Public holidays in Greenland
10 days in 2026 · 10 in 2027
Back to GreenlandNext public holiday
Christmas Day
Juullip ullua
After it: St. Stephen's Day, Saturday 26 December
Friday, 25 December 2026
Greenland has ten public holidays on dates that can fall on a working day, in 2026 and again in 2027; with Easter Sunday and Whit Sunday the list runs to twelve. Two of them part its calendar from Denmark's. Great Prayer Day, on the fourth Friday after Easter, is still a day off in Greenland after the Folketing abolished it in Denmark from 2024, and Ullortuneq, the national day, falls on 21 June, the longest day of the year.
Eight of the twelve days hang on Easter. Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Monday are all days off, so Easter runs five days from Thursday to Monday, and Great Prayer Day, Ascension Day and Whit Monday all follow from its date. In 2026 Great Prayer Day falls on 1 May, the anniversary of Home Rule, which began in 1979.
No closing-days act governs trading, so shops may open or close on a holiday as their owners decide. Shops in the smaller towns and villages usually stay shut over Christmas and Easter, and in the larger towns it is mostly the bigger supermarkets that open.
- Days off in 2026
- 10Not counting Easter Sunday and Pentecost, always a Sunday
- On a weekday
- 8Monday to Friday
- On a weekend
- 2Saturday or Sunday
- Long weekends
- 4and 2 with one day of leave
2026
Public holidays in Greenland in 2026
- 1 January: New Year's DayUkiortaaqNew Year's Day, the only day off in January.Thursday
- 2 April: Maundy ThursdaySisamanngortoq illernartoqMaundy Thursday, the first of five days off at Easter.ThursdayDate moves
- 3 April: Good FridayTallimanngorneq tannaartoqGood Friday, the Friday before Easter Sunday.FridayDate moves
- 6 April: Easter MondayPoorskip-aappaaEaster Monday, the last of the five Easter days.MondayDate moves
- 1 May: General Prayer DayTussiarfikGreat Prayer Day, store bededag in Danish, on the fourth Friday after Easter, so between 17 April and 21 May. It goes back to a royal regulation of 1686 and survived in Greenland when Denmark ended it after 2023.FridayDate moves
- 14 May: Ascension DayQilaliarfikAscension Day, 40 days after Easter Sunday and always a Thursday.ThursdayDate moves
- 25 May: Whit MondayPiinsip-aappaaWhit Monday, which makes Whitsun a three-day weekend.MondayDate moves
- 21 June: UllortuneqThe national day, whose name means the longest day. Home Rule fixed it in 1985, and the Act on Greenland Self-Government came into force on 21 June 2009.Sunday
- 25 December: Christmas DayJuullip ulluaChristmas Day.Friday
- 26 December: St. Stephen's DayJuullip-aappaaThe second day of Christmas, on a Saturday in 2026 and a Sunday in 2027.Saturday
Long weekends
Long weekends in Greenland in 2026
Runs of three days or more off, with weekends counted, and the working days that join a holiday to a weekend when taken as leave.
- 4daysThu 1 Jan to Sun 4 JanWith Fri 2 Jan taken as leave · New Year's Day
- 5daysThu 2 Apr to Mon 6 AprMaundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Monday
- 3daysFri 1 May to Sun 3 MayGeneral Prayer Day
- 4daysThu 14 May to Sun 17 MayWith Fri 15 May taken as leave · Ascension Day
- 3daysSat 23 May to Mon 25 MayWhit Monday
- 3daysFri 25 Dec to Sun 27 DecChristmas Day, St. Stephen's Day
2027
Public holidays in Greenland in 2027
- 1 January: New Year's DayUkiortaaqFriday
- 25 March: Maundy ThursdaySisamanngortoq illernartoqThursdayDate moves
- 26 March: Good FridayTallimanngorneq tannaartoqFridayDate moves
- 29 March: Easter MondayPoorskip-aappaaMondayDate moves
- 23 April: General Prayer DayTussiarfikFridayDate moves
- 6 May: Ascension DayQilaliarfikThursdayDate moves
- 17 May: Whit MondayPiinsip-aappaaMondayDate moves
- 21 June: UllortuneqMonday
- 25 December: Christmas DayJuullip ulluaSaturday
- 26 December: St. Stephen's DayJuullip-aappaaSunday
Observances
Days marked in Greenland that are not days off
- 6 January: EpiphanyKunngit pingasut ulluatEpiphany, a working day. It is kept as Mitaarneq, when people dress up and disguise their faces, a custom traced far back in Inuit culture in both East and West Greenland; the link to Epiphany probably came with Danish settlers in the 1800s.Tuesday
- 15 May: Bank closing dayAtuanngiffikThe Friday after Ascension Day. Banks close, and so do some schools and day-care centres, but it is not a public holiday.FridayDate moves
- 24 December: Christmas EveJuulliaraqChristmas Eve. Not a public holiday by law, though often a day off under a collective agreement.Thursday
- 31 December: New Year's EveUkiutoqaqNew Year's Eve, given off under many collective agreements. Fireworks go up more than once in the evening, for the new year in each part of the Danish Realm.Thursday
The published lists disagree about four days. The Nordic Council's guide gives New Year's Day, the four Easter days, Great Prayer Day, Ascension Day, Whitsun and 25 and 26 December as the public holidays most workplaces close for, and puts 1 May, 21 June, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve among days off that depend on a contract or collective agreement. The government's citizen portal, Sullissivik, is plainer about the national day: it is a day off for every citizen, marked with official ceremonies in every settlement. Timeanddate lists 21 June and both eves as public holidays. The English Wikipedia list includes 1 May and leaves out Great Prayer Day altogether.
