How Kazakhstanis will celebrate the New Year in 2026: holiday calendar

Tengrinews.kz – In the last month of 2025, Kazakhstanis with a five-day workweek will enjoy nine days off, and another twelve days off in the first month of the new year, 2026. Tengrinews.kz has prepared a convenient calendar of holidays and weekends so you can plan your rest, trips, and New Year preparations in advance.
How Kazakhstanis will rest in December 2025
December will bring an additional day off — December 16, when the country celebrates Independence Day. In 2025, the holiday falls on a Tuesday, giving citizens a short midweek break.
For those working on a six-day schedule, Independence Day will also be a non-working day.
However, December 31 will remain a working day. So if you want to welcome the New Year without rushing, it’s best to plan your shopping list, holiday preparations, and trips in advance.
Earlier, social media users discussed the idea of making December 31 an official holiday, but the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection reminded that this date is not included in the list of public holidays and said that declaring it a holiday is currently “inexpedient.”How Kazakhstanis will rest in January 2026
The beginning of the new year will traditionally bring long weekends. Here’s how the January 2026 holiday schedule looks:For a five-day workweek:

December 30–31 – working days;
January 1–2 – public holidays (New Year);
January 3–4 – weekend days;
January 5–6 – working days;
January 7 (Wednesday) – holiday (Orthodox Christmas).

For a six-day workweek:

December 30–31 – working days;
January 1–2 – public holidays (New Year);
January 3 (Saturday) – working day;
January 4 (Sunday) – day off;
January 5–6 – working days;
January 7 (Wednesday) – holiday (Orthodox Christmas).

The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection clarified that no changes or transfers of holidays are planned for December 2025 or January 2026.