Public holidays in Iceland
12 days in 2026 · 12 in 2027
Back to IcelandNext public holiday
Christmas Day
Jóladagur
After it: St. Stephen's Day, Saturday 26 December
Friday, 25 December 2026
Iceland has 12 full days off in 2026, leaving aside Easter Sunday and Whit Sunday, which the law lists but which always fall on a Sunday. Two of them have no place in the church year: the First Day of Summer, a Thursday in late April, and Commerce Day, the first Monday in August. Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve add two afternoons, free from 13:00.
The list comes from Act No. 88/1971 on the 40-hour working week, in force since 1 January 1972. Its sixth article gives as days off the holy days of the national church, the First Day of Summer, 1 May and 17 June, and Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve from 13:00. An amendment of 1982 added the first Monday in August from 1983, to be paid on the same terms as the other general holidays.
Maundy Thursday is a day off as well as Good Friday, so Easter runs five days, Thursday to Monday.
- Days off in 2026
- 12Not counting Easter Sunday and Pentecost, always a Sunday
- On a weekday
- 11Monday to Friday
- On a weekend
- 1Saturday or Sunday
- Long weekends
- 5and 3 with one day of leave
2026
Public holidays in Iceland in 2026
- 1 January: New Year's DayNýársdagurNew Year's Day, and a flag day.Thursday
- 2 April: Maundy ThursdaySkírdagurMaundy Thursday. Because it is a day off, the Easter break in Iceland starts on the Thursday.ThursdayDate moves
- 3 April: Good FridayFöstudagurinn langiGood Friday, in Icelandic the Long Friday. The flag flies at half-mast.FridayDate moves
- 6 April: Easter MondayAnnar í páskumEaster Monday, literally the second day of Easter.MondayDate moves
- 23 April: First Day of SummerSumardagurinn fyrstiThe First Day of Summer, always the Thursday between 19 and 25 April. The 1971 act names it beside 1 May and 17 June, and it is a flag day.ThursdayDate moves
- 1 May: May DayVerkalýðsdagurinnMay Day, called Labour Day in Icelandic, and a flag day.Friday
- 14 May: Ascension DayUppstigningardagurAscension Day, a Thursday: 14 May in 2026 and 6 May in 2027.ThursdayDate moves
- 25 May: Whit MondayAnnar í hvítasunnuWhit Monday, the second day of Whitsun.MondayDate moves
- 17 June: Icelandic National DayÞjóðhátíðardagurinnNational Day, for the republic founded on 17 June 1944. It is usually called simply 17. júní.Wednesday
- 3 August: Commerce DayFrídagur verslunarmannaCommerce Day, the first Monday in August. A day off by law since 1983, and the end of a three-day weekend each year.MondayDate moves
- 25 December: Christmas DayJóladagurChristmas Day, a flag day.Friday
- 26 December: St. Stephen's DayAnnar í jólumThe second day of Christmas, St Stephen's Day in English calendars.Saturday
Long weekends
Long weekends in Iceland 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
- 4daysThu 23 Apr to Sun 26 AprWith Fri 24 Apr taken as leave · First Day of Summer
- 3daysFri 1 May to Sun 3 MayMay Day
- 4daysThu 14 May to Sun 17 MayWith Fri 15 May taken as leave · Ascension Day
- 3daysSat 23 May to Mon 25 MayWhit Monday
- 3daysSat 1 Aug to Mon 3 AugCommerce Day
- 3daysFri 25 Dec to Sun 27 DecChristmas Day, St. Stephen's Day
2027
Public holidays in Iceland in 2027
- 1 January: New Year's DayNýársdagurFriday
- 25 March: Maundy ThursdaySkírdagurThursdayDate moves
- 26 March: Good FridayFöstudagurinn langiFridayDate moves
- 29 March: Easter MondayAnnar í páskumMondayDate moves
- 22 April: First Day of SummerSumardagurinn fyrstiThursdayDate moves
- 1 May: May DayVerkalýðsdagurinnSaturday
- 6 May: Ascension DayUppstigningardagurThursdayDate moves
- 17 May: Whit MondayAnnar í hvítasunnuMondayDate moves
- 17 June: Icelandic National DayÞjóðhátíðardagurinnThursday
- 2 August: Commerce DayFrídagur verslunarmannaMondayDate moves
- 25 December: Christmas DayJóladagurSaturday
- 26 December: St. Stephen's DayAnnar í jólumSunday
Observances
Days marked in Iceland that are not days off
- 24 December: Christmas EveAðfangadagurChristmas Eve. The law makes it a day off from 13:00, so the morning is working time.Thursday
- 31 December: New Year's EveGamlársdagurNew Year's Eve, literally Old Year's Day. Off from 13:00, like Christmas Eve.Thursday
The 1971 act names no substitute for a holiday that falls on a weekend. In 2027 that happens three times: 1 May and Christmas Day are Saturdays, and the second day of Christmas is a Sunday.
Iceland keeps twelve official flag days, when government buildings fly the flag, and several of them are working days. Sovereignty Day (Fullveldisdagurinn) on 1 December and Icelandic Language Day on 16 November are among them, as is Fishermen's Day on the first Sunday in June.
Other days are marked without a day off. Bóndadagur, the Friday between 19 and 25 January, and Konudagur, the Sunday between 18 and 24 February, honour husbands and wives in turn. Before Lent come Bolludagur (Bun Day), Sprengidagur (Bursting Day) and Öskudagur (Ash Day). Beer Day on 1 March recalls the legalisation of beer in 1989, and Þorláksmessa on 23 December is the feast of St Thorlac, the patron saint of Iceland.
Common questions
Questions about public holidays in Iceland
How many public holidays does Iceland have in 2026?
Twelve full days off, not counting Easter Sunday and Whit Sunday, which are holidays in law but always fall on a Sunday. Only one of the twelve lands on a weekend in 2026: the second day of Christmas, Saturday 26 December. Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve come on top as half days, free from 13:00, both on a Thursday.
When is the First Day of Summer in Iceland?
On the Thursday that falls between 19 and 25 April: 23 April in 2026 and 22 April in 2027. It is a day off under Act No. 88/1971, named there beside 1 May and 17 June, and one of the country's flag days. Since it is always a Thursday, a single day of leave on the Friday turns it into a four-day weekend.
What is Commerce Day in Iceland?
Frídagur verslunarmanna, the first Monday in August. It became a day off through Act No. 94/1982, which amended the working-week law so that from 1983 the Monday is a holiday, paid on the same terms that collective agreements set for the other general holidays. It fell on 3 August in 2026 and falls on 2 August in 2027, each time ending a three-day weekend that begins on the Saturday.
Are Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve days off in Iceland?
From 13:00. The 1971 act lists aðfangadagur and gamlársdagur as days off from one in the afternoon, so the morning counts as ordinary working time. In 2026 both fall on a Thursday, 24 and 31 December. In 2027 both are Fridays, and the afternoon off runs straight into the weekend.
Is 17 June Iceland's independence day?
It is National Day, Þjóðhátíðardagurinn, marking the republic founded on 17 June 1944, and Icelanders usually call it simply 17. júní. Some English-language lists, the Central Bank of Iceland's among them, give it as Independence Day. A different date, 1 December, is Fullveldisdagurinn or Sovereignty Day, and that one is a flag day without a day off.
How long is the Easter holiday in Iceland?
Five days in a row. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are both days off, the weekend follows with Easter Sunday, and Easter Monday closes the break. In 2026 it ran from Thursday 2 April to Monday 6 April; in 2027 it runs from Thursday 25 March to Monday 29 March. On Good Friday flags fly at half-mast.
What are the long weekends in Iceland in 2027?
Four come without taking leave. New Year's Day on Friday 1 January makes a three-day weekend, Easter runs from Thursday 25 March to Monday 29 March, Whitsun from Saturday 15 May to Monday 17 May, and the Commerce Day weekend from Saturday 31 July to Monday 2 August. Three more holidays fall on a Thursday, the First Day of Summer on 22 April, Ascension Day on 6 May and National Day on 17 June, and one day of leave on each following Friday makes four days off.
Dates from Nager.Date, read 2026-09-26. The page counts from Monday, 28 September 2026, the day it was built.