Calendar · 12 provinces
Public and school holidays in the Netherlands
The Netherlands has the same public holidays everywhere, but every province sets its own school terms. Pick one to see its dates, the weekdays they fall on, and the bridge days around them.
Official public holidays are recognised by statute, while paid time off is governed by collective labour agreements and employment contracts. The Ministry of Education sets mandatory dates for Christmas, May, and summer holidays, staggering summer breaks across three regions to balance holiday traffic.
Weekend holidays do not move, except King's Day, which shifts from Sunday to Saturday.
Holidays by province
Public holidays in the Netherlands
- 1 JanThursday
- 3 AprFriday
- 5 AprSunday
- 6 AprMonday
- 27 AprMonday
- 5 MayTuesday
- 14 MayThursday
- 24 MaySunday
- 25 MayMonday
- 25 DecFriday
- 26 DecSaturday
Public holidays and school holiday regions in the Netherlands
Public holidays in the Netherlands combine national celebrations — notably King's Day (Koningsdag, celebrated on 26 April if 27 April is a Sunday) and Liberation Day (5 May) — with traditional Christian holidays. Under Dutch constitutional principles of educational freedom (Article 23), schools have autonomy to observe specific religious or cultural days, such as Good Friday or Eid.
To manage road congestion and holiday facility capacity, the country is divided into three school holiday regions (Noord, Midden, and Zuid). The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science mandates the dates for summer, Christmas, and May breaks, while publishing advisory dates for autumn and spring breaks; schools in the southern provinces frequently shift the spring break to coincide with Carnival.