Public holidays in the Netherlands
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The Netherlands has 9 main holidays. The Holidays in the Netherlands are:
| Date | English Name | Dutch Name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 | New Year's Day | Nieuwjaar | The day before is called "Old Year's Day" and not "New Year's Eve." |
| March/April | Good Friday | Goede Vrijdag | The Friday before Easter |
| March/April | Easter | Pasen | The Dutch celebrate two days of Easter (on Sunday and the subsequent Monday). |
| April 30 | Queen's day | Koninginnedag | Originally, Koninginnedag was celebrated on the birthday of the queen, Queen's day is nowadays celebrated on the birthday of the late Queen-mother (Juliana), as better weather is expected. If April 30 is a Sunday, Koninginnedag is celebrated on the April 29. |
| May 4 | Remembrance of the dead | Dodenherdenking | Remembrance of all members of the armed forces and civilians of the Kingdom of the Netherlands who died in war situations or peacekeeping missions since the outbreak of the Second World War. Not a national holiday |
| May 5 | Liberation day | Bevrijdingsdag | Celebration of the 1945 capitulation of German forces in World War II. Celebrated every year, but as of 2000, an official holiday once every 5 years. |
| 40 days after Easter | Ascension Day | Hemelvaartsdag | |
| 7 weeks after Easter | Pentecost | Pinksteren | The Dutch celebrate two days of Pentecost (on Sunday and the subsequent Monday). |
| December 5 | Saint Nicholas' Eve | Sinterklaas | A predecessor of Santa Claus, Sinterklaas gives presents to the children. Not a national holiday, and Saint Nicholas' birthday is December 6, but because children were given presents the evening before it is now celebrated on December 5 |
| December 15 | Koninkrijksdag | Kingdom's Day | Signing of Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands by Juliana in 1954. Not a national holiday |
| December 25, December 26 | Christmas | Kerstmis | The Dutch celebrate two days of Christmas: Eerste Kerstdag (the first day of Christmas) and Tweede Kerstdag (the second day of Christmas). |
Even though it is a National Holiday, Good Friday isn't a mandatory day off for commercial companies, but most (semi)governmental organizations, banks and insurers honor this day with a day off work.
If time off is given on this day, it is usually a mandatory day off work, subtracted from workers' time off, whereas other National Holidays don't count towards vacation time.
Liberation Day is a National Holiday (with time off work) once every 5 years.
Time off isn't given for Remembrance of the dead (a National Holiday) or Saint Nicholas' eve (not a National Holiday).
The government also recognizes the period from Christmas until January 1 as 'equivalent' to holidays for the purpose of filings/payments to or by the government; if a term ends on such a day, the term is extended.
If either First or Second Christmas Day falls on a weekend (Saturday or Sunday) then there is no additional weekday (Monday to Friday) given in exchange. On those years where Christmas Day is on a Saturday, there are no national Christmas holidays at all.
Recently, there has been some debate over whether or not the Islamic holiday of Eid ul-Fitr (Suikerfeest in Dutch) should be considered a national holiday. This was met by heavy opposition from some political parties, most importantly the PVV and SGP, although many others had no problems with it. For now, Eid is not an official national holiday, but it usually justifies a day off for Islamic employees. Those opposed to this proposition point out that there are enough national holidays as it is.[1]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- CIA. Netherlands. 10 Jan. 2006. 10 Feb. 2006. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/nl.html>
- Postbus51 http://www.postbus51.nl/nl/home/themas/cultuur-sport-en-vrije-tijd/feestdagen/welke-feestdagen-kent-nederland-en-wanneer-worden-ze-gevierd.html
