Public holidays in Belgium
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. However, some employers do award a day's holiday in accordance with union negotiations.
Public holidays
| Holiday | Date | Dutch | French | German |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | January 1 | Nieuwjaar | Nouvel An | Neujahr |
| Easter Monday | Monday after Easter | Paasmaandag | Lundi de Pâques | Ostermontag |
| Labour Day | May 1 | Dag van de arbeid | Fête du Travail | Tag der Arbeit |
| Ascension | 39 days after Easter | Onze Lieve Heer hemelvaart | Ascension | Christi Himmelfahrt |
| Pentecost Monday | Monday after Pentecost | Pinkstermaandag | Lundi de Pentecôte | Pfingstmontag |
| Belgian National Day | July 21 | Nationale feestdag | Fête nationale | Nationalfeiertag |
| Assumption of Mary | August 15 | Onze Lieve Vrouw hemelvaart | Assomption | Mariä Himmelfahrt |
| All Saints' Day | November 1 | Allerheiligen | Toussaint | Allerheiligen |
| Armistice Day | November 11 | Wapenstilstand | Jour de l'Armistice | Waffenstillstand |
| Christmas | December 25 | 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 Moday) but shops are free to select a different weekday as their "weekly closing day" if they wish; they must then declare near the entry to the shop which day it is: French "Jour de fermeture hebdomadaire: <dayname in French>" and/or Dutch "Wekelijke rustdag: <dayname in Dutch>".
As in 2008, when Labour Day and Ascension were both on May 1, employers were required to declare an additional holiday on another day in the month. May 2 had been proclaimed as the official day for this, but, in response to complaints by several industries, the government decided that the holiday could be placed on any date. In any event, most employers seem to have decided to keep May 2 as the date.
November 11 is not observed by the European Institutions, they are operational that day. Instead EU institutions observe Europe Day (Schuman Day) on May 9.
Particular days celebrated in Belgium that are not official public holidays
| Holiday | Date | Dutch | French | German |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epiphany | January 6 | Driekoningen | Épiphanie | Erscheinung des Herrn |
| Valentine's Day | February 14 | Valentijnsdag | Saint-Valentin | Valentinstag |
| Iris Day (in Brussels only) | May 8 | Irisfeest | Fête de l'Iris | — |
| Day of the Flemish Community | July 11 | Feest van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap | Fête de la Communauté flamande | — |
| French Community Holiday | September 27 | Dag van de Franse Gemeenschap | Fête de la Communauté française | — |
| Day of the Walloon Region | third Sunday of September | Feest van het Waalse Gewest | Fête de la Région wallonne | Festtag der Wallonischen Region |
| Halloween | October 31 | Halloween | Halloween | Halloween |
| All Souls' Day | November 2 | Allerzielen | Fête des morts | Allerseelen |
| Day of the German-speaking Community | November 15 | Dag van de Duitstalige Gemeenschap | Fête de la Communauté germanophone | Tag der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft |
| King's Feast | Koningsdag | Fête du Roi | Festtag des Königs | |
| Saint Nicholas | December 6 | Sinterklaas | Saint-Nicolas | Sankt Nikolaus |
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 concerned community. King's feast is a holiday observed by all (i.e. federal, community or regional, provincial and local) administrations, including the schools they organize.
See also
References
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