Dutch public and school holidays in 2026–2027

Content checked: 16 September 2026

Public holidays and school breaks are different calendars. The holiday calendar lets you choose a year and school region and compare dates with Chinese New Year.

Public holidays and time off work

The calendar includes New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Monday, King’s Day, Liberation Day, Ascension Day, Whit Sunday and Monday, and Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Easter-related dates move each year. King’s Day is normally 27 April, moving to 26 April when 27 April falls on a Sunday.

Liberation Day is an official public holiday every year. Whether you have paid leave depends on your employment contract or collective labour agreement (CAO); even a five-year anniversary does not automatically give every employee leave. Check the government’s public holiday explanation.

Choose the school’s region

The Netherlands uses Noord (North), Midden (Central) and Zuid (South) for school holiday planning. Amsterdam, Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe are in the northern grouping; Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht are central examples; Limburg, Zeeland and North Brabant are southern examples. Confirm the specific school’s region and calendar.

Summer holidays are staggered. Spring and autumn dates can differ, and these are advisory dates, so a school may choose differently. Check any extended May break too. Christmas breaks cross calendar years: early January can still belong to the previous December’s holiday.

Use the official school-year schedules before making travel commitments.

Comparing with Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year falls on 17 February in 2026 and 6 February in 2027. In the listed 2026 schedules, it overlaps the central and southern spring breaks, but not the northern break. In 2027 it falls outside the spring breaks shown for all three regions.

The tool highlights overlaps for the selected region. Chinese New Year is included as a planning reference, not as a Dutch public holiday. School closure does not imply your employer is closed: compare both calendars when planning a family visit.