During the year, I often forget which days are holidays and which are not. So here is a handy reminder for National holidays in The Netherlands in 2021. It must be said that there are not a lot of Dutch national holidays or bank holidays. This is not like in France. We get the 1st of January and then nothing until Good Friday, depending when that lands. Easter Sunday of course, but that is on a weekend. Lots of people, I am guessing, are checking their calendars for days off work. Well, Easter is a giver, because you get Easter Monday off too. A nice long weekend and everyone loves one of those. Read on to hear more about the coming Dutch holiday dates in 2021.
King’s Day – the big one!
Then in April comes the big one. One of the greatest national holidays in the world! I am talking of course, about King’s Day. That always falls on April 27th. A huge time for celebration and partying. Pre-Covid it meant that the streets and parks are full of people dressed in orange and having fun. This year it falls on a Tuesday. That would normally cause some sore heads when people return to work on the Wednesday! But, King’s Day 2021 is another quiet one due to the Corona Virus. That’s a shame, but we have to drive the numbers down again. Hopefully it will be back to the full event in 2022.
Then, in May, there is the celebration of Liberation Day. A celebration for sure, but also a sombre moment of remembrance. In Dutch it is called the Bevrijdingsdag. It marks the end of the nazi occupation in The Netherlands. It is a national holiday once every five years. For the other years, schools close and public sector workers get a day off. If you want to learn more about the years of nazi occupation during the war, The Resistance Museum in Amsterdam is well worth a visit.
In May, We have a national holiday on Ascension Day. This day moves from year to year. A Christian holiday that celebrates the bodily ascension of Jesus into heaven. Later in the month of may we have Pentecost 2021. This is the 50th day after Easter when the Holy Spirit came down among the apostles. Also known as Whit Sunday and Whit Monday. In 2021, these days fall on the 23rd and 24th May.
Summer 2021
Then there is a long wait until the next national holidays. You have the summer holidays in the meantime. The next holidays are Christmas Day and Bowing Day. Or, as the Dutch call them: Eerste and Tweede Kerstdag. As some of you already know, this year they falls on a Saturday and a Sunday…..wat jammer! Then once you have recovered from the feasting at Christmas, you can celebrate the new year a week later! Sorry people looking for a day off, that falls on a weekend too!
So there you have it. Our overview of the Dutch national holidays and bank holidays in 2021.
Here is the handy recap of the National Holidays in The Netherlands in 2021:
- Good Friday. This year it is on Friday 2nd April 2021
- Easter Sunday and Easter Monday: Sunday 4 and Monday 5 April 2021
- King’s Day: the national celebrations is on Tuesday 27 April 2021
- Liberation Day: Wednesday 5 May 2021 (Not a national holiday this year).
- Ascension Day: Thursday 13 May 2021
- Whit Sunday and Whit Monday: Sunday 23rd May and Monday 24th May 2021
- Christmas Day and Boxing Day: Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th December 2021
Some holidays are at the employer’s discretion and depend upon different work contracts and collective labour agreements. Check with your employer for Dutch national holidays and their agreements.
– —————————-
See our local trusted service partners in Amsterdam for all manner of useful things you need.
See more of our lovely local Amsterdam blogs articles like these ones:
Here is a handy overview of our trusted service partners in Amsterdam:
The reasons we love going to the cinema in Amsterdam:
