Public holidays in Netherlands
7 days in 2026 · 7 in 2027
Back to NetherlandsNext public holiday
Christmas Day
Eerste Kerstdag
After it: St. Stephen's Day, Saturday 26 December
Friday, 25 December 2026
The Netherlands has 11 official public holidays in 2026 and again in 2027, and no Dutch law entitles an employee to a day off on any of them. Paid leave on a holiday comes from the collective labour agreement, the cao, or from the employment contract. In practice nine are days off for most people. Good Friday is an ordinary working day at most companies, and Liberation Day on 5 May is off for some employees and not for others, although schools close on both.
Easter, Whitsun and Christmas each come as a pair, a first and a second day, and the first days of Easter and Whitsun are always Sundays. Of the nine days off, six fall on a weekday in 2026 and five in 2027, when Christmas Day and the second Christmas day land on a Saturday and a Sunday with no weekday given in their place.
Koningsdag on 27 April is the King's birthday. When 27 April is a Sunday it is kept on the Saturday before, 26 April.
- Days off in 2026
- 7Not counting Easter Sunday and Pentecost, always a Sunday
- On a weekday
- 6Monday to Friday
- On a weekend
- 1Saturday or Sunday
- Long weekends
- 4and 2 with one day of leave
2026
Public holidays in Netherlands in 2026
- 1 January: New Year's DayNieuwjaarsdagNew Year's Day, on 1 January: a Thursday in 2026 and a Friday in 2027, when it opens a three-day weekend.Thursday
- 6 April: Easter MondayTweede PaasdagThe second Easter day, a day off; with Good Friday taken as leave, Easter becomes four days.MondayDate moves
- 27 April: King's DayKoningsdagThe King's birthday. It is known for the vrijmarkt, a nationwide free market where people sell second-hand goods on the street, and for oranjegekte, orange madness, after the national colour.Monday
- 14 May: Ascension DayHemelvaartsdagAscension Day, forty days after Easter and so always a Thursday. The Friday after is a common day of leave, though not a paid holiday.ThursdayDate moves
- 25 May: Whit MondayTweede PinksterdagWhit Monday, the second day of Pentecost, and a day off.MondayDate moves
- 25 December: Christmas DayEerste KerstdagChristmas Day. Presents belong mostly to Sinterklaas on 5 December, although giving them at Christmas has gained ground in recent decades.Friday
- 26 December: St. Stephen's DayTweede KerstdagThe second Christmas day, off like the first. The provider's English name, St Stephen's Day, is not part of the Dutch one.Saturday
Long weekends
Long weekends in Netherlands 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
- 3daysSat 4 Apr to Mon 6 AprEaster Monday
- 3daysSat 25 Apr to Mon 27 AprKing's 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 Netherlands in 2027
- 1 January: New Year's DayNieuwjaarsdagFriday
- 29 March: Easter MondayTweede PaasdagMondayDate moves
- 27 April: King's DayKoningsdagTuesday
- 6 May: Ascension DayHemelvaartsdagThursdayDate moves
- 17 May: Whit MondayTweede PinksterdagMondayDate moves
- 25 December: Christmas DayEerste KerstdagSaturday
- 26 December: St. Stephen's DayTweede KerstdagSunday
Observances
Days marked in Netherlands that are not days off
- 3 April: Good FridayGoede VrijdagOn the official list, but most employers, the government among them, keep it as a working day. Schools are almost always closed, and many people take it as leave to join the Easter weekend.FridayDate moves
- 5 May: Liberation DayBevrijdingsdagThe liberation of 1945, which ended the German occupation that began in May 1940. Whether it is a day off depends on the employer or the cao; many employers give it as paid leave once every five years.Tuesday
Remembrance Day on 4 May, the eve of Liberation Day, is an observance and a working day.
Several widely kept days are not official holidays at all. Sinterklaas is celebrated on the evening of 5 December, above all in families with young children. In the south and east, Carnival runs over the three days before Ash Wednesday; many people there take the whole week off, and schools in those regions put their spring holiday in the same week. Eid al-Fitr, Suikerfeest in Dutch, has been debated as a national holiday but is not one, although it usually justifies a day off for Muslim employees and schools may close for it.
The official list matters beyond the workplace. A deadline set by law that ends on a Saturday, a Sunday or an official public holiday moves to the next day that is none of the three.
Common questions
Questions about public holidays in Netherlands
How many public holidays does the Netherlands have in 2026?
Eleven on the official list: New Year's Day, Good Friday, two Easter days, Koningsdag, Liberation Day, Ascension Day, two Whitsun days and two Christmas days. Nine of them are days off for most workers, as Good Friday and Liberation Day usually are not. Three of the nine fall at a weekend in 2026: Easter Sunday on 5 April, Whit Sunday on 24 May and the second Christmas day on Saturday 26 December.
Do employees in the Netherlands have a legal right to a day off on public holidays?
No. The government states that no law requires an employer to give a day off on a public holiday, so nobody holds a legal right to one. Whether a holiday is paid leave is settled in the collective labour agreement, the cao, or in the employment contract. The official list still carries legal weight elsewhere: a deadline set by law that ends on one of its days runs on to the next working day.
Is Good Friday a day off in the Netherlands?
Usually not. Goede Vrijdag is an official public holiday, but most businesses stay open and most employees, civil servants included, work as on any Friday. Schools are the main exception and are almost always closed. Because Easter Monday is a day off, many people take Good Friday as leave for a four-day Easter weekend: 3 to 6 April in 2026 and 26 to 29 March in 2027.
Who gets Liberation Day, 5 May, off?
Some employees, and nearly every pupil. Liberation Day, Bevrijdingsdag, is an official holiday marking the end of the German occupation in 1945, but the day off depends on the employer or the cao. Many employers give it as a paid holiday only once every five years. The 2027 date is a Wednesday, the day before Ascension Day.
Does King's Day move when 27 April is a Sunday?
Yes, back a day, to the Saturday, 26 April. In 2026 and 2027 the question does not arise: 27 April is a Monday in 2026, giving a three-day weekend from Saturday 25 April, and a Tuesday in 2027, when Monday 26 April is the day of leave that bridges the gap. The day brings the vrijmarkt, a street sale of second-hand goods across the country, and a great deal of orange.
What are the long weekends in the Netherlands in 2026?
Four need no leave. Easter runs from Saturday 4 April to Monday 6 April, Koningsdag gives Saturday 25 to Monday 27 April, Whitsun gives Saturday 23 to Monday 25 May, and Christmas Day on Friday 25 December opens a weekend that lasts to Sunday 27 December. One day of leave adds two more: Friday 2 January after New Year's Day, and Friday 15 May after Ascension Day, a popular day of leave.
When are Ascension Day and Whitsun in 2027?
Ascension Day falls on Thursday 6 May 2027, and Whitsun on Sunday 16 and Monday 17 May. Liberation Day comes the day before Ascension, on Wednesday 5 May, so an employee with both off and a day of leave on Friday 7 May has five days in a row.
Do offices and shops close for Sinterklaas?
No. Sinterklaas is celebrated on the evening of 5 December, the eve of the saint's name day, and it is the main occasion for presents in many families, yet it is not an official holiday, and offices and shops keep normal hours. The same goes for Carnival in the south and east, although schools there time their spring holiday to coincide with it.
Dates from Nager.Date, read 2026-09-26. The page counts from Monday, 28 September 2026, the day it was built.