Dutch Holidays & Traditions 2026: What Expats Should Know

New to the Netherlands? Start with our complete expat guide.

💡 Looking for a complete banking comparison? Read Best banking for expats in the Netherlands 2026 — covers ABN, ING, Bunq, Wise, Revolut & 5 others by expat use case.

Public Holidays 2026

*Liberation Day is a paid holiday every 5 years (next: 2030). Many employers give it off annually.

Bridge days tip: Ascension Day is always a Thursday — most Dutch workers take Friday off too (“brugdag”). Plan your trips around these long weekends.

One small practical note if you travel during the long weekends: some home-country services — bank apps, streaming subscriptions, and government portals — restrict access by country, which is a nuisance on the road. A VPN such as NordVPN routes your connection through a server in your home country so those services behave normally. It will not make flights or hotels cheaper, whatever the internet says; the use case here is access and staying on a private connection on hotel and airport wifi.

Check NordVPN plans and pricing →

What’s Happening in the Netherlands in August

If you landed on this guide wondering what’s actually going on this month, here’s the short version. August has no public holidays, but it’s one of the quietest — and most disrupted — months to be an expat in the Netherlands, for reasons that have nothing to do with the calendar of official days off.

Bouwvak (construction shutdown). The construction industry takes a collective summer break, staggered across three regions (north, central, south) similar to the school holiday system. If you’re renovating, waiting on a delivery, or dealing with a contractor, expect radio silence for a stretch of weeks — this is normal and not a sign your job has been forgotten.

Zomervakantie is still running (and ending). The six-week school summer holiday spans most of July and August, staggered by region — see the school holiday table further down for the exact 2026 dates. Depending on your region, your kids either go back to school in the second half of August or the first days of September. This is also why the country feels emptier: a large share of Dutch families are away for at least part of the month.

Business runs slower. Many offices are thinly staffed as colleagues take their remaining vacation days before the school year restarts. Expect slower replies from municipalities, banks, and service providers — plan appointments (BSN, DigiD, viewings) with that in mind, or push urgent admin to September.

Pride Amsterdam. The canal parade and the wider Pride week are an established annual fixture in Amsterdam every August, drawing large crowds to the city centre. Expect the usual King’s Day-style disruption around the Prinsengracht — busy terraces, crowded public transport, and a genuinely festive atmosphere.

Festival season is still going. August is peak season for the outdoor festivals mentioned below — book accommodation and transport early if you’re heading to one, since the same weekends draw both Dutch holidaymakers and international visitors.

The practical takeaway: nothing officially closes in August, but the rhythm of the country changes — slower admin, fuller trains on festival weekends, and a general sense that everyone who can be away, is. If you need something done urgently (a repair, a bureaucratic sign-off), expect it to take longer than usual and build in buffer time.

The Big Celebrations

King’s Day (Koningsdag) — April 27

The biggest, loudest, most orange holiday in the Netherlands. The entire country celebrates the King’s birthday. If this is your first time experiencing it, the King’s Day guide for expats walks you through everything — what to wear, where to go, and how to survive the vrijmarkt.

What happens:

• Vrijmarkt — Everyone sells their stuff on the street (the only day you can trade tax-free)
• Orange everywhere — Clothes, wigs, face paint, food, drinks — everything turns orange
• Live music — Stages in every city, DJs on boats
• Boat parties — In Amsterdam, the canals are packed with party boats
• Tompouce — The traditional orange-topped pastry
• Royal family visits a different city each year

Survival tips for expats:

1. Wear orange (or risk standing out badly)
2. Bring cash for the vrijmarkt
3. In Amsterdam, arrive early — it gets incredibly crowded
4. Try a tompouce and oranje bitter (orange liqueur)
5. Public transport is limited — walk or cycle
6. Vondelpark area is popular for families with kids’ vrijmarkt

Sinterklaas — November/December

The most beloved Dutch tradition, especially for children.

