The Various Dominican Republic Holidays From July To December
All year round, the Dominicans, known as lovers of festivities, music and celebrations, have holidays that cater to culture, religion, music and everything else in between. Below are the Dominican Republic holidays that are celebrated in the country throughout the second half of the year.
July
A two-week festival begins on the third week of July and continues into the following month. It is called the Santo Domingo Meringue Festival or El Festival del Merengue de Santo Domingo. Santo Domingo is the largest city and the capital of the Dominican Republic.
The festival showcases the country’s own style of music and dance – the Merengue – and practically all Merengue acts of the last couple of decades, on top of gastronomic festivals that include anything from the usual Dominican Republic fair to competitions such as Bartender of the Year Competition and Waiter’s Marathon.
Just a few days before the festival, the foundation of Sociedad la Trinitaria is celebrated.
August
The highlight of this month is the celebration of the Fiesta Patria de la Restauracion or the Restoration Day. This is celebrated on the 6th of August to commemorate the country’s final independence from Spain in the year 1863. Festivities are held throughout the nation although the largest are in the country’s main towns, Santo Domingo and Santiago.
Two days prior to the Restoration Day, people at Salvaleón de Higüey, or simply Higüey, celebrate the Festival of the Bulls.
September
Fiestas patronales occupy the month of September. On September 14, Santisma Cruz, otherwise known as Fiestas De la Santisima Vera Cruz in Spain from where the feast came from, is celebrated in Valverde province. In La Vega, the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, otherwise known as Our Lady of Mercedes or Our Lady of Mercy, the Patron Saint of the country is celebrated on the 24th. It is an official non-working Dominican holiday.
The feasts in honor of Patron Saints end with one that commemorates San Miguel in Los Patos, Barahona and Vaca Gorda in Dajabon.
October
Comparable to the Merengue Festival of July, the Puerto Plata Festival is celebrated every third week of the month. This is a lively festivity that includes everything that is Dominican– food, live bands, parades, and street dances.
On October 12, the entire nation commemorates the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus on the holiday formally known as Descubrimento de America. Main celebrations are held in the Faro a Colon, at the tomb of Christopher Columbus, and at the Cathedral in Santo Domingo.
This is then followed by the festivities of Bambula, an African-derived dance, on October 24th.
November
November begins with the observation of All Saints day. Six days following this holiday, Dominicans commemorate the Constitution Day, which marks the official signing of the country’s first constitution on November 6, 1844.
Six Fiestas Patronelas are celebrated on this month – Todos Los Santos in San Juan de Maguana on November 1, Santa Lucia in San Juan on November 13, Nuestra Senora de la Esperanza in Valverde and Virgen del Amparo in Barahona which both fall on November 18, Nuestra Senora de Regla in Bani on November 21, and finally, San Andres in Boca Chica on November 30.
December
What would be December without the festivities? Dominicans celebrate Christmas with a special twist on the 24th, although anticipation for the coming celebrations commences on the 1st day of the month. This month is also dedicated for the celebration of the Santa Barbara Day on the 4th.
On top of these are the various Fiestas Partonales or the feasts held in honor of the various Patron Saints in the land. These feasts vary slightly from one town to another. Celebrations differ because of the traditions surrounding the feasts and the patron saints, themselves, are not the same for every town. Nevertheless, these Dominican Republic holidays bring to the table all that is Dominican – music, parade, prayer, and dance.
The Most Important Dominican Republic Holidays
The best times of the year to visit the Dominican Republic is during one of its holidays. Doing so will give you a good taste of the nation’s culture and people.
The Dominican Republic holidays are roughly divided into three – the official public holidays, the festival holidays, and the fiestas patronales. National public holidays consist of secular holidays that are recognized by the Dominican Republic as its official holidays. Usually, these are non-working holidays, thus allowing the Dominicans to celebrate as a nation.
The secular holidays are the:
- New Year’s Day on January 1 (Celebrations begin on New Year’s Eve)
- Three Kings or the Epiphany on January 6
- Dia de la Altagracia or Our Lady of Altagracia on January 21 (Celebrations are held in honor of the Protector and Queen of the Hearts of the Dominican People.)
- Duarte’s Day on January 26 (Otherwise known as Duarte’s Birthday, this celebration is held in commemoration of one of Dominican Republic’s founding fathers, Juan Pablo Duarte.)
- Independence Day on February 27 (This marks the liberation of Dominican Republic from foreign rule.)
- Good Friday on April (As part of the Holy Week or ‘Semana Santa’, Good Friday is celebrated by
Dominicans to commemorate the death of Jesus Christ in the Cavalry.)
