Syria Abolishes Several Official Holidays in New Decree, Reshaping Work-Life Balance

Syria's transitional president Ahmad al-Sharaa issued a new decree Sunday that reshapes the country's official holiday calendar, canceling several national holidays tied to the previous government while maintaining traditional religious and cultural celebrations. The move signals a clear break from the Assad era's symbolic calendar.

Decree 188 of 2025 eliminates two significant holidays that carried political weight under the former regime. The October 6th commemoration of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War is no longer an official holiday. This date marked Syria's participation alongside Egypt in the conflict against Israel, which the Assad government used to reinforce its resistance narrative.

The new leadership also scrapped Martyrs' Day on May 6th. This holiday commemorated Syrian nationalists executed by Ottoman authorities in Damascus in 1916 during World War I. The date held special significance as it honored early Arab independence fighters, but the transitional government appears to be distancing itself from holidays that the Assad regime used for political messaging.

The decree represents more than administrative housekeeping. It reflects the new government's effort to establish its own identity while moving away from the symbolic framework that propped up decades of Assad rule. These holidays served as annual reminders of Syria's role in regional conflicts and its historical grievances.

For ordinary Syrians, the changes mean fewer public holidays in the immediate term. But the shift also signals how the transitional leadership plans to reshape national identity. By removing politically charged commemorations, al-Sharaa's government is effectively rewriting which historical moments deserve official recognition.

The timing matters too. Just months into the transition, these symbolic changes show the new leadership moving quickly to establish different priorities. While the decree maintains religious holidays that unite most Syrians, it strips away the militant nationalism that defined public life under Assad.