When are the Belgian holidays?
Belgium has several public holidays - in addition to what averages out to about a month of paid leave per individual per year. (It's Belgian law!) In Belgium, if a public holiday falls on a weekend, people get the subsequent weekday off. Very nice if you enjoy your leisure time...So the official Belgian holidays, in Flemish, are:
- Nieuwjaar = New Year = 1 Januari
- Pasen en paasmaandag = Easter and Easter Monday
- Dag van de Arbeid = Labour Day = 1 May
- Onze-lieve heer hemelvaart = Our Lord's Ascension (6th Thursday after Easter)
- Pinksteren en pinkstemaandag = Pentecost and Pentecost Monday (7th Sunday and Monday after Easter)
- Nationale feestdag = National Belgian day = 21 July
- Onze-lieve-vrouw hemelvaart = Our beloved lady's ascension = 15 augustus
- Allerheiligen = All Saint's Day = 1 November
- Wapenstilstand (1918 truce) = end of World War 1 = 11 November
- Sinterklaas - A visit from Saint Nicholas, who leave treats in the shoes of good Belgian children - 6 December
- Kerstmis = Christmas = 25 December
Note that several of these holidays are religious. Belgium hosts an international population with a variety of religions and varying degrees of dedication to these faiths. However, everyone in Belgium loves a holiday, so no amount of laïcité or any subscription to an alternative faith is going to convince a good Belgian to give up a historical, if Catholic, public holiday.
When are the Flemish holidays?
Each community (gemeenschap) has a holiday as well. Only those in the Community get the day off, which can be confusing if you work in one community and live in another.Communities in Belgium include
- 26 april = Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest / Brussels Capital Region
- 11 juli = Vlaamse Gemeenschap / Flemish Community
- 27 september = Franse Gemeenschap / French community
- 15 november = Duitstalige Gemeenschap / German community
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