Timeline:

• Mid-November: Sinterklaas arrives by steamboat (intocht) — live on TV
• Nov-Dec 5: Children put their shoe by the fireplace with a carrot for Sinterklaas’ horse, and receive small gifts overnight
• December 5 (Pakjesavond): The main event — families exchange gifts with creative poems (gedichten) and surprise packages (surprises)

What to know:

• Sinterklaas is more important than Christmas for gift-giving
• Gifts are accompanied by humorous poems about the recipient
• “Surprises” are creative packages disguised as something else
• Traditional treats: pepernoten, speculaas, chocolate letters
• The tradition is evolving — Zwarte Piet has become Roetveegpiet (soot-wiped Pete)

As an expat:

• You might be invited to a Sinterklaas party — join in, write a poem!
• Office Sinterklaas celebrations are common (loting/drawing names)
• Buy chocolate letters at any supermarket (get the first letter of your name)

Carnival — February/March (Southern Netherlands)

A 3-day explosion of costumes, parades, and party culture in the south.

Where: Noord-Brabant (Den Bosch, Eindhoven, Breda, Tilburg) and Limburg (Maastricht) When: Sunday to Tuesday before Ash Wednesday (Feb-Mar)

What to expect:

• Cities get temporary names (Den Bosch becomes “Oeteldonk”)
• Everyone wears costumes
• Parades with elaborate floats
• Non-stop music and dancing in bars and on streets
• Traditional songs everyone knows (you’ll learn fast)

Expat tip: If you live in the south, Carnival is unmissable. If you live in the north, plan a weekend trip — it’s a completely different Netherlands.

New Year’s Eve (Oud en Nieuw)

Dutch New Year’s Eve is famously… explosive.

Traditions:

• Oliebollen — Deep-fried dough balls, the quintessential NYE food
• Fireworks — Private fireworks were a Dutch New Year tradition for decades, but since 1 August 2026 a national consumer ban applies: only category F1 items such as sparklers remain legal for private use
• Champagne toast at midnight
• Nieuwjaarsduik — New Year’s Day polar plunge at beaches across the country (Scheveningen is the largest)

Important: Consumers may no longer buy, possess or set off F2 fireworks. Professional shows with a permit and New Year displays by local associations or foundations with a municipal exemption are still possible (rijksoverheid.nl, checked 24 September 2026). Illegal fireworks will not vanish overnight, so if you have pets, still prepare them for a noisy night. Details in our guide to the fireworks ban.

Seasonal Traditions

Spring

• Tulip season (March-May) — Visit Keukenhof, the world’s largest flower garden
• Koningsdag (April 27) — See above
• Lente in the parks — First sunny day = everyone outside in Vondelpark

Summer

• Terrasje pakken — The Dutch art of sitting on a restaurant terrace at any hint of sunshine
• Festival season — Lowlands, Pinkpop, North Sea Jazz, Mysteryland
• Vierdaagse (July) — 4-day walking event in Nijmegen (50,000 walkers)
• Pride Amsterdam (August) — Canal parade and week of events

Autumn

• Sinterklaas intocht (mid-November)
• Sint Maarten (November 11) — Children go door-to-door with lanterns singing for candy (mainly in the north)
• Herfstvakantie — Autumn school holiday (1 week in October)

Winter

• Sinterklaas pakjesavond (December 5)
• Gourmetten — Christmas dinner with small grill at the table
• Kersttoespraak — King’s Christmas speech on TV
• Oud en Nieuw — New Year’s Eve (see above)
• Elfstedentocht fever — Everyone watches the weather hoping for the legendary ice-skating tour in Friesland (hasn’t happened since 1997)

Work and Holidays

Standard Holiday Allowance

• Dutch employees get minimum 20 vacation days (full-time)
• Most get 25-30 days
• Vakantiegeld (holiday allowance): 8% of annual salary, paid in May
• Public holidays are additional (not deducted from vacation days)

Bridge Days (Brugdagen)

Strategic days off between a public holiday and the weekend. Popular bridge days in 2026:

• May 15 (Friday after Ascension Day)
• Plan these early — everyone books them

How Many Vacation Days Do You Actually Get?

