Public holidays in Belgium in 2025

In Belgium, businesses are typically closed on public holidays, so it’s important to know when they are. Annually there are 10 national holidays for workers, seven of which have fixed dates each year.

To ensure you don’t miss out on anything important, read this list of Belgium’s holidays and observances:

An overview of public holidays in Belgium
When are Belgium’s public holidays in 2025?
- Local holidays in 2025
- Other important dates in 2025
When are Belgium’s public holidays in 2026?
- Local holidays in 2026
- Other important dates in 2026
When were Belgium’s public holidays in 2024?
- Local holidays in 2024
- Other important dates in 2024
When are the Belgian school holidays?

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An overview of public holidays in Belgium

Most of the holidays in Belgium are observed nationwide. However, some holidays only apply regionally for the country’s three language communities:

Dutch-speaking Flanders
French-speaking Wallonia
German-speaking provinces in eastern Wallonia

Businesses are typically closed on public holidays (Dutch: feestdag, French: jour férié), with the exceptions of police stations and hospitals. This is increasingly changing, however.

Christmas celebrated outdoors with crowds of people in Grand Palace, Brussels. The buildings in the square are illuminated with colourful lights — Christmas at Grand Place in Brussels, Belgium (Photo: Carlos Alkmin/Getty Images)

One of the most important holidays is Belgium’s national day (Belgian Independence Day). This day is celebrated with big festivities and military shows. There are also plenty of popular local festivities, such as Carnival and a number of top Belgian festivals, which are not official public holidays.

When the country’s holidays fall on a Thursday or Tuesday, some companies close on the Friday or Monday to make the bridge. This ensures that employees get a long weekend away from work.

The law prohibits working during national holidays in Belgium, although exceptions exist. In such situations, an employee should receive a compensation day within six weeks following any holiday they worked.

It’s important to note that if a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the holiday does not typically transfer to another day in the week.

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Date	Weekday	Holiday
1 January	Wed	New Year’s Day
18 April	Fri	Good Friday
21 April	Tue	Easter Monday
1 May	Thu	Labor Day / May Day
29 May	Thu	Ascension Day
30 May	Fri	Day after Ascension Day
9 June	Mon	Whit Monday
21 July	Mon	Belgium National Day
15 August	Fri	Assumption of Mary
1 November	Sat	All Saints’ Day
11 November	Tue	Armistice Day
25 December	Thu	Christmas Day
26 December	Fri	Boxing Day

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10 Christmas traditions in Belgium

Date	Weekday	Holiday
8 May	Thu	Feast of the Iris – Feast Day of the Brussels-Capital Region
11 July	Fri	Celebration of the Golden Spurs (Day of the Flemish Community) – celebrates the victory of the Count of Flanders and the borough militia against the king of France outside Courtrai
15 September	Mon	Feast Day of the Walloon Region
27 September	Sat	Day of the French-speaking Community – commemorates the victory of the patriots against the Dutch army in Brussels in 1830
15 November	Sat	Day of the German-speaking Community – the date a decree was published to prescribe the arms, flag, colors, and community day of the German-speaking area

Other important dates in 2025

Date	Weekday	Occasion
6 January	Mon	Epiphany
11 May	Sun	Mother’s Day
8 June	Sun	Father’s Day
15 November	Sat	King’s Day – although not a public holiday, most government offices close
6 December	Sat	Saint Nicholas Day – when Sinterklaas/Saint Nicolas fills children’s shoes with presents
31 December	Wed	New Year’s Eve

When are Belgium’s public holidays in 2026?

Date	Weekday	Holiday
1 January	Tue	New Year’s Day
3 April	Fri	Good Friday
6 April	Mon	Easter Monday
1 May	Fri	Labor Day / May Day
14 May	Thu	Ascension Day
15 May	Fri	Day after Ascension Day
25 May	Mon	Whit Monday
21 July	Tue	Belgium National Day
15 August	Sat	Assumption of Mary
1 November	Sun	All Saints’ Day
11 November	Wed	Armistice Day
25 December	Wed	Christmas Day
26 December	Thu	Boxing Day

Local holidays in 2026

Date	Weekday	Holiday
8 May	Thu	Feast of the Iris – Feast Day of the Brussels-Capital Region
11 July	Fri	Celebration of the Golden Spurs (Day of the Flemish Community) – celebrates the victory of the count of Flanders and the borough militia against the king of France outside Courtrai
15 September	Mon	Feast Day of the Walloon Region
27 September	Sat	Day of the French-speaking Community – commemorates the victory of the patriots against the Dutch army in Brussels in 1830
15 November	Sat	Day of the German-speaking Community – the date a decree was published to prescribe the arms, flag, colors, and community day of the German-speaking area

Other important dates in 2026

Date	Weekday	Occasion
6 January	Sun	Epiphany
10 May	Sun	Mother’s Day
14 June	Sun	Father’s Day
15 November	Sun	King’s Day – although not a public holiday, most government offices close
6 December	Sun	Saint Nicholas Day – when Sinterklaas/Saint Nicolas fills children’s shoes with presents
31 December	Thu	New Year’s Eve

When were Belgium’s public holidays in 2024?

Date	Weekday	Holiday
1 January	Mon	New Year’s Day
29 March	Fri	Good Friday
1 April	Mon	Easter Monday
1 May	Wed	Labor Day / May Day
9 May	Thu	Ascension Day
10 May	Fri	Day after Ascension Day
20 May	Mon	Whit Monday
21 July	Sun	Belgium National Day
15 August	Thu	Assumption of Mary
1 November	Fri	All Saints’ Day
11 November	Mon	Armistice Day
25 December	Wed	Christmas Day
26 December	Thu	Boxing Day

Local holidays in 2024

Date	Weekday	Holiday
8 May	Wed	Feast of the Iris – Feast Day of the Brussels-Capital Region
11 July	Thu	Celebration of the Golden Spurs (Day of the Flemish Community) – celebrates the victory of the count of Flanders and the borough militia against the king of France outside Courtrai
15 September	Sun	Feast Day of the Walloon Region
27 September	Fri	Day of the French-speaking Community – commemorates the victory of the patriots against the Dutch army in Brussels in 1830
15 November	Fri	Day of the German-speaking Community – the date a decree was published to prescribe the arms, flag, colors, and community day of the German-speaking area

Other important dates in 2024

Date	Weekday	Occasion
6 January	Sat	Epiphany (Three Kings’ Day)
12 May	Sun	Mother’s Day
9 June	Sun	Father’s Day
15 November	Fri	King’s Day – although not a public holiday, most government offices close
6 December	Fri	Saint Nicholas Day – when Sinterklaas/Saint Nicolas fills children’s shoes with presents
31 December	Tue	New Year’s Eve

When are the Belgian school holidays?

If you want to know when your children have a vacation, read more about school holidays in Belgium.

Lifestyle

School holidays in Belgium

Looking for things to do with your little ones on their day off? Why not check out:

Bellewaerde Park: Belgium’s oldest theme park near Ypres, with rides, attractions, and an animal park
Domaine des Grottes De Han (Domain of the caves of Han): Located in Walloni, this safari park is great for spotting wild animals. For adventure-seekers, you can also take your child into the stunning naturally-formed Caves of Han.
Walibi: Near Wavre, this theme park is full of exciting rides. Don’t forget to check out Aqualibi, too, the water park next door.