Public holidays in the Netherlands
| Life in the Netherlands |
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Government
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The Netherlands has 13 main holidays. The Holidays in the Netherlands are:
| Date | English name | Dutch name | Remarks |
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| January 1 | New Year's Day | Nieuwjaar | The day before is called "Old Year's Day" and not "New Year's Eve." |
| March/April | Easter | Eerste Paasdag en Tweede Paasdag | 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. Although this is not a national holiday, there is a national two minutes of silence at 8:00 PM local time, and an annual ceremony at Dam Square. 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 |
| December 25, December 26 | Christmas | Kerstmis | The Dutch celebrate two days of Christmas: Eerste Kerstdag (the first day of Christmas) and Tweede Kerstdag (Boxing day). |
Even though Good Friday is a National Holiday, it is not a mandatory day off for commercial companies. However, 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 do not count towards vacation time.
Liberation Day is a national holiday once every 5 years. Many employees have a day off work, but this is not required by law.[1]
Time off is not given for Remembrance of the Dead, which is a national holiday, or Saint Nicholas' Eve, which is not a national holiday.
The government also recognizes the period between Christmas and New Year as "equivalent" to holidays for the purpose of filings/payments to or by the government;[clarification needed] if a term ends on such a day, the term is extended.[clarification needed] If either First or Second Christmas Day falls on a weekend (i.e., Saturday or Sunday), there is no additional weekday given in exchange. That is, in years where First Christmas Day is 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 a national holiday. This was met by opposition from political parties such as the PVV and SGP, although many others[who?] had no problems with it. For now, Eid ul-Fitr is not an official national holiday, but it usually justifies a day off for Islamic employees. Those opposed to this proposition say that there are enough national holidays as it is.[2]
[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
- Calendar - Holiday Files http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/holidays.html#N
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