The Netherlands has far fewer public holidays than other European countries. At the same time, the law does not prescribe mandatory days off on holidays. Introducing the Dutch holiday calendar for 2023 and useful information on how to navigate weekdays and weekends.
Holidays vs weekends
There are only 8 public holidays in the Netherlands: New Year, Good Friday, Easter, King's Day, Liberation Day, Ascension Day, Pentecost, Christmas. They are mainly concentrated in April-May. Two holidays, King's Day (April 27) and Liberation Day (May 5), are national. However, if most Dutch people have a day off on King's Day, then May 5 is not a day off.
In the Netherlands, they even work on Labor Day, unlike many other European countries. In addition, there are days - for example, Good Friday - when the day off is given only to municipal officials.
Where are days off for employees?
Information about whether you (or, if you are an employer, then your employees) work on a particular holiday, can be found in the collective bargaining agreement (collective arbeidsovereenkomst, CAO). As a rule, weekends coincide with official holidays. If there is no such document for your sector, then the employer indicates such information in the contract - more about this here.
| Celebration | date | Day |
| New Year - Nieuwjaarsdag | 1 January | Sunday |
| Good Friday - Goede vrijdag | 7 April | Friday |
| Easter | 9 April | Sunday |
| Easter Monday - Paasmaandag | 10 April | Monday |
| King's Day - Koningsdag | 27 April | Thursday |
| Liberation Day - Bevrijdingsdag | 5 May | Friday |
| Ascension - Hemelvaartsdag | 18 May | Thursday |
| Pentecost (Trinity) - Pinksteren | 28 May | Sunday |
| Trinity Monday - Pinkstermaandag | 29 May | Monday |
| Christmas - Kerstmis | 25 December | Monday |
| Second day of Christmas - 2de Kerstdag | 26 December | Tuesday |
Holiday traditions in the Netherlands
Although there are relatively few holidays in the country, the Dutch love and know how to celebrate. If you want to know interesting details, watch the video review from Svetlana Koshek: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUZilo9n5lY.
There is also a whole series of annual special days that are not legally recognized, but are traditionally celebrated by large audiences. For example, Father's Day, Mother's Day, Carnival and Animal Day. And finally, do not forget about local holidays in certain cities or regions of the country. For example, in some parts of North Brabant, the Epiphany (Driekoningen) is celebrated in a special way.
Often, holidays and weekends become the starting point in drawing up plans for the year and vacations. However, if you have children, you must also take into account the time of the holidays - see the schedule of school holidays 2022-2023. in the Netherlands and explanations to it on link.
