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New Year's Day
Rwanda

New Year’s Day 2025, 2026 and 2027 in Rwanda

New Year’s Day is a holiday in Rwanda as part of celebrations that start on New Year’s Eve and reach a high point with the turning of the clock from 11:59pm on 31 December to midnight on 1 January.

YearDateDayHoliday
20251 JanWedNew Year's Day
2 JanThuNew Year Holiday
20261 JanThuNew Year's Day
2 JanFriNew Year Holiday
20271 JanFriNew Year's Day
4 JanMonNew Year Holiday
Please scroll down to end of page for previous years' dates.

New Year’s Day is a time of resolutions and starting fresh for some, while for others it is spent recovering from a big, late night spent with friends and family.

Rwandans take New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day more seriously than even Christmas. It’s one of the most vigorously celebrated holidays of the year. In Kigali and other major population centres, New Year’s is a bit commercialised with a flurry of shopping activity and special sales. But for the most part, it’s a family and a church affair.

Churches are packed with people determined to thank God for another year and to pray the new year in. And both at church and at home, many also sing the new year in instead of a mere 10-second countdown.

City folk often return to their parents homes, typically in the villages, to keep New Year with family. Gifts are exchanged, old acquaintances caught up with, and the feasting goes on all day.

Previous Years

YearDateDayHoliday
20241 JanMonNew Year's Day
2 JanTueNew Year Holiday
20231 JanSunNew Year's Day
2 JanMonNew Year Holiday
3 JanTueNew Year Holiday