In this article, School-Holidays.Info will tell you about the holidays in the Netherlands in 2023. You will learn about the different types of holidays in the country, including national, widely recognized, and other holidays. We will also write about which of these holidays are days off from work for the Dutch.
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Features of holidays in the Netherlands
All holidays in the Netherlands can be divided into three categories: national, widely recognized, and other holidays. Only two holidays are considered national holidays, Koningsdag (King’s Day) and Liberation Day. Widely recognized holidays are described in the General Holidays Act of July 25, 1964. They include national holidays, as well as major public and religious holidays.
There is no law in the Netherlands that designates any of the holidays as a day off from work. The days off are determined separately in collective labor agreements. The vast majority of employers observe widely recognized holidays as days off, except for Good Friday and Liberation Day. Not all employers consider these two holidays as days off.
In labor agreements, widely recognized holidays are usually treated as Sundays and are paid accordingly.
Below, we will provide a list of widely recognized holidays in the Netherlands month by month. In a separate section, we will also indicate which other days in 2023 can be considered holidays for the Dutch.
Widely recognized holidays and days off in the Netherlands for 2023
Calendar of widely recognized holidays. Mostly all these days, except for Good Friday and Liberation Day, are days off from work for the vast majority of Dutch people. It is worth noting that the Netherlands is a country with one of the smallest number of days off in the world.
January
January 1, 2023 (Sunday) – New Year’s Day. The Feast of the Holy Mother of God.
April
April 7, 2023 (Friday) – Good Friday. The only holiday that is considered equivalent to widely recognized state holidays in the Law, but is not one. This holiday will not be a day off for many employers;
April 9, 2023 (Sunday) – Easter;
April 10, 2023 (Monday) – Easter Monday;
April 27, 2023 (Thursday) – King’s Day. One of the two national holidays in the Netherlands. Currently celebrated in honor of reigning monarch Willem-Alexander, who was born on April 27, 1967.
May
May 5, 2023 (Friday) – Liberation Day. The second national holiday in the Netherlands. Dedicated to the country’s liberation from Nazi occupation on May 5, 1945. Celebrated annually since May 5, 1990, before that it was celebrated every five years. This created a situation where many employers consider this day off only once every 5 years;
May 18, 2023 (Thursday) – Ascension of the Lord;
May 28, 2023 (Sunday) – First day of Pentecost;
May 29, 2023 (Monday) – Second day of Pentecost.
December
December 25, 2023 (Monday) – Christmas Eve;
December 26, 2023 (Tuesday) – Christmas.
Other holidays in the Netherlands 2023
In the Netherlands, there are other holidays, national, religious and local, which are not mentioned in any way in the legislation, i.e. they are not state one. Below is a list of them. If a holiday can be a day off in a certain region, it is indicated in parentheses.
- January 6, 2023 (Friday) – Three Kings Day. Epiphany (day off in part of North Brabant);
- January 18-21, 2023 (Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday) – Carnival;
- April 1, 2023 (Saturday) – Capture of Brielle. The capture of the city of Brielle by rebels, which became a turning point in the anti-Spanish revolution of 1572 (a day off in Brielle);
- April 9, 2023 (Sunday) – Palm Sunday;
- May 1, 2023 (Monday) – Labor Day;
- May 27, 2023 (Saturday) – Luilak, the Saturday before Pentecost. A traditional holiday in North Holland. It ridicules late-rising idlers or tardy people, so it is customary to make a lot of noise in the morning on this day. The further south of Amsterdam, the less it is celebrated;
- July 1, 2023 (Saturday) – Ketikoti. Day of Liberation. Dedicated to the abolition of slavery in the Dutch colony of Suriname on July 1, 1863 (a day off in Amsterdam);
- August 15, 2023 (Tuesday) – Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary;
- August 28, 2023 (Monday) – Liberation of Groningen. The holiday is dedicated to the unsuccessful siege of the Dutch city of Groningen by the army of the Münster Principality in 1672, which became a turning point in the war (a day off in Groningen);
- September 19, 2023 (Tuesday) – Little Prince’s Day, Prinsjesdag. Third Tuesday in September. Prinsjesdag, Little Prince Day. The third Tuesday in September. On this day, the king delivers a traditional speech to parliament, outlining the government’s policy for the following year (usually a day off in The Hague schools);
- October 3, 2023 (Tuesday) – Liberation of Leiden or October 3rd Festival. A holiday in the Dutch city of Leiden, celebrated annually on October 3. It is dedicated to the liberation of the city from the Spanish siege in 1574 (a day off in Leiden);
- October 8, 2023 (Sunday) – Liberation of Alkmaar. Dedicated to the liberation of the city from the siege of the Spanish army in 1573 during the Eighty Years’ War (a day off in Alkmaar);
- October 31, 2023 (Tuesday) – Halloween;
- November 1, 2023 (Wednesday) – All Saints’ Day;
- November 2, 2023 (Thursday) – All Souls’ Day;
- November 11, 2023 (Saturday) – Saint Martin’s Day (a day off in some provinces, check with your employer).
From this publication, you have learned the dates of holidays and days off in the Netherlands in 2023. We hope this information was useful to you. Don’t forget to share it with your friends!