The Nordic Council's guide describes fireworks at four times on New Year's Eve, for the Danish, Faroese, East Greenlandic and West Greenlandic new years. That pattern dates from before the 2023 time change: Nuuk now runs three hours behind Copenhagen and two behind Tórshavn, so the Danish midnight comes at 21:00 in Nuuk and the Faroese at 22:00, and Tasiilaq on the east coast shares Nuuk's midnight.
Common questions
Questions about public holidays in Greenland
How many public holidays does Greenland have in 2026?
Ten that can fall on a working day, and twelve counting Easter Sunday and Whit Sunday. Two of the ten land on a weekend in 2026: Ullortuneq on Sunday 21 June and the second day of Christmas on Saturday 26 December. In 2027 the count is the same, and 21 June moves to a Monday while Christmas takes the weekend. Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and 1 May are often given off as well, under collective agreements rather than by law.
Is Great Prayer Day still a holiday in Greenland?
Yes. The Folketing voted 95 to 68 on 28 February 2023 to abolish store bededag in Denmark from 2024, and the proposal left the Faroe Islands and Greenland out. In Greenlandic it is tussiarfissuaq. It falls on the fourth Friday after Easter: Friday 1 May in 2026, the same day as the Home Rule anniversary, and Friday 23 April in 2027.
Why is Greenland's National Day on 21 June?
Because 21 June is the longest day of the year, and the name Ullortuneq means exactly that. Greenland Home Rule chose the date in 1985. The Act on Greenland Self-Government came into force on the same date in 2009. Settlements mark it in their own ways; many hold a seal hunting competition, in which hunters set out by boat to be first back with a seal.
Is 1 May a day off in Greenland?
Often half a day. 1 May is both International Workers' Day and the anniversary of Home Rule, which Greenland gained in 1979, and many collective agreements give the afternoon off without it being a public holiday. In 2026 the question does not arise: Great Prayer Day falls on Friday 1 May, and the whole day is off. In 2027 1 May is a Saturday.
Are shops open on public holidays in Greenland?
It depends on the town. Greenland has no closing-days act, so shops may open or close on a holiday as they choose. In practice most stay shut at Christmas and Easter, above all in the smaller towns and villages, while in the larger towns it is usually only the big supermarkets that open.
What are the long weekends in Greenland in 2026?
Easter gives five days, from Thursday 2 April to Monday 6 April. Great Prayer Day on Friday 1 May and Whit Monday on 25 May each make a three-day weekend, as does Christmas Day on Friday 25 December. A single day of leave adds two more four-day breaks: Friday 2 January after New Year's Day, and Friday 15 May after Ascension Day, when banks are closed anyway.
Do workers in Greenland get Christmas Eve off?
Usually, though not by law. The Nordic Council's guide lists Christmas Eve among days off that come from a contract or collective agreement, together with New Year's Eve, while timeanddate counts both as public holidays. In 2026 Christmas Eve is a Thursday, so a worker given it off has four days in a row to Sunday 27 December.
When is Easter in Greenland in 2027?
Maundy Thursday falls on 25 March 2027, Good Friday on 26 March and Easter Monday on 29 March, which gives five days off from Thursday to Monday. Great Prayer Day follows on 23 April, Ascension Day on 6 May and Whit Monday on 17 May, all counted from Easter Sunday, 28 March.
Dates from Nager.Date, read 2026-09-26. The page counts from Monday, 28 September 2026, the day it was built.