Planning something around Sri Lanka in November 2026? Whether you are booking flights, arranging leave from work, planning a temple visit, or simply want to know which days banks and offices stay closed, this Sri Lanka Calendar November 2026 guide puts everything in one place. Inside, you will find every public holiday, the Poya (full moon) day, Deepavali, a long-weekend tip, a full month grid, and a free printable calendar you can download and keep.
Sri Lanka’s calendar is unusual, and that is part of what makes it interesting. It brings together the Sinhala Buddhist majority, the Tamil Hindu community, Muslims, and Christians into one shared list of national holidays. In Tamil, this guide could be titled “இலங்கை நாட்காட்டி – நவம்பர் 2026” (Sri Lanka Calendar – November 2026), and that small mix of language and culture is a fair preview of what November itself looks like on the ground.
Sri Lanka November 2026 At a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Month | November 2026 |
| Total days in the month | 30 |
| Public holidays | 2 (Deepavali and Il Full Moon Poya Day) |
| Weekend days | 8 Saturdays and Sundays |
| Best long weekend | 21–24 November (take 1 day of leave) |
| Main festival | Deepavali (தீபாவளி) – 8 November, Sunday |
| Main Poya day | Il Full Moon Poya Day – 24 November, Tuesday |
| Sri Lanka time zone | GMT +5:30 |
| First day of the month | Sunday, 1 November 2026 |
Download the Free Sri Lanka Calendar November 2026
To make planning even easier, we have put together a simple, one-page, print-ready PDF version of this Sri Lanka Calendar for November 2026, with both holidays clearly marked in English and Tamil. You can download it, print it for your office notice board or fridge, save it to your phone for quick reference, or attach it to a leave-planning email for your team. The calendar is free to use for personal purposes — just use the download link provided with this article to save your own copy. It is designed to be simple enough to glance at during a busy week, without needing to scroll back through this whole page every time.
Public Holidays in Sri Lanka – November 2026 (Full List)
Compared to April or May, November is a fairly quiet month on Sri Lanka’s holiday calendar. But the two holidays it does carry are among the most meaningful dates of the year for two very different communities, and both fall close enough together to make late November a good stretch to plan around.
| Date | Day | Holiday | Mainly Observed By |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 November 2026 | Sunday | Deepavali (தீபாவளி) | Hindu and Tamil community, nationwide holiday |
| 24 November 2026 | Tuesday | Il Full Moon Poya Day | Buddhist and Sinhala community, nationwide holiday |
Both are gazetted public holidays, which means government offices, schools, banks, and most private businesses across the island close for the day. If you are running a business page, a travel blog, or simply planning your own year, these are the two dates worth marking first.
Deepavali 2026 in Sri Lanka – 8 November
Deepavali, the festival of lights, falls on Sunday, 8 November 2026. Because it lands on a weekend this year, many families get to enjoy the full celebration without needing to take extra leave, though the actual gazetted holiday is 8 November only.
For Sri Lanka’s Tamil Hindu community, especially in the Northern and Eastern provinces and in Colombo’s Tamil neighbourhoods, Deepavali means a thorough house cleaning, new clothes, an early oil bath, rows of lit oil lamps (vilakku) at the doorstep, and sweets shared with neighbours and relatives. It is common to greet one another with “இனிய தீபாவளி நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள்”, a warm way of wishing someone a Happy Deepavali in Tamil.
If you happen to be travelling through Sri Lanka on this date, expect temples (koils) in Jaffna, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, and parts of Colombo to be livelier than usual, with decorated homes, small firecracker displays, and family visits continuing well into the evening.
Il Full Moon Poya Day – 24 November 2026
The second holiday of the month is Il Full Moon Poya Day, falling on Tuesday, 24 November 2026. Poya days mark the full moon in the Buddhist lunar calendar, and Sri Lanka observes one almost every single month of the year, making it one of the few countries in the world where the full moon itself is a public holiday.
Il Poya carries extra weight in the religious calendar because it marks the end of “Vas,” the three-month rainy season retreat observed by Buddhist monks. This is when the Kathina Chivara Pooja, or robe-offering ceremony, takes place — considered one of the most meritorious acts a Buddhist layperson can take part in during the year. The day is also remembered for historic events, including the sending of the first sixty disciples to spread the Buddha’s teachings, and it is marked at the Sri Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic) in Kandy with the Karthika Aloka Pooja, a traditional lamp-lighting ceremony that has been observed for generations.
As with every Poya day, alcohol and meat sales are officially restricted on 24 November, and government offices, schools, and banks stay shut for the day. Buddhist temples across the island tend to be busier than usual, with devotees observing sil (religious precepts) and offering flowers, food, and robes.
Long Weekend Alert: Plan Around 21–24 November
If you can take a single day of leave, November 2026 quietly offers one of the better long weekends of the year. Taking Monday, 23 November off connects the regular weekend (Saturday 21 and Sunday 22) directly to Il Full Moon Poya Day on Tuesday, 24 November — giving you four days off in a row for the cost of one day’s leave.
This kind of window works well for a short domestic trip: a cooler hill-country escape to Nuwara Eliya or Ella, a beach stretch in Mirissa or Trincomalee, or a more reflective cultural trip to Anuradhapura, where many devotees travel specifically for Poya observances. If you manage guest houses, tour packages, or any travel-related booking site, this is a useful date range to highlight in your own November content.
Full November 2026 Calendar – Week by Week
November 1, 2026 falls on a Sunday, and the month runs the full 30 days, ending on Monday, 30 November. Here is the complete layout at a glance:
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 – Deepavali | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 – Il Poya | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 |
Notice how the two holidays sit almost exactly two weeks and two days apart, giving the month a natural rhythm: a Hindu festival in the first week, a quiet mid-month stretch, and a Buddhist observance heading into the final week.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. How many public holidays does Sri Lanka have in November 2026? Sri Lanka has two public holidays in November 2026: Deepavali on 8 November (Sunday) and Il Full Moon Poya Day on 24 November (Tuesday).
Q2. Is Deepavali a public holiday in Sri Lanka? Yes. Deepavali is an official, gazetted public holiday in Sri Lanka. It is mainly observed by the Tamil Hindu community, but it counts as a nationwide holiday, so offices and banks close for everyone.
Q3. What does Il Full Moon Poya Day mark? It marks the end of “Vas,” the three-month rainy season retreat observed by Buddhist monks, and it includes the Kathina robe-offering ceremony, one of the most significant religious events of the Buddhist calendar year.
Q4. Are banks and shops closed on Poya days in Sri Lanka? Yes, generally. Banks, government offices, and most schools close on every Poya day, including Il Full Moon Poya Day on 24 November 2026. Alcohol and meat sales are also officially restricted for the day.
Q5. Is there a long weekend in Sri Lanka in November 2026? Yes. By taking one day of leave on Monday, 23 November, you can turn the regular weekend into a four-day break, running from Saturday, 21 November through to Tuesday, 24 November.
Q6. Can I download this Sri Lanka calendar for November 2026? Yes. A free, printable PDF version of this calendar, with both holidays marked in English and Tamil, is available to download directly from this page.
Q7. Why doesn’t Sri Lanka celebrate 1 January as a public holiday? Because the island’s main New Year celebration is the Sinhala and Tamil New Year in April, not the Gregorian calendar’s 1 January. It is one of the small details that makes Sri Lanka’s calendar different from most other countries.