Dutch employment contracts typically include more leave than most expats expect. Here is what to look for when you read yours:

The vakantiegeld (holiday allowance) surprises many expats. In May you receive 8% of your annual salary as a lump sum — separate from your salary. A person earning €50,000/year gets an extra €4,000 in May. It is designed to fund your summer holiday, and most Dutch people treat it that way.

Bridge days in practice: Dutch workers are strategic about public holidays. When Ascension Day falls on a Thursday, the Friday becomes the most requested vacation day of the year. Submit your bridge day requests early — some employers operate on a first-come, first-served basis.

Liberation Day (May 5): Officially a national holiday every year, but only a paid day off once every five years (next: 2030). However, many employers grant it annually as a company benefit. Check your collective labor agreement (CAO) or employment contract.

For a broader picture of your finances as an employee in the Netherlands, read our Dutch tax system guide and check the 30% ruling if you were hired from abroad.

Heading abroad during a Dutch public holiday? Use our tools to check what your cost of living looks like month-to-month — including those May vakantiegeld months when your budget looks very different.

Explore our expat budget tools →

School Holidays 2026: What Expat Parents Need to Know

Dutch school holidays follow a regional stagger system — not all schools have holidays at the same time. This was introduced deliberately to spread holiday travel and reduce motorway congestion. The country is divided into three regions: Noord (north), Midden (middle/central), and Zuid (south).

Your school’s region determines exactly when holidays fall. Here are the confirmed 2026 dates:

Meivakantie (May Holiday) 2026

The meivakantie overlaps with King’s Day (April 27) and Liberation Day (May 5), making it a popular period for family travel. Book early — accommodation in popular destinations (the coast, Zeeland, Drenthe) fills up months in advance.

Zomervakantie (Summer Holiday) 2026

The longest holiday — 6 weeks. Staggered by region to avoid everyone moving at once.

For expat families: If your children attend an international school, check the school’s own calendar — many follow a slightly different timetable not fully aligned with the national regional system.

Other Holidays 2026

Check your municipality’s school calendar at scholenopdekaart.nl or your child’s school directly — dates can shift by a day or two each year.

BSO During School Holidays

BSO (after-school care) typically offers full-day care during school holidays (7:30–18:30) at no extra charge if your child has a holiday care contract. Confirm this with your BSO provider — not all contracts automatically include holiday coverage.

Planning Around Dutch Holidays as an Expat

Dutch public holidays are more disruptive to daily life than in many other countries, partly because they are genuinely observed. Here is what actually closes and what stays open — and how to plan around the biggest days.

What Closes on Public Holidays

Everything meaningful closes on King’s Day, Easter Monday, Ascension Day, Whit Monday, and Christmas. I mean supermarkets, most shops, pharmacies (except emergency duty pharmacies), banks, most restaurants (some open in tourist areas), and most services.

Government offices and municipalities are closed on all public holidays plus Good Friday in most cities.

Albert Heijn, Jumbo, Lidl: Most supermarkets are closed on Christmas Day. Some open on Boxing Day (Tweede Kerstdag). On King’s Day, essentially all supermarkets close. Stock up the day before.

King’s Day (April 27): Practical Survival Guide

Before Koningsdag:

• Do your grocery shopping on April 26
• Get cash — most of the vrijmarkt is cash-only
• Plan your transport, because public transport runs to a limited schedule and roads in Amsterdam are closed to cars

On the day:

• Wear orange. Anything orange. You will feel deeply conspicuous if you do not
• The vrijmarkt (street market) starts early — by 10:00, the best spots in Amsterdam are already taken
• Amsterdam fills with 800,000+ people for the biggest celebrations; smaller cities like Utrecht, Groningen, or Haarlem have equally fun atmospheres with fewer crowds
• The Royal Family visits one Dutch city each year — check in advance if you want to see them
• Tompouce (the orange-cream pastry) is mandatory. Try oranje bitter (orange liqueur) if you are feeling adventurous

Leaving the city: Trains run but are packed. Book tickets in advance. Driving out of Amsterdam on King’s Day is virtually impossible for several hours.

