Public holidays in Belgium

Last updated

In Belgium, there are ten official public holidays. Other particular days are also celebrated, but these are not official public holidays and employers are not obliged to give their employees a day off. [1] However, some employers do award a day's holiday in accordance with union.

Contents

Public holidays

Date [2] Name
EnglishDutchFrenchGerman
1 January (fixed) New Year's Day NieuwjaarNouvel AnNeujahr
23 March – 26 April
(floating Monday using Computus)
Easter Monday PaasmaandagLundi de PâquesOstermontag
1 May
(fixed)
Labour Day Dag van de arbeidFête du TravailTag der Arbeit
40 days after Easter
(floating Thursday)
Ascension Day HemelvaartAscensionChristi Himmelfahrt
50 days after Easter
(floating Monday)
Whit Monday PinkstermaandagLundi de PentecôtePfingstmontag
21 July
(fixed)
National Day Nationale FeestdagFête NationaleNationalfeiertag
15 August
(fixed)
Assumption Day Onze Lieve Vrouw HemelvaartAssomptionMariä Himmelfahrt
1 November
(fixed)
All Saints' Day AllerheiligenToussaintAllerheiligen
11 November
(fixed)
Armistice Day WapenstilstandJour de l'ArmisticeWaffenstillstand
25 December
(fixed)
Christmas Day KerstmisNoëlWeihnachten

In addition to the above, the same legal text names all Sundays as public holidays (which is why Easter and Pentecost, which always fall on Sundays, are "feasted" by extending the Sunday holiday to the following Monday).

Particular days celebrated in Belgium that are not official public holidays

HolidayDateLocationDutchFrenchGerman
Epiphany 6 JanuaryNationalDriekoningenÉpiphanieErscheinung des Herrn
Valentine's Day 14 FebruaryNationalValentijnsdagSaint-ValentinValentinstag
Veterans Day 7 April [3] NationalVeteranendagJournée des VétéransVeteranentag
Iris Festival 8 May Brussels-Capital Region IrisfeestFête de l'IrisIris-Festival
Day of the Flemish Community 11 July Flemish Community Feest van de Vlaamse GemeenschapFête de la Communauté flamandeFeiertag der Flämischen Gemeinschaft
Meyboom 9 AugustBrussels-Capital RegionMeyboomMeyboomMeyboom
French Community Holiday 27 September French Community Dag van de Franse GemeenschapFête de la Communauté françaiseFeiertag der Französischen Gemeinschaft
Day of the Walloon Region third Sunday of September Wallonia Feest van het Waalse GewestFête de la Région wallonneFesttag der Wallonischen Region
Halloween 31 OctoberNationalHalloweenHalloweenHalloween
All Souls' Day 2 NovemberNationalAllerzielenJour des mortsAllerseelen
Saint Martin's Day 11 November Ostbelgien, parts of Flanders Sint-MaartenSaint-MartinSankt Martin
Day of the German-speaking Community 15 NovemberOstbelgienDag van de Duitstalige GemeenschapFête de la Communauté germanophoneTag der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft
King's Feast NationalKoningsdagFête du RoiFesttag des Königs
Saint Verhaegen 20 NovemberBrussels-Capital RegionSint-VerhaegenSaint-VerhaegenSankt Verhaegen
Saint Nicholas Day 6 DecemberNational Sinterklaas Saint-NicolasSankt Nikolaus
Second Day of Christmas 26 DecemberNationalTweede kerstdagLendemain de Noël2. Weihnachtstag

The days of the three communities are holidays for their civil servants and for employees of institutions controlled, supervised or financed by them (e.g. municipalities, universities) and may also be observed by banks in the community concerned. King's Feast is a holiday observed by all (i.e. federal, community or regional, provincial and local) administrations, including some of the schools they organize.

See also

References

  1. "Public holidays in Belgium".
  2. "Nationale feestdagen in België | Belgium.be".
  3. Noulet, Jean-François. "Le 7 avril, la Belgique se souvient de ses vétérans : 252 militaires belges sont morts lors d'opérations de maintien de la paix depuis 1945". RTBF . Retrieved 9 April 2022.