- Labor Day on May 1 (The nation joins the entire world in celebrating this holiday.)
- Corpus Christi, which is celebrated in June, on a Thursday (This is celebrated exactly 60 days after Easter to commemorate the institution of one of the Catholic Church’s sacraments – the Holy Eucharist.)
- Restoration Day or Día de Restauración on August 16 (This holiday celebrates the freedom regained by the Dominicans after a brief period of Spanish occupation.)
- Our Lady of las Mercedes on September 4 (This is the holiday set part in honor of the nation’s Patron Saint.)
- Constitution Day on November 6 (This marks the day when the first constitution of the Dominican Republic was created and adopted.)
- Christmas Day on December 25 (Although officially starting with a Christmas dinner on December 24th, the Dominicans celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ as a nation on the 25th.)
These secular holidays are mostly celebrated by the entire nation. The next set of holidays in the Dominican Republic compose mainly of regional festivals. Some of them are:
- The Cocolo Festival on January 1. This honors the African-European traditions of the Cocolo tribe who migrated to Hispaniola during the 16th century.
- The month-long festival, called the Carnaval, that is celebrated by over 100,000 nationwide.
- The week-long observance of the ‘Semana Santa’ in March or April. Church services are held in most towns. This coincides with the Voodo festivals held by the Haitian in the country.
- The Puerto Plata Cultural Festival that is celebrated in June. It is a 3-day long festival that is dedicated to Latin music.
- The Merengue Festival of Santo Domingo from the third week of July and generally to the 1st week of August.
- The Festival of the Bulls in Higüey on the 14th of August.
- The Jazz Festival that is widely celebrated in Cabarete and Sosua. It is usually held on the first week of October.
- The All Saints Day, which just like in the rest of the world, is held on the 1st day of November.
Finally are the Fiestas Patronales, the celebrations held in honor of the Patron Saints of the various towns , municipalities and provinces in the Dominican Republic. There are hundreds of these celebrated in one year. A handful of the most popular patronage holidays are the: San Felipe of the Puerto Plata Malecon, San Fernando of Monte Cristi, San Juan Bautista of Bani, San Antonio of Bonao and Sosua, and Saint Andrew of Boca Chica.
Dominican Republic Holidays – La Quinceanera
To the outside world, La Quinceanera may not be as big a celebration as other Dominican Republic holidays and they are right. This does not mean though that this is less celebratory. What makes La Quinceanera a special event is that it happens all year round, more private maybe, but just as important.
Here is why.
In many countries, when a girl reaches 16 years old, the girl has approached womanhood. celebrated, well yes, but not as grand. In Spanish influenced countries, 15 or quince is the right time. It is the transition from being a child to a marriageable age. The celebration starts with the most important component, the thanksgiving mass or the misa de accion de gracias. The thanksgiving mass closely approximates a wedding where the girl will march the aisle flanked by godparents, dressed in full length fancy dress, a matching headdress and sits on the foot of the altar conducted in her honor. As many as seven maids of honor and chamberlains form part of the entourage selected among close family and friends. At the end of the mass, commemorative favors are passed to those in attendance and the girl deposits her bouquet at the foot of the Virgin Mary.
After the mass the partying begins.
The party is as opulent as the resources of the parents allow, although several padrinos and madrinos are usually invited to sponsor the dress, the band, table favors, the venue, the bar and other multiple expenses incurred in the celebrations. Visitors to one of the Dominican Republic holidays observing or invited to these celebrations will find out often that the opulence is often so grand compared to most birthday bashes in most countries. Here we are speaking of birthday cakes with decorations to match the celebrant’s dress and which might require removing the door from its hinges if the cake is to be brought inside the celebration hall.
All throughout the celebration, a raucous cumbia, salsa and banda tunes dominate. These stop only when the celebrant and her number one escort dance the obligatory waltz. Usually, when the parents are well heeled, a viaje follows the celebrations where the celebrant travels to European destinations.
Not every girl wants to celebrate her quinceanera in a spectacular fashion, in the manner that not all brides want a spectacular weeding. The tradition, though, is to please the parents and to have a celebration as much as resources allow. No matter, the purpose of the celebration is to remind the girl what the celebration is about and to remind everyone that the girl is now a woman.
If seen from the outside, the quinceanera is a celebration to advertise the daughter to possible grooms of good standing. The origin, however, is suggested to have come from ancient Aztec tribes where the community celebrates the passage from childhood to womanhood. Regardless, this rite of passage is one for those holidays and celebrations that has kept Latino culture and family firmly grounded with the community.
