Dutch Holidays & Traditions 2026: What Expats Should Know

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Public Holidays 2026 and 2027

Rijksoverheid lists these official public holidays (rijksoverheid.nl, read 1 October 2026):

An official holiday is not automatically a day off: no law makes these days free for employees, so there is no legal right to a day off on them. Your cao or employment contract says whether you are off (Rijksoverheid). Sinterklaas (the evening of 5 December) is a tradition, not an official public holiday.

Bridge days tip: Ascension Day always falls on a Thursday, and some employees ask for the Friday after it off as a bridge day (brugdag). Leave requests are made with your employer, so ask early.

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The Big Celebrations

King’s Day (Koningsdag) — April 27

Koningsdag is the national holiday that celebrates the King’s birthday; since 2014 it has been celebrated on 27 April (koninklijkhuis.nl, read 1 October 2026). If this is your first time, the King’s Day guide for expats walks you through what to expect.

What the Royal Family does: the King and his family, together with other members of the Royal Family, visit a municipality with a central function in the region and celebrate with the town, which can present itself with, for example, a parade, musical performances and contributions from local associations. In 2026 that was Dokkum (koninklijkhuis.nl).

Practical tips for expats:

1. Check with your employer whether you are off; there is no legal right to the day.
2. Check public transport timetables and local road closures for the day in your own city.
3. Look at your gemeente’s programme: events differ per municipality.

Sinterklaas — November/December

Sinterklaas is celebrated on 5 December (holland.com, read 1 October 2026). The Meertens Instituut describes the Dutch Sinterklaas celebration as one with rhyming poems and handmade surprises, a gift culture in which a surprise and a poem say something about both the receiver and the giver (meertens.knaw.nl, read 1 October 2026).

What to know as an expat:

• You might be invited to a Sinterklaas party; ask the host how they do it, because every Dutch family has its own surprise and pakjesavond traditions (Meertens Instituut).
• Offices and schools often have their own arrangements; ask colleagues or the school.

Carnival — February (Southern Netherlands)

In 2027 Carnival runs from Saturday 6 to Tuesday 9 February, mainly in the south of the Netherlands. Places in Noord-Brabant with their own carnival names include Oeteldonk, Kielegat, Lampegat and Kruikenstad (visitbrabant.com, read 1 October 2026).

Expat tip: if you live in the south, check your gemeente and employer for local arrangements; if you live elsewhere, a visit to one of the carnival towns is a way to see it.

New Year’s Eve (Oud en Nieuw): the fireworks ban

Since 1 August 2026 a national fireworks ban for consumers applies: only small category F1 fireworks, such as sparklers, remain allowed for consumers. Fireworks such as rockets, cakes, compound boxes and bangers (categories F2, F3 and F4) may only be set off by professionals, and a municipality can give an exemption (ontheffing) for the New Year, for example for a fireworks show by a foundation (rijksoverheid.nl, read 1 October 2026). Details are in our guide to the fireworks ban. If you have pets, prepare them for a noisy night anyway.

Seasonal Traditions

• Koningsdag (27 April): see above.
• Carnival (6 to 9 February 2027): see above, mainly the south.
• Sinterklaas pakjesavond (5 December): see above.
• Christmas markets: Holland.com lists Christmas markets across the country, including a market set inside a cave (holland.com, read 1 October 2026).
• School holidays: see the table below.

Work and Holidays

Leave and holiday allowance

• Statutory vacation: you are entitled to 4 times the number of hours you work per week each year (Rijksoverheid), which is 160 hours, or 20 eight-hour days, on a 40-hour week. This applies to all employees, including those on zero-hour contracts (rijksoverheid.nl, read 1 October 2026).
• Vakantiegeld (holiday allowance): at least 8% of your gross annual salary of the past year; Rijksoverheid gives May to May as an example of the period it is calculated over (rijksoverheid.nl, read 1 October 2026). When it is paid out depends on your contract or cao.
• Public holidays: no legal right to the day off; your contract or cao decides.
• Unused statutory vacation days expire half a year after the calendar year in which you built them up, unless your cao or a written agreement allows longer; days built up in 2026 expire on 1 July 2027 (rijksoverheid.nl, read 1 October 2026).

Bridge Days (Brugdagen)

A bridge day is a leave day taken between a public holiday and the weekend. Ascension Day is on Thursday 14 May in 2026 (Friday 15 May is the bridge day) and on Thursday 6 May in 2027 (Friday 7 May). Leave requests go through your employer: it must in principle agree to your leave request and can only object for serious business reasons, or in the case of a collective holiday (Rijksoverheid).

Key leave figures at a glance

The vakantiegeld (holiday allowance) is a lump sum on top of your normal pay: at least 8% of your gross annual salary, so a person with a gross annual salary of €50,000 gets at least €4,000.

Liberation Day (5 May): officially a national holiday, but Rijksoverheid says not everyone is off; ask your employer or check your contract or cao.

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.

Explore our expat budget tools →

School Holidays 2026-2027: What Expat Parents Need to Know

The Netherlands is divided into three school-holiday regions: Noord (north), Midden (middle) and Zuid (south). OCW gives advisory dates for the autumn and spring holidays, and schools may deviate; the school guide (schoolgids) tells you the exact dates for your school. These are the official dates for the 2026-2027 school year (rijksoverheid.nl, read 1 October 2026):

For the May holiday, schools may extend it by a week; OCW’s advisory dates for that extra week are 1 – 9 May 2027. Schools may also move the spring holiday, for example to coincide with carnival. If your children attend an international school, check the school’s own calendar.

Check your childcare provider’s contract (for example BSO, after-school care) to see what holiday care it includes.

Planning Around Dutch Holidays as an Expat

Whether shops, offices and services are open on a public holiday differs per organisation, so check the opening hours of the shop, pharmacy, bank or municipality you need before the day. Rijksoverheid notes that a payment or reply deadline that falls on a weekend or an official holiday is extended to the next day that is not a weekend or official holiday (rijksoverheid.nl, read 1 October 2026).

Ascension Day: the bridge day opportunity

Ascension Day (Hemelvaartsdag) is always a Thursday: 14 May in 2026 and 6 May in 2027 (Rijksoverheid). If you want to travel on the long weekend, book early and ask your employer about the Friday.

Christmas in the Netherlands

Christmas Day and Boxing Day (25 and 26 December) are official public holidays, and Sinterklaas (5 December) is a separate tradition (holland.com, read 1 October 2026). Check opening hours before you plan shopping.

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: Guide for Expats

Sinterklaas is celebrated in the Netherlands with rhyming poems and handmade surprises, according to the Meertens Instituut. Sinterklaas is celebrated on 5 December (holland.com).

The Sinterklaas poem and the surprise

A gedicht (poem) written to accompany a gift and a surprise (a handmade package) are part of the Dutch Sinterklaas gift culture. The Meertens Instituut page quotes a ritual researcher who says a surprise and a poem say something about the receiver and also about the giver, and that every Dutch family has its own surprise and pakjesavond traditions. If you join a Dutch family’s celebration, ask the host how it works in their household. The poem may be in Dutch; ask someone to translate it.

The Piet discussion

The character of Zwarte Piet has been the subject of social debate in the Netherlands. As an expat, it helps to know the debate exists and to approach conversations about it with awareness.

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 comes first. If you are still in your opening months here, these three have deadlines or real money attached:

• Cost of living calculator — what a month actually costs in your city
• Best bank account for expats — which accounts you can open before your BSN arrives
• Dutch health insurance guide — the health-insurance deadline that applies after you register with your gemeente

Last updated: October 2026.