Public holidays in the Netherlands

Non-floating holidays

Non-statutory holidays are written in gray.

Moving Holidays in the Netherlands

Royal festivities

Probably the most important festival for the Dutch is King's Day on April 27. To ensure that it remains a day off, the holiday is brought forward to April 26 if necessary, should it fall on a Sunday. Everyone in the country wears orange on that day. The evening before, there is a free pop concert for the population in The Hague. However, since 2019, the royal family no longer lives in The Hague, but in Amsterdam. Perhaps this festival will also move there in the coming years.

The queen and the princes also have their own holiday. Neither of them is legally established and therefore no days off from work. On Prince's Day, the third Tuesday in September, the entire royal family drives to the Knights' Hall in The Hague with their golden carriage and richly decorated entourage. There, the King reads out the speech from the throne, which is politically significant in that it contains the guidelines for the coming year.

Typically Dutch

Less known in other countries, there are several customs that make the Netherlands special. For example, the new year begins on January 1, but with a jump in the deep end. New Year’s dives are very popular here.

On May 4, the day of national mourning, people "remember" — but they do not just mourn. Instead, concerts and festivals take place in several cities. And the first catch of herring is celebrated in Scheveningen in June as Flag Day ("Vlaggetjesdag") with a big street festival.

Sinterklaas and Kerstman

The custom of giving gifts at Christmas is a little different than in many countries. Christmas is also a celebration of the family, but much more important is Santa Claus ("Sinterklaas"), which is celebrated on the evening of December 5th. So the presents are also already distributed at Sinterklaas. In fact, it was St. Nicholas of Myra in the fourth century to whom this custom goes back. It only lost its significance with the Reformation and was replaced over the centuries by the Christ Child or Santa Claus.