When is Saint Maroun’s Day?
In 2026, Saint Maroun’s Day falls on Monday, February 9, 2026. It is classified here as a Lebanese public holiday.
History of Saint Maroun’s Day
Saint Maroun’s Day honours the late-antique hermit whose spiritual legacy is central to the Maronite Church. Maronite communities have been an important part of Lebanon’s religious, social and cultural history, and the holiday gives that heritage a clear place in the national public calendar.
The day is principally religious rather than triumphal. Liturgies, prayers and parish gatherings honour a tradition of monastic discipline, pastoral life and community continuity. Families may combine worship with a meal or a visit, and individual parishes set the texture of the observance.
Saint Maroun lived in the late fourth and early fifth centuries in the region of northern Syria. Communities shaped by his ascetic example later developed into the Maronite Church, which maintained close links to the mountains of Lebanon and is in communion with Rome. February 9 is consequently both a church feast and a statutory Lebanese holiday. Describing that status does not mean every resident participates religiously, nor that all Maronite parishes follow identical local programmes.
How Saint Maroun’s Day is observed
A nationwide public holiday on February 9. Maronite liturgies, parish gatherings and local programmes are prominent, while other residents may observe only the civic closure.
Traditions of Saint Maroun’s Day
Family and friends
Lebanese households often use Saint Maroun’s Day for a shared meal, telephone greetings, family visits and an unhurried break from work routines.
Public programmes
Lebanese schools, municipalities, cultural institutions and community organisations may arrange ceremonies, concerts, exhibitions or educational programmes appropriate to the occasion.
Check local hours
Public offices close on statutory holidays, while Lebanese shops, transport operators, restaurants and visitor sites publish their own opening schedules.
Dates and observance rules are checked against the official Lebanese official and legal guidance. Lunar dates, decree updates and public-service schedules should be confirmed against official notices.
History sources: Lebanese Ministry of Industry: Working Hours and Holidays (Decree No. 15215, as amended), Council of Ministers: official holidays and public closures, Encyclopaedia Britannica: the Christian liturgical year.
Continue exploring