The month ahead
February 2027 in Macau, week by week.
Published 9 November 2026
February is two months in one. The first half belongs to Chinese New Year: Eve on 5 February, Day 1 on Saturday 6 February, parades and temple crowds, and a mainland holiday that runs to 13 February. Then the Lantern Festival closes the season on 20 February, and the last week is the quietest late-winter stretch of the year. Here is the month in order, with dates checked against the official Macao SAR holiday list on 9 November 2026.
Key facts
- The festival
- Chinese New Year: Eve Friday 5 February, Day 1 Saturday 6 February 2027, the first day of the Year of the Goat.
- Public holidays
- 6, 7 and 8 February are obligatory holidays. Public employees also get the afternoon of 5 February and compensatory rest on 9 and 10 February.
- The longer peak
- Mainland China takes nine days off, 5 to 13 February 2027, so Macau's busy stretch runs past its own holidays.
- The season ends
- The Lantern Festival falls on Saturday 20 February, the fifteenth day of the new year.
- Weather
- Cool and dry: long-run averages of about 18 degrees by day and about 13 at night, around 59mm of rain across the month.
1 to 5 February
The build-up, and New Year's Eve
The first days of February are the last calm ones before the festival: decorations up in Senado Square and the resorts, festive menus appearing, and the Lunar New Year flower market that usually sets up in the final week before the festival. Its 2027 dates had not been announced when we checked. Friday 5 February is New Year's Eve: reunion dinners at home and in restaurants, and at A-Ma Temple the queues to offer the first incense begin in the evening and run into the small hours, with crowd control keeping the lines orderly. Public employees get that afternoon off, which is when the city visibly shifts into holiday mode.
If you are arriving for the festival, arrive by the 5th at the latest. Ferries, hotels and restaurants all tighten from Eve onward, and our Chinese New Year 2027 guide has the full holiday breakdown and what is announced so far.
6 to 13 February
Chinese New Year, the peak week
Saturday 6, Sunday 7 and Monday 8 February are obligatory public holidays, the first three days of the Year of the Goat. Expect lion and dragon dances in the old town, temples at their busiest, many small shops and family restaurants closed for the first days, and the resorts running their full festive programmes. The exact shape of the official celebration had not been published when we checked on 9 November 2026: the Macao Government Tourism Office usually announces the programme in January, and recent years have followed a clear rhythm, a golden dragon parade on the first day, a float parade around the third day and again around the twelfth day, and three sessions of drone and fireworks displays across the holiday. Plan around that pattern, but treat the official listing for your dates as the one that governs.
The peak runs longer than Macau's own holidays. Mainland China takes nine days off, from 5 to 13 February 2027, so visitor numbers stay high through the second weekend even after local offices reopen. An evening show is one way to sit the crowds out: House of Dancing Water runs through the season, and a holiday-week evening is when booking ahead matters most.
Mid February
Valentine's Day inside the festival, then the tail
Sunday 14 February is Valentine's Day, and in 2027 it lands on the ninth day of the new year, the day after the mainland holiday ends. It is an unusual overlap: the city is still decorated and festive, the worst of the arrival crowds have gone home, and the resorts lean into both occasions at once. If recent years' pattern holds, the second float parade falls in this window, around the twelfth day of the new year, in the northern district. From here the month exhales: offices are back, the big sights thin out, and what remains is the run to the Lantern Festival.
20 to 28 February
The Lantern Festival, and the calm after
Saturday 20 February is the Lantern Festival, the fifteenth day of the lunar new year and the traditional end of the celebrations. After it, the decorations come down and late February becomes the quiet version of winter: the same cool, dry walking weather as January, without a festival attached. This is the fortnight for the unhurried list, Coloane's trails, the old town at weekday pace, and the restaurants that needed booking a month earlier. Our January guide covers the season that leads into this one, and the free things guide is built for exactly this kind of week.
Weather and packing
Cool, dry, with foggy mornings
February sits in the dry season, a touch warmer than January on average: long-run figures put daytime highs at about 18 degrees and overnight lows at about 13, with roughly 59mm of rain spread across about ten rainy days. Two February traits catch visitors out: cold snaps behind a northerly wind can still push nights well below the averages, and grey, foggy mornings off the Pearl River estuary are common, even when the afternoon turns bright. Pack layers and a proper jacket, and do not plan a tight connection off an early ferry on a foggy morning. These are long-run averages, not a forecast: check the short-range forecast the week you travel.
Questions
Frequently asked
What is on in Macau in February 2027?
Chinese New Year dominates the month. New Year's Eve is Friday 5 February and Day 1 is Saturday 6 February, the first day of the Year of the Goat, with public holidays on 6, 7 and 8 February. Valentine's Day on Sunday 14 February falls inside the festival season, and the Lantern Festival closes the celebrations on Saturday 20 February. The last week of the month is the calm after, some of the quietest late-winter days of the year.
What are Macau's public holidays in February 2027?
The first three days of Lunar New Year: Saturday 6, Sunday 7 and Monday 8 February, all obligatory holidays on the official Macao SAR list. Public employees also get the afternoon of Friday 5 February off, plus compensatory rest days on Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 February because the first two days fall on a weekend.
Has the 2027 Chinese New Year parade and fireworks programme been announced?
Not yet, checked on 9 November 2026. The Macao Government Tourism Office usually publishes the programme in January. In recent years it has included a golden dragon parade on the first day, a float parade around the third day and again around the twelfth day, and three sessions of drone and fireworks displays across the holiday. Treat those as the pattern to expect, not confirmed 2027 dates.
When is the Lantern Festival in 2027?
Saturday 20 February 2027, the fifteenth day of the lunar new year. It is the traditional close of the Chinese New Year season, so the days after it are when the decorations come down and the city returns to normal.
What is the weather like in Macau in February?
Cool and still in the dry season. Long-run averages put daytime highs around 18 degrees and overnight lows around 13 degrees, with roughly 59mm of rain across about ten rainy days. It is a degree or so warmer than January on average, but cold snaps and grey, foggy mornings off the estuary are both normal in February.
Is February a good time to visit Macau?
It depends which February you pick. The 5th to the 13th is the busiest, most expensive stretch of the winter, and the fullest version of the festival. From the Lantern Festival on 20 February to the end of the month you get the same cool, dry weather with far fewer people. Book very early for the first half; the second half is one of the easier planning windows of the year.
Sources
Where this came from
2027 public holidays, exemption from work and compensatory rest days: the Macao SAR Government Portal's official 2027 list (Lunar New Year's Day 6 February, second day 7 February, third day 8 February; Lunar New Year's Eve afternoon, 5 February; compensatory rest days 9 and 10 February for public employees), checked 9 November 2026. Mainland China's nine-day Lunar New Year break, 5 to 13 February 2027: the State Council's 2027 holiday notice, issued 5 November 2026. Chinese New Year programme pattern (golden dragon parade, float parades, drone and fireworks sessions, A-Ma Temple first incense): Macao Government Tourism Office programmes of recent years, as verified for our Chinese New Year guide in September 2026; the 2027 programme was not announced as of 9 November 2026. February temperature and rainfall averages: China Highlights and TravelChinaGuide climate summaries for Macau, checked 9 November 2026; they are long-run averages, not a forecast. The official listing for your date governs.
Month by month, see the events hub and the January guide. For tickets and hotel deals, see macaudeals.com.