The Netherlands has 11 official public holidays — and a handful of unofficial ones that catch new arrivals off guard. Add school holidays that vary by region, the mysterious brugdag, and Sinterklaas chaos, and you need a proper overview. Here it is.
These are the days when most offices, schools, and many shops are closed. Employers are required to give employees these days off (or compensate in lieu).
Note that Good Friday is technically an official public holiday but not all employers treat it as a mandatory day off — check your employment contract.
Liberation Day (5 May) is officially a public holiday, but it's only a guaranteed day off once every five years — in lustrum years (2020, 2025, 2030...). In other years, some employers give the day off and others don't. Many collective labour agreements (CAO) do include it every year — check yours.
When a public holiday falls on a Thursday (which happens regularly, especially with Ascension Day), many Dutch workers take the Friday off as a brugdag (bridge day) to create a four-day weekend. It's not a formal holiday — employees use a leave day — but it's extremely common and leads to noticeably quiet offices and packed roads.
Plan for this: if you have meetings or deadlines around Ascension Day in particular, expect low attendance on the following Friday.
This deserves its own mention. Koningsdag is the biggest street party of the year — the entire country turns orange, flea markets pop up everywhere, and city centres are packed. Amsterdam in particular is famous for its canal parties.
As a new expat, Koningsdag is unmissable. Get orange clothing in advance (supermarkets and budget shops stock it from mid-April), and don't plan to drive anywhere in a major city that day.
Sinterklaas is not a public holiday — offices stay open — but it's a huge deal for families with children. The evening of 5 December (Pakjesavond) is when gifts are exchanged, and many Dutch families celebrate it more enthusiastically than Christmas.
What this means for expat parents: your children's school and activities will be full of Sinterklaas from mid-November. It's worth understanding the tradition so you can explain it to your kids (and participate if you want to). Note that the tradition has some controversial historical elements — the Zwarte Piet debate is real and ongoing in the Netherlands.
Carnival is not a national public holiday, but in the southern provinces of Noord-Brabant and Limburg it's treated as one. Schools and many businesses close for three days (the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday). If you live or work in Tilburg, Den Bosch, Breda, Eindhoven, or Maastricht, plan around it. In the rest of the Netherlands, it largely passes unnoticed.
School holidays are staggered by region (Noord, Midden, Zuid) to spread traffic and reduce congestion. The main holiday periods are:
Because holidays are staggered, the week your child has off may be different from your colleague's child. Check which region your municipality falls in at rijksoverheid.nl (search "schoolvakanties").
School holidays and public holidays often don't align with what you're used to from home. A few practical points:
Are shops open on public holidays?
It varies. Supermarkets in cities are often open (sometimes with reduced hours) on most holidays except Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Smaller shops may close. On Koningsdag, many shops close but the flea markets more than make up for it.
Do I get paid for public holidays?
Yes — Dutch employment law requires that public holidays are paid days off (or compensated). Check your contract or CAO for specific arrangements around Bevrijdingsdag and Good Friday.
When is the Dutch summer holiday exactly?
It's staggered by region and changes slightly each year. The Noord region typically goes first (early July), followed by Midden, then Zuid. Check the official schedule for your region each year at rijksoverheid.nl.
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