Ascension Day: The Bridge Day Opportunity

Ascension Day (Hemelvaartsdag) is always a Thursday, which means the Friday becomes the most popular bridge day (brugdag) in the Netherlands. Most Dutch workers take it off, creating a 4-day weekend.

In 2026: Ascension Day is 14 May, bridge day is 15 May.

Book this long weekend early if you want to travel — trains and holiday parks fill up fast. If you are an employer or employee, note that bridge days are taken from personal vacation days, not public holidays.

Christmas in the Netherlands: Lower Key than You Expect

What changes around Christmas:

• Most shops close December 25 and often December 26
• Restaurants are open but booked out weeks in advance
• Supermarkets close or run limited hours December 25

What continues: The Christmas markets in Maastricht, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and dozens of smaller cities run from late November through mid-December.

For getting around during public holidays — especially if you want to explore by bike — see our cycling guide. And if you are still working through the integration process alongside Dutch cultural life, our inburgeringsexamen preparation guide covers the cultural knowledge component of the civic integration exam.

Explore More Expat Guides

• Complete Guide to Moving to the Netherlands — Getting started
• Cost of Living Netherlands — Budget planning
• Cycling in the Netherlands — Getting around on holidays
• Inburgeringsexamen Preparation — Dutch culture and society
• Dutch Childcare Guide — School holidays planning

Sinterklaas: The Guide Every Expat Needs

Sinterklaas is the celebration that most shapes Dutch childhood and family culture. Understanding it is important for expats — both to participate and to navigate the social conversations around it.

What Happens and When

Mid-November: Sinterklaas arrives by steamboat (stoomboot) from “Spain,” docking in a different Dutch city each year. This arrival (intocht van Sinterklaas) is broadcast live on national television and is a major event for children. In the weeks that follow, Sinterklaas and his helpers travel the country visiting schools, shops, and events.

December 5 (Pakjesavond): The evening of 5 December is when gifts are exchanged. Children put their shoe by the fireplace (or a designated spot) in the evening, and find gifts from Sinterklaas in the morning — or, in the family tradition, gifts arrive in a sack delivered by the helpers. For adults, the tradition often involves a surprise (surpris) — a creative, often humorous homemade package that disguises the gift, accompanied by a rhyming poem (gedicht) that teases the recipient affectionately.

December 6: Sinterklaas officially leaves the Netherlands to return to Spain. Some families have small remaining celebrations; most Dutch people wake up on December 6 somewhat relieved the intense preparation period is over.

The Sinterklaas Poem

The gedicht (poem) written to accompany a gift is an art form in the Netherlands. It should:

• Be written in rhyme
• Reference the recipient’s quirks, habits, or recent life events in an affectionate teasing way
• Be read aloud before the gift is opened
• Make the recipient laugh, not genuinely embarrassed

As an expat joining a Dutch family’s Sinterklaas celebration for the first time, you will likely be given a gedicht written for you. It may be in Dutch. Ask someone to translate — the joke will survive.

The Piet Discussion

The character of Zwarte Piet (Black Pete), Sinterklaas’s helper, has been at the centre of significant social debate in the Netherlands for over a decade. Originally portrayed with blackface, many municipalities and organisations now use alternative versions (roetveegpiet — soot-smudged pete). This is a live social debate in the Netherlands. As an expat, knowing it exists and approaching conversations about it with awareness is helpful.

Traditional Sinterklaas Foods

Speculaas: Spiced biscuits in Sinterklaas shapes (stars, windmills, people). Available from late October onwards in every supermarket. Pepernoten: Small, round, spiced cookies distributed in enormous quantities. Bags of pepernoten appear in shops from September. Chocolate letters: Large chocolate letters given as gifts (tradition is to give someone the initial of their first name). Banketletter: Pastry filled with almond paste, shaped as a letter. A bakery tradition for the Sinterklaas season.

