📅 holiday

Carnival

Monday, February 16, 2026

— days to go

The Carnival holiday in Uruguay comes each year in February or March, as in many other significantly Roman Catholic countries. The date varies, but it always immediately precedes Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of a 40-day Lenten fast leading up to Easter. In Uruguay, Carnival has as many African roots as European so that song and dance styles like “candombre” tend to dominate the contests and fill the streets of Montevideo for weeks on end. There are numerous parades, focused especially in the capital and largest city of Montevideo. Dancers and singers perform in the streets as well as in the Summer Theatre. Artists also compete, and there are makeshift stages called “tablados” in the streets where plays are performed. Uruguay’s Carnival has a very different “flavour” than that in Rio. It is focused more on culture and art than on mere entertainment, though of course there is plenty of both!

History

How It's Celebrated

The Carnival holiday in Uruguay comes each year in February or March, as in many other significantly Roman Catholic countries. In Uruguay, Carnival has as many African roots as European so that song and dance styles like “candombre” tend to dominate the contests and fill the streets of Montevideo fo

Other Years

2024 Mon

12 Feb

2025 Mon

3 Mar

2025 Tue

4 Mar

2026 Mon

16 Feb

2026 Tue

17 Feb

2027 Mon

8 Feb

2028 Mon

28 Feb

2028 Tue

29 Feb

Countries

🇺🇾 UY 🇦🇴 AO 🇧🇴 BO 🇭🇹 HT 🇪🇨 EC 🇦🇩 AD 🇦🇷 AR

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🌍 observance Jan 9

National Apricot

Origins of the Apricot. Apricots are believed to have originated in Armenia as early as 3000 BC

🎉 festival Feb 16

Argentina Carnival

Argentina Carnival is celebrated in February with colorful parades, water fights, and street festivals across the country. The most famous celebrations take place in the northern provinces of Corrientes, Jujuy, and Salta, where Carnival traditions blend indigenous, African, and European influences. The Gualeguaychú Carnival in Entre Ríos province features elaborate costumes, samba music, and parade floats.

ARUS

🎉 festival Feb 16

Ecuador Carnival

Ecuadorian Carnival is a vibrant celebration held in February, known for its unique blend of indigenous and Spanish traditions. The festival is famous for its playful water and foam fights, where participants joyfully drench each other with water, foam, flour, and colored paints. Each region of Ecuador has its own distinct Carnival traditions, with particularly elaborate celebrations in Ambato, Guaranda, and the Amazon region.

ECUS

🌍 observance Mar 21

National Flower Day

The American flower industry. The commercial cut flower industry in the United States began in. California in the late 1870s, pioneered by Theodosia Shepard, a Ventura housewife who began selling garden flowers commercially. California's Mediterranean climate allowed year-round production, and immigrant families âChinese, Japanese, Italian, and Dutchâ expanded and transformed the industry over the following decades.In 1912,fifty-four Japanese immigrant growersfounded the. Los Angeles Southern California Flower Market, one of the largest in the country. For most of the 20th century, American flowers were grown domestically, with farms concentrated near major cities in the East and in California's coastal valleys.That changed on October 18, 1965, when thefirst shipment of Colombian cut flowersarrived in Miami. Colombia'shigh-altitude equatorial climateproduced ideal growing conditions with abundant light and mild temperatures, while labor costs were dramatically lower than in the US. The Andean Trade Preference Act later eliminated tariffs on Colombian flower imports, accelerating the shift. By the 1980s, Colombia was the leading supplier of cut flowers to the United States, and many domestic growers had shut down or shifted to potted plants and specialty varieties.By 2024, the United States imported a record$1.98 billionin cut flowers. Colombia supplied over 80% of imports at$1.59 billion, followed by Ecuador at $693 million. American growers produced only about $350 million domestically. California still leads domestic production at 60% of US cut flower sales, but many of its growers now focus on specialty varieties too delicate for long-distance transport.In 2025, new tariffs were placed on Colombian imports (from 0% to 10%) and Ecuadorian imports (from 6.8% to 15%), creating uncertainty in an industry operating on thin margins

COECEQ +1