This year, Costa Rica has 12 officially sanctioned días feriados—mandated days off, most of them paid. Beyond these national holidays, each of the country’s seven provinces observes extra days off tied to local celebrations. Later this week, Pérez Zeledón will honor San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of farmers. Some residents will enjoy the day off, and at least a few will be paid for it.
I just read about Iceland’s shift to a four-day workweek and its success in boosting happiness and productivity. I’m a strong supporter of the idea. Life is too short to surrender quality leisure time for a fatter wallet. If an 11th-century Spanish farmer named Isidore earns a holiday, surely Costa Rica can add more to make a shorter workweek possible for everyone who wants it.
Why not create días feriados around civic improvements? This morning I hit an unpainted speed bump that blended perfectly with the road—an inconvenience and extra wear on my car. Imagine a national day off devoted to painting every speed bump bright yellow. While we’re at it, let’s set aside another holiday for filling potholes. Municipalities would only need to supply paint, brushes, asphalt, and shovels.
With the rainy season back, flooded neighborhoods are inevitable—often because thousands still use gutters as trash cans. A monthly gutter-cleaning holiday could help. We could add another for clearing coastal mangroves, plus an annual tree-planting day. Costa Rica’s reforestation record is strong, but developers keep carving out forest for condos; you can never plant too many trees.
Tourism marketing loves Costa Rica’s wildlife, so why not honor it with holidays? Give monkeys, sloths, scarlet macaws, toucans, blue morpho butterflies—even the mighty leaf-cutter ants—their own days.
One free day could pair with the July 25 Annexation of Guanacaste holiday: call it “Hey Nicaragua, You’ll Never Get Guanacaste Back Day.” Festivities could culminate in breaking piñatas shaped like Daniel Ortega—light-hearted fun to celebrate local pride.
I have other ideas—such as tossing corrupt politicians from the Tárcoles Bridge—but since Costa Rica has no death penalty, the crocodile feast will have to wait. The possibilities are endless, and I hope to live long enough to see the reduced workweek become reality.
