Sri Lanka has 25 gazetted holidays in 2027, including 12 full moon poya days, plus commercial dates such as 11.11, Black Friday and 12.12. The biggest campaign windows are Avurudu (13 and 14 April), Vesak (19 May), Deepavali (28 October) and Christmas through 12.12. This calendar lists each date with a campaign idea and the channel that fits it best.
Updated 6 November 2026
- All holiday dates here come from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka's 2027 list, which follows the government gazette.
- Nine 2027 holidays fall on a Friday or Monday, giving three-day weekends. Plan offers for the days before them.
- On poya days and other religious days, send greetings or service messages, not hard selling.
- Schools reopen on 4 January, 26 April and 30 August. Each is a back-to-school moment.
- Book WhatsApp template approvals at least two weeks before each big date.
2027 at a glance
The three-day weekends are 15 and 22 January, 22 and 26 March, 17 May, 18 June, 16 August, 15 October and 13 December. Avurudu falls on a Tuesday and Wednesday (13 and 14 April), so many people will take the Monday off too.
Month-by-month calendar
Gazetted holidays are in plain text. Commercial and school dates are marked "not a holiday" or by term. Each entry has a campaign idea and channel.
- 4 Mon: Schools reopen (Term 1) Back-to-school bundles. SMS to parents.
- 15 Fri: Tamil Thai Pongal Day Tamil-language greetings on WhatsApp and SMS. Harvest and home offers.
- 22 Fri: Duruthu Poya Greeting only. Three-day weekend: travel offers before it.
- 4 Thu: Independence Day Respectful national greeting. Avoid discount wording.
- 14 Sun: Valentine's Day (not a holiday) Gifts, dining and flowers. WhatsApp catalogue to opted-in buyers.
- 20 Sat: Navam Poya Greeting only.
- 6 Sat: Mahasivarathri Day Greeting for Hindu customers.
- 10 Wed: Eid-Ul-Fitr End of Ramadan. Eid greetings, clothing and food offers before it.
- 22 Mon: Medin Poya Greeting only. Three-day weekend.
- 26 Fri: Good Friday No sales messages. Easter offers can wait for the weekend after.
- 1 to 12: Avurudu shopping season Main sale period: clothes, gifts, sweets, electronics. SMS for reach, WhatsApp for orders.
- 9 Fri: Term 1 ends Holiday activity offers.
- 13 Tue, 14 Wed: Sinhala and Tamil New Year Greetings in Sinhala and Tamil. Pause selling on the day.
- 20 Tue: Bak Poya Greeting only.
- 26 Mon: Schools reopen (Term 2) Second back-to-school push.
- 1 Sat: May Day Low-key greeting.
- 9 Sun: Mother's Day (not a holiday) Gift guides and delivery cut-off reminders.
- 17 Mon: Eid-Ul-Alha (Hadji) Eid greetings. Three-day weekend.
- 19 Wed, 20 Thu: Vesak Poya and the day after Vesak greetings and dansal or charity news. No hard selling.
- 18 Fri: Poson Poya Greeting only. Three-day weekend.
- 20 Sun: Father's Day (not a holiday) Gift guides for dads.
- 18 Sun: Esala Poya Greeting. Perahera season begins: travel and hotel offers.
- 30 Fri: Term 2 ends Holiday and tuition offers.
- A/L month: G.C.E. A/L exams (August, dates to be confirmed) Pause promotions to students and parents. Send exam-day service messages only.
- 15 Sun: Milad-Un-Nabi Greeting for Muslim customers.
- 16 Mon: Nikini Poya Greeting only. Three-day weekend.
- 30 Mon: Schools reopen (Term 3) Third back-to-school push.
- 15 Wed: Binara Poya Greeting only.
- 9.9 Thu: 9.9 online sale (not a holiday) Test offer before the Q4 sales.
- 15 Fri: Vap Poya Greeting only. Three-day weekend.
- 28 Thu: Deepavali Tamil-language greetings. Sweets, clothes and gold offers in the week before.
- 11 Thu: 11.11 sale (not a holiday) Biggest online sale day: teaser, launch and last call.
- 13 Sat: Ill Poya Greeting only.
- 26 Fri: Black Friday (not a holiday) Online offers and early 12.12 sign-ups.
- 3 Fri: Term 3 ends Holiday activity offers.
- 12 Sun: 12.12 sale (not a holiday) Teaser, launch and last call.
- 13 Mon: Unduwap Poya Greeting only. Three-day weekend.
- O/L month: G.C.E. O/L exams (December, dates to be confirmed) Keep messages to students light.
- 25 Sat: Christmas Day Greetings. Gift deadline reminders the week before.
9.9, 11.11 and 12.12 are online sale days run by marketplaces. Daraz calls 11.11 its biggest sale of the year. In 2025 it served 300,000 customers in the first hour. Check each platform's announcements for exact timings.
Religious days: keep it respectful
Sri Lanka's calendar is shaped by four faiths. Customers notice when a brand uses a sacred day as a sales hook. On these days, a short greeting builds more goodwill than a discount.
- Send a short greeting in the customer's language on poya days, Vesak, Eid, Deepavali, Thai Pongal and Christmas.
- Move offers to the days before or after the holy day.
- Share charity work, such as a Vesak dansal, as news rather than as an advert.
- Use the language of the festival: Tamil for Thai Pongal and Deepavali, Sinhala and Tamil for Avurudu.
- Run "poya sale" or "Vesak discount" messages.
