Good Time to Visit
Weather
The south has an equatorial climate, hot and dry from January-April and during August, and rainy seasons from May-July and September-December. More extreme temperatures in the north, hot and dry from November-June, cool and very wet from July-October. For more information, see Climate in Benin.
Festivals
The nation celebrates the following festivals:
- Voodoo Festival, held on 10 January in Ouidah
- Martyr's Day on 16 January, to commemorate an attack on Cotonou
- Harvest Day, 31 December
Public Holidays
The following table shows the public holidays celebrated in Benin:
| Date | Holiday |
|---|---|
| 1 January | New Year's Day |
| 10 January | Traditional Day |
| March/April (variable) | Easter Monday |
| May/June (variable) | Ascension Day |
| May/June (10 days after Ascension) | Whit Monday |
| 1 May | Labour Day |
| 1 August | Independence Day |
| 15 August | Assumption |
| 26 October | Armed Forces Day |
| 1 November | All Saints' Day |
| 30 November | National Day |
| 25 December | Christmas Day |
| Variable* | Eid al-Fitr (End of Ramadan) |
| Variable* | Prophet's Birthday |
| Variable* | Tabaski (Feast of the Sacrifice) |
* Although Muslim holidays always fall on the same day of the Islamic calendar, the date they are celebrated on the Gregorian calendar varies from year to year, due to the fact that the Islamic calendar is lunar whilst the Gregorian calendar is solar. Because this lunar year is about 11 days shorter than the solar year, Islamic holy days usually shift 11 days earlier each successive solar year. The method used to determine when each Islamic month begins also varies from country to country.
