses and trains to the big cemeteries. It’s a day of remembrance, so don’t wish anyone a happy Ching Ming Festival.

Labour Day, Saturday 1 May 2027

In 2027 this falls on a Saturday, so for most office workers it passes without a day off.

Birthday of the Buddha, Thursday 13 May 2027

Temples hold ceremonies where worshippers pour water over a small statue of the infant Buddha, called 浴佛 (juk6 fat6), “bathing the Buddha”. The same day, the island of Cheung Chau, 長洲 (coeng4 zau1), holds its Bun Festival, 太平清醮 (taai3 ping4 cing1 ziu3), with a parade and a midnight race up a tower of buns, 搶包山 (coeng2 baau1 saan1). Book the ferry early.

Tuen Ng Festival (Dragon Boat Festival), Wednesday 9 June 2027

The Tuen Ng Festival is better known in English as the Dragon Boat Festival. Teams race long, narrow boats to the beat of a drum, 扒龍舟 (paa4 lung4 zau1), from Stanley to Tai O, and everyone eats 糉 (zung2), sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves. You’ll hear both 端午節快樂 (dyun1 ng5 zit3 faai3 lok6) and the more traditional 端午安康 (dyun1 ng5 on1 hong1), “a peaceful Tuen Ng”.

Establishment Day, Thursday 1 July 2027

A Thursday in 2027, so one day of leave on Friday 2 July makes it a four-day weekend.

The day after the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, Thursday 16 September 2027

The Mid-Autumn Festival itself falls on Wednesday 15 September. The public holiday is the day after because the celebration happens at night: families eat mooncakes, 月餅 (jyut6 beng2), children carry lanterns, 燈籠 (dang1 lung4), and stay out late admiring the full moon, 賞月 (soeng2 jyut6). The next night even has its own name, 追月 (zeoi1 jyut6), “chasing the moon”. The greeting is 中秋節快樂 (zung1 cau1 zit3 faai3 lok6).

National Day, Friday 1 October 2027

A Friday in 2027, so a three-day weekend, and the start of the best stretch of the autumn (see below).

Chung Yeung Festival, Friday 8 October 2027

Hong Kong’s second grave-sweeping day of the year. Many families visit their ancestors again, and there’s an old custom of climbing to high ground, 登高 (dang1 gou1), so the hiking trails get busy with outdoor activities too. Like Ching Ming, it isn’t a “happy” holiday.

Christmas, Saturday 25 and Monday 27 December 2027

Christmas Day lands on a Saturday, so the holiday that usually falls on Boxing Day moves to Monday 27 December, “the first weekday after Christmas Day”. Our guide to Merry Christmas in Cantonese covers the greetings and how the city celebrates.

The best long weekends in 2027

If you have days off to plan, these are the windows that stretch furthest. A calendar and a little 夾假 go a long way:

• Easter and Ching Ming: take 30 March to 2 April off (four days) and you’re free from Friday 26 March to Monday 5 April. That’s eleven days.

• Lunar New Year: take 10 to 12 February off (three days) for nine days, from Saturday 6 to Sunday 14 February.

• October: National Day and Chung Yeung are both Fridays. Take 4 to 7 October off (four days) for ten days, from 1 to 10 October.

• The Thursdays: Buddha’s Birthday, 1 July and the day after Mid-Autumn all fall on Thursdays. One day of leave on each Friday gives you three four-day weekends.

Everyone else has done the same maths, so flights and hotels for these dates go quickly.

General holidays and statutory holidays: why your office might not get all 17

Here’s the bit that matters if you work in Hong Kong. The 17 days above are general holidays, sometimes called bank holidays, 銀行假期 (ngan4 hong4 gaa3 kei4). Banks, schools, government offices and most office jobs take all of them.

Statutory holidays, 法定假期 (faat3 ding6 gaa3 kei4), are the ones every employer must give under the Employment Ordinance, and in 2027 there are 15 of them. The number is rising year by year and will match the 17 general holidays by 2030. Shop, restaurant and factory workers are often on statutory holidays only, so check your contract.

There’s one more quirk. On the statutory list, the Christmas holiday can be either Christmas Day or the Winter Solstice Festival, 冬至 (dung1 zi3), at the employer’s choice. The solstice falls on Wednesday 22 December in 2027, and it’s a bigger deal than many visitors realise: there’s even a saying, 冬至大過年 (dung1 zi3 daai6 gwo3 nin4), “the winter solstice is bigger than New Year”. Families gather for a big dinner, called 做冬 (zou6 dung1), and plenty of offices let staff go home early to make it.

Talking about holidays at work

Holidays are the easiest small talk in any Hong Kong office, and a few words of Cantonese make it warmer. Ask a colleague 放假去邊呀？ before a long weekend, wish them 中秋節快樂 with a box of mooncakes, or tell your team 我請咗假 (ngo5 cing2 zo2 gaa3), “I’ve taken leave”, and watch the reaction. For more of the language you’ll use between holidays, see our guide to Cantonese for work, and for reading prices and dates, our guide to numbers in Cantonese.

If you’re moving to Hong Kong and want to join the conversation properly, our online Cantonese lessons with a native Hong Kong tutor are built around the Cantonese you’ll use at work and on your days off.