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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 negotiations.
| Date | Name | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Dutch | French | German | |
| 1 January (fixed) | New Year's Day | Nieuwjaar | Nouvel An | Neujahr |
| 23 March – 26 April (floating Monday using Computus) | Easter Monday | Paasmaandag | Lundi de Pâques | Ostermontag |
| 1 May (fixed) | Labour Day | Dag van de arbeid | Fête du Travail | Tag der Arbeit |
| 40 days after Easter (floating Thursday) | Ascension Day | Hemelvaart | Ascension | Christi Himmelfahrt |
| 50 days after Easter (floating Monday) | Whit Monday | Pinkstermaandag | Lundi de Pentecôte | Pfingstmontag |
| 21 July (fixed) | Belgian National Day | Nationale feestdag | Fête nationale | Nationalfeiertag |
| 15 August (fixed) | Assumption Day | Onze Lieve Vrouw hemelvaart | Assomption | Mariä Himmelfahrt |
| 1 November (fixed) | All Saints' Day | Allerheiligen | Toussaint | Allerheiligen |
| 11 November (fixed) | Armistice Day | Wapenstilstand | Jour de l'Armistice | Waffenstillstand |
| 25 December (fixed) | Christmas Day | Kerstmis | Noël | Weihnachten |
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).
| Holiday | Date | Location | Dutch | French | German |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epiphany | 6 January | National | Driekoningen | Épiphanie | Erscheinung des Herrn |
| Valentine's Day | 14 February | National | Valentijnsdag | Saint-Valentin | Valentinstag |
| Veterans Day | 7 April [3] | National | Veteranendag | Journée des Vétérans | Veteranentag |
| Iris Festival | 8 May | Brussels-Capital Region | Irisfeest | Fête de l'Iris | Iris-Festival |
| Day of the Flemish Community | 11 July | Flemish Community | Feest van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap | Fête de la Communauté flamande | Feiertag der Flämischen Gemeinschaft |
| Meyboom | 3 August | Brussels-Capital Region | Meyboom | Meyboom | Meyboom |
| French Community Holiday | 27 September | French Community | Dag van de Franse Gemeenschap | Fête de la Communauté française | Feiertag der Französischen Gemeinschaft |
| Day of the Walloon Region | third Sunday of September | Wallonia | Feest van het Waalse Gewest | Fête de la Région wallonne | Festtag der Wallonischen Region |
| Halloween | 31 October | National | Halloween | Halloween | Halloween |
| All Souls' Day | 2 November | National | Allerzielen | Jour des morts | Allerseelen |
| Saint Martin's Day | 11 November | Ostbelgien, parts of Flanders | Sint-Maarten | Saint-Martin | Sankt Martin |
| Day of the German-speaking Community | 15 November | Ostbelgien | Dag van de Duitstalige Gemeenschap | Fête de la Communauté germanophone | Tag der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft |
| King's Feast | National | Koningsdag | Fête du Roi | Festtag des Königs | |
| Saint Verhaegen | 20 November | Brussels-Capital Region | Sint-Verhaegen | Saint-Verhaegen | Sankt Verhaegen |
| Saint Nicholas Day | 6 December | National | Sinterklaas | Saint-Nicolas | Sankt Nikolaus |
| Second Day of Christmas | 26 December | National | Tweede kerstdag | Lendemain de Noël | 2. 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.
Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide. Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to poor people, today Boxing Day forms part of Christmas celebrations, with many people choosing to take advantage of Boxing Day sales. It originated in Great Britain and is celebrated in several Commonwealth nations. The attached bank holiday or public holiday may take place on 28 December if necessary to ensure it falls on a weekday. Boxing Day is also concurrent with the Christian festival Saint Stephen's Day.
Father's Day is a holiday honoring one's father, or relevant father figure, as well as fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. The single most common date among world countries is the third Sunday of June, which was founded in the state of Washington, United States, by Sonora Smart Dodd in 1910.
By law, "the Sundays and the public holidays remain protected as days of rest from work and of spiritual elevation". Thus all Sundays are, in a manner, public holidays – but usually not understood by the term "holiday".