Sinterklaas season transforms Dutch supermarkets from late October through December 5. Enjoy it — the food is genuinely excellent.

Cycling Culture as a Dutch Tradition

In a guide about Dutch holidays and traditions, it would be incomplete not to mention cycling — because in the Netherlands, cycling is a cultural tradition as much as a transport mode. Cycling is woven into every aspect of daily and seasonal Dutch life:

Koningsdag by bike: On King’s Day (April 27), Amsterdam becomes a sea of orange-dressed cyclists. Cycling to the festivities, carrying supplies in the bakfiets (cargo bike), and using the bike to access the street markets is the default mode for most Dutch residents.

Summer cycling: The fiets season peaks in summer. Families cycle to the beach, to barbecues, to festivals. The Dutch have a cultural norm that cycling is for everyone — not just the young, the fit, or the sports-oriented. Elderly people in their 70s and 80s cycling to the market is an ordinary sight.

Christmas markets by bike: Leiden, Maastricht, and Rotterdam all have famous outdoor Christmas markets (kerstmarkten). The Dutch cycle to them. Arriving by bike is the norm; parking is plentiful for bicycles in a way it often is not for cars.

Dutch Food Traditions Worth Knowing

Food is deeply connected to Dutch seasonal traditions. A few highlights that you will encounter as an expat:

Herring (haring): Fresh herring (Hollandse Nieuwe) is available from mid-June, marking the start of the herring season. Eating it the traditional way — holding it by the tail, tilting your head back, and lowering it into your mouth with raw onions — is a Dutch cultural act. Haringkar (herring carts) appear in city centres. This is not a joke; the Dutch are entirely serious about herring.

Stroopwafel: Two thin waffles sandwiched with caramel syrup. The traditional way to eat one is to balance it over a hot cup of tea or coffee until the caramel softens. Available everywhere; best warm from a fresh waffle stall (the Albert Cuyp market in Amsterdam has excellent ones).

Bitterballen: Deep-fried ragout-filled balls, eaten as a snack with mustard, typically with bier (beer). A Friday afternoon staple in Dutch workplaces and a fixture at any borrel. Not pretending to be health food; entirely delicious.

Erwtensoep: Thick pea soup, eaten only in winter. Traditionally so thick a spoon should stand upright in it. Sold from market stalls and at special soep events in January-February. The Dutch call it snert (not a slur — it is just the name). Finding a really good erwtensoep is a minor seasonal quest.

Poffertjes: Small, fluffy pancakes made with yeast and buckwheat, served with butter and icing sugar. Available at markets, fairs, and Koningsdag. One of those foods that tastes better than it has any right to, especially standing at a market stall in the cold.

Dutch Birthdays: The Circle of Chairs

One tradition that confuses most expats on first encounter is the Dutch birthday celebration (verjaardag). The custom is for the birthday person to arrange their own celebration — not to be surprised or treated. They typically bring cake or treats to the office or school. At home celebrations, the guests sit in a circle (the infamous Dutch circle) and congratulate not just the birthday person but also all their family members (“Gefeliciteerd met je vrouw!”, “Congratulations with your wife” — said to a husband on his wife’s birthday).

If you are invited to a Dutch birthday party, bring a small gift and expect to join the circle, drink coffee and eat cake, and make conversation with people you may not know. The format can feel formal to expats used to more fluid party styles, but it is warm in its way once you understand the conventions.

Planning Your First Dutch Year

Holidays and traditions are the part of the calendar that makes the Netherlands feel like home. The part that makes it work is duller and comes first. If you are still in your opening months here, these three are the ones with deadlines or real money attached:

• Cost of living calculator — what a month actually costs in your city, including the May vakantiegeld swing
• Best bank account for expats — which accounts you can open before your BSN arrives
• Dutch health insurance guide — the four-month deadline that starts when you register with your gemeente

Last updated: March 2026.