To see the 2018 version of this article, click here.
If you haven’t already done so, it’s time to update your project schedules with non-working days for 2016. Below is a list of commonly observed national and religious holidays, and the dates they are commonly observed. Naturally, you’ll need to confirm which holidays apply to your project team.
And here are instructions for updating the working calendar in MS Project.
| Holiday | Weekday | Celebrated |
| New Year’s Day | Friday | 1-Jan |
| Martin Luther King’s Birthday (US) | Monday | 18-Jan |
| Republic Day (India) | Tuesday | 26-Jan |
| Chinese / Vietnamese New Year | Monday | 8-Feb |
| Ash Wednesday | Wednesday | 10-Feb |
| President’s Day (US) | Monday | 15-Feb |
| Good Friday | Friday | 25-Mar |
| Easter Monday (UK) | Monday | 28-Mar |
| Beginning of Passover | Saturday | 23-Apr |
| May Day (China: Labor Day) | Sunday | 1-May |
| Early May Bank Holiday (UK) | Monday | 4-May |
| Victoria Day (Canada) | Monday | 23-May |
| Spring Bank Holiday (UK) | Monday | 25-May |
| Memorial Day (US) | Monday | 30-May |
| First day of Ramadan | Tuesday | 7-Jun |
| Shauvot | Sunday | 12-Jun |
| Canada Day | Friday | 1-Jul |
| Independence Day (US) | Monday | 4-Jul |
| Eid al-Fitr | Thursday | 7-Jul |
| Independence Day (India) | Monday | 15-Aug |
| Summer Bank Holiday (UK) | Monday | 31-Aug |
| Labor Day (US and Canada) | Monday | 5-Sep |
| Eid al-Adha / Festival of Sacrifice | Tuesday | 13-Sep |
| National Day (China) | Saturday | 1-Oct |
| Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday (India) | Sunday | 2-Oct |
| Rosh Hashanah | Monday | 3-Oct |
| Columbus Day (US) | Monday | 10-Oct |
| Thanksgiving (Canada) | Monday | 10-Oct |
| Yom Kippur | Wednesday | 12-Oct |
| Sukkot | Monday | 17-Oct |
| Diwali (India) | Sunday | 30-Oct |
| Veteran’s Day (US) / Remembrance Day (Canada) | Friday | 11-Nov |
| Thanksgiving Day (US) | Thursday | 24-Nov |
| Day after Thanksgiving (US) | Friday | 25-Nov |
| Dussehra (India) | Tuesday | 11-Dec |
| Christmas Eve | Saturday | 24-Dec |
| First day of Chanukah | Sunday | 25-Dec |
| Christmas Day | Sunday | 25-Dec |
| Boxing Day (UK, Canada) | Monday | 26-Dec |
| Kwanzaa | Monday | 26-Dec |
| New Year’s Eve | Saturday | 31-Dec |