Public holidays in Australia refer to the holidays recognised in law in Australia. Although they are declared on a state and territory basis, they comprise a mixture of nationally celebrated days and holidays exclusive to the individual jurisdictions.
These are the public holidays observed in Ireland. Public holidays in Ireland may commemorate a special day or other event, such as Saint Patrick's Day or Christmas Day. On public holidays, most businesses and schools close. Other services, for example, public transport, still operate but often with reduced schedules.
National holidays in the United States are 11 calendar dates designated by the U.S. federal government as official holidays. On these days non-essential national offices are closed although the employees receive pay.
In the Catholic Church, holy days of obligation are days on which the faithful are expected to attend Mass, and engage in rest from work and recreation, according to the third commandment.
Easter Monday is the second day of Easter and a public holiday in some countries. In Western Christianity it marks the second day of the Octave of Easter; in Eastern Christianity it marks the second day of Bright Week.
In the United States, public holidays are set by federal, state, and local governments and are often observed by closing government offices or giving government employees paid time off. The federal government does not require any private business to close or offer paid time off, as is the case for most state local governments, so employers determine which holidays to observe.
Public holidays in the Philippines are of two types: regular holidays and special non-working days.
Public holidays in Canada, known as statutory holidays, stat holidays, or simply stats, consist of a variety of cultural, nationalistic, and religious holidays that are legislated in Canada at the federal or provincial and territorial levels. While many of these holidays are honoured and acknowledged nationwide, provincial and territorial legislation varies in regard to which are officially recognized.
There are 11 official public holidays in France. The Alsace region and the Moselle department observe 2 additional days. These holidays do not shift when they fall during a week-end, which means that the average number of observed public holidays falling on weekdays is 8.7 and ranges from 7 to 10. Most Asian countries and all North American countries observe between 2 and 10 more public holidays per year on weekdays.
Public holidays in Malaysia are regulated at both federal and state levels, mainly based on a list of federal holidays observed nationwide plus a few additional holidays observed by each individual state and federal territory. The public holidays are a mix of secular holidays celebrating the nation and its history, and selected traditional holidays of the various ethnic and religious groups that make up the country.
Candlemas, also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Feast of the Holy Encounter, is a Christian holiday commemorating the presentation of Jesus at the Temple. It is based upon the account of the presentation of Jesus in Luke 2:22–40. Under Leviticus 12, a woman was to be purified by presenting a lamb as a burnt offering, and either a young pigeon or dove as sin offering, 33 days after a boy's circumcision. It falls on 2 February, which is traditionally the 40th day of and the conclusion of the Christmas–Epiphany season. While it is customary for Christians in some countries to remove their Christmas decorations on Twelfth Night, those in other Christian countries historically remove them after Candlemas. On Candlemas, many Christians also take their candles to their local church, where they are blessed and then used for the rest of the year; for Christians, these blessed candles serve as a symbol of Jesus Christ, who is the Light of the World.
Public holidays in Botswana are largely controlled by government sector employers who are given paid time off. The government holiday schedule mainly benefits employees of government and government regulated businesses. At the discretion of the employer, other non-federal holidays such as Christmas Eve are common additions to the list of paid holidays.
Annual leave is a period of paid time off work granted by employers to employees to be used for whatever the employee wishes. Depending on the employer's policies, differing number of days may be offered, and the employee may be required to give a certain amount of advance notice, may have to coordinate with the employer to be sure that staffing is available during the employee's absence, and other requirements may have to be met. The vast majority of countries today mandate a minimum amount of paid annual leave by law.
All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the Church, whether they are known or unknown.
The Day of the Flemish Community of Belgium is an annual commemoration in the Flemish Community in Belgium on 11 July which marks the anniversary of the Battle of the Golden Spurs (Guldensporenslag) in 1302.
Lists of holidays by various categorizations.
In Sweden, public holidays are established by acts of Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into Christian and non-Christian holidays. The Christian holidays are jul (Christmas), trettondedag jul (Epiphany), påsk (Easter), Kristi himmelsfärds dag, pingstdagen (Pentecost), and alla helgons dag. The non-Christian holidays are: nyårsdagen, första maj, Sveriges nationaldag, and midsommar (Midsummer). Midsummer is, however, officially also a Christian holiday to celebrate John the Baptist's birthday.