- Promote alcohol, meat or party offers on poya days.
- Send sales messages on Good Friday.
- Use religious images in adverts.
Ramadan. Eid-Ul-Fitr is gazetted for Wednesday 10 March 2027, so the fasting month runs through February and early March. Its start date depends on the moon sighting, so confirm it closer to the time. During the month, avoid daytime food promotions to Muslim customers. Evening offers for iftar and Eid shopping are more welcome.
School terms and exams
The Ministry of Education set three terms for Sinhala and Tamil medium government schools in 2027. Muslim schools follow a different schedule, which had not been published when we checked.
| Term | Dates | Campaign moment |
|---|---|---|
| Term 1 | 4 January to 9 April | Back-to-school in late December and early January |
| Term 2 | 26 April to 30 July | Post-Avurudu restock |
| Term 3 | 30 August to 3 December | Mid-year restock, then year-end holidays |
| Exams | A/L in August, O/L in December | Exact dates to be announced |
Tuition classes, bookshops and food delivery can use term dates for reminders. During exam weeks, keep promotions to students and parents light.
Greeting templates
These are example WhatsApp templates. Meta treats greetings and offers as Marketing, so send them only to customers who opted in. For SMS, keep Sinhala and Tamil greetings under 70 characters so they fit in one message. Check them with our SMS character counter.
For full sets of sale and order templates, see our WhatsApp message templates for Sri Lankan businesses.
How to plan your year
- Pick your five big momentsMost retailers choose from Avurudu, Vesak season, Deepavali, 11.11 and 12.12 with Christmas. Service brands often add the back-to-school dates.
- Set the tone for every other dateMark each poya and religious day as "greeting only" so no one schedules a sale on it by mistake.
- Choose the channelUse promotional SMS for reach, at LKR 0.70 a message on Bloomwire. Use WhatsApp for opted-in customers who reply and buy in the chat.
- Get templates approved earlySubmit WhatsApp templates at least two weeks ahead. Prepare Sinhala and Tamil versions at the same time.
- Grow your opt-in list between peaksAdd a WhatsApp click-to-chat link or QR code to receipts, packaging and social posts.
- Review after each peakCompare clicks, replies and sales by channel and by language. Adjust the next campaign.
Planning December 2026 first? Read our December 2026 SMS and WhatsApp campaign playbook. For opt-in rules from 2027, read our PDPA guide.
Summary table
| Date | Day | Occasion | Type | Tone | Best channel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Jan | Fri | Thai Pongal | Religious and cultural | Greeting | WhatsApp, SMS (Tamil) |
| 4 Feb | Thu | Independence Day | National | Greeting | SMS |
| 14 Feb | Sun | Valentine's Day | Commercial | Offers | |
| 10 Mar | Wed | Eid-Ul-Fitr | Religious | Greeting, offers before | |
| 1 to 12 Apr | Avurudu season | Commercial | Main sale | SMS and WhatsApp | |
| 13, 14 Apr | Tue, Wed | Sinhala and Tamil New Year | Cultural | Greeting | SMS, WhatsApp |
| 9 May | Sun | Mother's Day | Commercial | Gift offers | |
| 19, 20 May | Wed, Thu | Vesak | Religious | Greeting only | |
| 18 Jun | Fri | Poson | Religious | Greeting only | |
| 18 Jul | Sun | Esala Poya | Religious | Greeting; travel offers after | SMS, WhatsApp |
| 28 Oct | Thu | Deepavali | Religious | Greeting, offers before | WhatsApp, SMS (Tamil) |
| 11 Nov | Thu | 11.11 | Commercial | Main sale | SMS and WhatsApp |
| 26 Nov | Fri | Black Friday | Commercial | Offers | SMS, WhatsApp |
| 12 Dec | Sun | 12.12 | Commercial | Main sale | SMS and WhatsApp |
| 25 Dec | Sat | Christmas | Religious | Greeting, offers before | WhatsApp, SMS |
All 12 poya days are greeting-only dates. Ready to run these campaigns? See promotional messaging campaigns, our bulk SMS gateway and WhatsApp Business API.
Frequently asked questions
When is Sinhala and Tamil New Year 2027?
The Day prior to Sinhala and Tamil New Year is Tuesday 13 April 2027, and New Year Day is Wednesday 14 April 2027. Both are bank, public and mercantile holidays.
When is Vesak 2027 in Sri Lanka?
Vesak Full Moon Poya Day is Wednesday 19 May 2027. The day after, Thursday 20 May, is also a holiday.
How many public holidays does Sri Lanka have in 2027?
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka lists 25 bank and public holidays for 2027, including 12 full moon poya days. Nine of them fall on a Friday or Monday.
When is Deepavali 2027?
Deepawali Festival Day is Thursday 28 October 2027, according to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka holiday list.
When do schools start in 2027?
Term 1 runs from 4 January to 9 April, Term 2 from 26 April to 30 July, and Term 3 from 30 August to 3 December 2027, for Sinhala and Tamil medium government schools.
Can I send promotional messages on poya days?
No law we know of bans it, but we advise against it. Many customers observe poya as a religious day. Send a short greeting and move offers to the days around it.
Sources
- Central Bank of Sri Lanka: bank holidays 2027
- Daily Mirror: 2027 public and bank holidays gazetted
- News 1st: 2027 school term schedule released
- Ada Derana Biz: Daraz 11.11 sparks record early demand
- Meta: WhatsApp Business Platform pricing
