Lebanon operates on overlapping religious calendars that fragment the festival year across Christian, Muslim, and Druze communities. The country recognizes holidays from multiple sects simultaneously. Businesses close on Christmas, Easter, both Eids, Ashura, and secular dates like Independence Day. School calendars accommodate fasting periods for Ramadan and Lent. No single calendar governs daily life. The Ministry of Tourism maintains a composite list of public holidays exceeding twenty per year. This reflects the constitutional structure established in the National Pact of 1943, which distributes political power among eighteen recognized religious sects.
The Baalbek International Festival was founded in 1956 by Caracalla Dance Theatre founder Abdel Halim Caracalla and lawyer and culture advocate René Khoury. Performances occur inside the Roman Temple of Bacchus, built during the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius between 138 and 161 CE. The temple columns rise twenty-two meters. Audiences sit on portable seating installed annually in the forecourt. Performers have included Ella Fitzgerald in 1971, Miles Davis in 1973, and Sting in 1997. The festival paused during the Lebanese Civil War from 1975 to 1990 but resumed in 1997. Programming includes orchestral concerts, opera, ballet, and Arabic music. Ticket prices range from thirty to two hundred dollars depending on seating. Performances run from late June through late August. The site lies one hundred thirty kilometers northeast of Beirut. Security checkpoints operate on access roads. The festival cancelled the 2020 season following the Beirut port explosion on August 4, 2020. Organizers announced resumption in 2021 with reduced programming.
The Byblos International Festival began in 2003. Concerts occur in the courtyard of Byblos Castle, a Crusader fortress built in the twelfth century on foundations dating to the Phoenician period. The stone walls enclose a performance area approximately forty meters by thirty meters. Stage construction begins in May. The lineup includes international pop acts, Arabic musicians, and jazz ensembles. Past performers include Alicia Keys, Massive Attack, and Salif Keita. Attendance ranges from two thousand to four thousand per concert. Tickets sell through local distributors and online platforms. Prices vary from forty to one hundred fifty dollars. The season runs from mid-June to early September. The venue lies thirty-seven kilometers north of Beirut on the coastal highway. Organizers coordinate with the Directorate General of Antiquities because the site holds UNESCO World Heritage status granted in 1984. Performances end by midnight to comply with municipal noise ordinances.
The Beiteddine Art Festival was established in 1985 by Walid Joumblatt, leader of the Progressive Socialist Party and hereditary Druze chieftain of the Chouf region. Events take place in the courtyards of Beiteddine Palace, constructed between 1788 and 1818 by Emir Bashir Shihab II. The palace contains three courtyards arranged on descending terraces carved from the hillside. The main courtyard measures approximately fifty meters by forty meters. Programming emphasizes Arabic classical music, Rahbani Brothers productions, and folkloric dance. Fairuz performed there in 2000, marking her first live concert in Lebanon since 1981. The festival runs from mid-July to mid-August. Attendance per event ranges from one thousand to three thousand. Tickets cost between thirty and one hundred dollars. The palace sits forty-five kilometers southeast of Beirut in the Chouf District. Road access improved after the Ta'if Agreement ended the civil war in 1990. The festival suspended operations in 2006 during the conflict with Israel and again in 2020 due to economic collapse.
Easter follows both the Gregorian calendar for Catholic and Protestant communities and the Julian calendar for Orthodox Christians. The dates diverge in most years. Maronite Catholics attend Mass at Saint George Maronite Cathedral in Beirut on Gregorian Easter Sunday. Greek Orthodox Christians celebrate one or two weeks later at Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, located three hundred meters from the Maronite cathedral. Holy Week processions occur in Bcharre, hometown of Saint Charbel Makhlouf, who died in 1898 and was canonized in 1977. Pilgrims walk from the village center to the Monastery of Saint Maron, a distance of two kilometers uphill. Bcharre lies one hundred twenty-five kilometers north of Beirut at an elevation of one thousand four hundred meters. Attendance swells to over ten thousand during Easter week. Families prepare maamoul, semolina cookies filled with dates or walnuts. Street vendors sell them throughout Christian neighborhoods. Shops close on Good Friday and Easter Monday in Christian-majority areas but remain open in Muslim-majority neighborhoods.
Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan. The date shifts eleven days earlier each Gregorian year because the Islamic calendar is lunar. In 2024 Eid occurred on April 10. Prayers begin at dawn in mosques across Beirut, Tripoli, and Sidon. The Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque in Martyrs' Square accommodates approximately five thousand worshippers. Overflow crowds pray on rugs laid in the square. Families visit cemeteries after morning prayers. Children receive gifts of money called eidiya. Bakeries produce kaak bi haleeb, sesame bread rings sold in stacks. Sweet shops sell atayef, stuffed pancakes drizzled with syrup. Government offices and banks close for three days. Christian-owned businesses in mixed areas typically close out of respect. Sunni and Shia communities celebrate on the same day because both follow the declaration of the Saudi moon sighting, a practice formalized after the Ta'if Agreement.
Eid al-Adha occurs seventy days after Eid al-Fitr. Families sacrifice sheep or goats and distribute meat to the poor. Livestock markets operate in southern Beirut, Tripoli, and the Beqaa Valley in the week preceding the holiday. A sheep costs between two hundred and four hundred dollars depending on size. Families retain one-third of the meat and donate two-thirds. Mosques coordinate distribution through local charities. The holiday lasts four days. Pilgrims who completed Hajj in Mecca return during this period and receive visitors at home. Airports experience peak traffic. Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport processed over seventy thousand passengers during the 2023 Eid al-Adha period. Roads to the Beqaa Valley congest with travelers visiting relatives.
Ashura falls on the tenth day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. Shia communities commemorate the martyrdom of Hussein ibn Ali at the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE. Processions occur in the southern suburbs of Beirut, particularly in neighborhoods controlled by Hezbollah. Participants wear black and march while reciting elegies. Flagellation rituals called tatbir, involving cutting the forehead with swords or blades, were discouraged by senior clerics including Ayatollah Fadlallah, who died in 2010, but continue in some areas. The procession in Nabatieh draws over fifty thousand participants. Marchers walk circuits through the old market carrying banners depicting Hussein and his half-brother Abbas. Temporary kitchens distribute free meals of rice, lentils, and lamb. Security cordons close roads. Sunni neighborhoods do not observe Ashura as a holiday. Banks and government offices remain open in Christian and Sunni areas.
Christmas on December 25 is a national holiday. Maronite, Greek Orthodox, Melkite, and Armenian Orthodox Christians celebrate together despite calendar differences because Lebanon adopted the Gregorian date for civil purposes. Families attend midnight Mass on December 24. Jounieh erects a waterfront Christmas tree exceeding twenty meters in height. Lights remain on through Epiphany on January 6. Beirut decorates Hamra Street and Verdun Street with overhead lights funded by the municipality and private sponsors. Shops offer discounts. Families prepare yule logs called buche de Noel, a remnant of the French Mandate from 1920 to 1943. Children receive gifts on Christmas morning. Restaurants in Christian neighborhoods serve prix fixe menus featuring roasted turkey or lamb. Muslim-owned businesses in mixed areas often close to allow Christian employees to observe the holiday. Ski resorts in the Mount Lebanon range including Mzaar Kfardebian and Cedars Ski Resort experience peak attendance during the Christmas week. Lift tickets cost between forty and seventy dollars.