Public holidays in Switzerland
The 26 cantons that make up Switzerland set their public holidays independently – with the exception of 1 August,[1] which is the only federal holiday.[2] Furthermore, holidays can change depending on employers, and some holidays are specific to only a certain town or village. In general, the most reliable list of holidays for a given area will be found in a list of bank shops and offices close during bank holidays.
Public holidays in each canton
| Holiday | Variable? |
Date |  AG |
 AI |
 AR |
 BL |
 BS |
 BE |
 FR |
 GE |
 GL |
 GR |
 JU |
 LU |
 NE |
 NW |
 OW |
 SG |
 SH |
 SZ |
 SO |
 TG |
 TI |
 UR |
 VS |
 VD |
 ZG |
 ZH |
Number of cantons |
2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | N | 1 January |  |
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26 | 1 January 2025 | 1 January 2026 | 1 January 2027 | 1 January 2028 |
| Berchtold's Day | N | 2 January | |
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14 | 2 January 2025 | 2 January 2026 | 2 January 2027 | 2 January 2028 | ||||||||||||
| Epiphany | N | 6 January | |
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5 | 6 January 2025 | 6 January 2026 | 6 January 2027 | 6 January 2028 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Republic Day | N | 1 March | |
1 | 1 March 2025 | 1 March 2026 | 1 March 2027 | 1 March 2028 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saint Joseph's Day | N | 19 March | |
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6 | 19 March 2025 | 19 March 2026 | 19 March 2027 | 19 March 2028 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Näfels Ride | N | First Thursday in April | |
1 | First Thursday in April 2025 | First Thursday in April 2026 | First Thursday in April 2027 | First Thursday in April 2028 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Good Friday | Y | Easter Sunday – 2 d | |
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24 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | |
| Easter Monday | Y | Easter Sunday + 1 d | |
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25 | 21 April 2025 | 6 April 2026 | 29 March 2027 | 17 April 2028 | |
| Labour Day | N | 1 May | |
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9 | 1 May 2025 | 1 May 2026 | 1 May 2027 | 1 May 2028 | |||||||||||||||||
| Ascension Day | Y | Easter Sunday + 39 d | |
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26 | 29 May 2025 | 14 May 2026 | 6 May 2027 | 25 May 2028 |
| Whit Monday | Y | Easter Sunday + 50 d | |
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25 | 9 June 2025 | 25 May 2026 | 17 May 2027 | 5 June 2028 | |
| Corpus Christi | Y | Easter Sunday + 60 d | |
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13 | 19 June 2025 | 4 June 2026 | 27 May 2027 | 15 June 2028 | |||||||||||||
| Saints Peter and Paul | N | 29 June | [4] | [4] | |
1 | 29 June 2025 | 29 June 2026 | 29 June 2027 | 29 June 2028 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| National Day | N | 1 August | |
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26 | 1 August 2025 | 1 August 2026 | 1 August 2027 | 1 August 2028 |
| Assumption Day | N | 15 August | |
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12 | 15 August 2025 | 15 August 2026 | 15 August 2027 | 15 August 2028 | ||||||||||||||
| Jeûne genevois | Y | Thursday after First Sunday in September | |
1 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lundi du Jeûne (Monday after previous) | Y | Day after Third Sunday in September | |
1 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saint Nicholas of Flüe Day | N | 25 September | |
1 | 25 September 2025 | 25 September 2026 | 25 September 2027 | 25 September 2028 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| All Saints' Day | N | 1 November | |
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15 | 1 November 2025 | 1 November 2026 | 1 November 2027 | 1 November 2028 | |||||||||||
| Immaculate Conception | N | 8 December | |
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13 | 8 December 2025 | 8 December 2026 | 8 December 2027 | 8 December 2028 | ||||||||||||||
| Christmas Day | N | 25 December | |
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26 | 25 December 2025 | 25 December 2026 | 25 December 2027 | 25 December 2028 |
| Saint Stephen's Day | N | 26 December | |
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21 | 26 December 2025 | 26 December 2026 | 26 December 2027 | 26 December 2028 | ||||
| Restoration Day | N | 31 December | |
1 | 31 December 2025 | 31 December 2026 | 31 December 2027 | 31 December 2028 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total number of holidays per canton | 12 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 15 | 10 | 15 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 10 | |||||||
Public holidays in specific places, parts of cantons
| Holiday | Date | Holiday | Partial Holiday |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carnival1 | Second Monday before Ash Wednesday | SZ | |
| Thursday before Ash Wednesday | LU, UR, NW | SZ, SG, GR | |
| Monday before Ash Wednesday | GL | ZH, LU, UR, SZ, ZG, SG, AG | |
| Tuesday before Ash Wednesday | SZ, NW, OW | LU, UR, BL, SG, AG, TI | |
| Ash Wednesday | NW | SZ, BL, AR, TI, JU | |
| Friday after Ash Wednesday | TI | ||
| Monday after Ash Wednesday | BS | BL (Lower Part Afternoon), ZH | |
| Tuesday after Ash Wednesday | FR | ||
| Wednesday after Ash Wednesday | BS | BL (Lower Part Afternoon) | |
| Republic Day | 1 March | NE (only) | |
| Näfels Ride | Usually the first Thursday in April | GL (only) | |
| Sechseläuten | Usually the third Monday in April (half-day) | Zürich City, Schlieren (only) | |
| Independence Day | 23 June | JU (only) | |
| Peter and Paul | 29 June | TI | LU, GR |
| Knabenschiessen | Second weekend in September (+ half Monday after) |
Zürich City (and Zürich Metro Area) (only) | |
| Prayer Monday | Monday after Federal Day of Thanksgiving, Repentance and Prayer |
Legally recognized only in VD (Lundi du Jeûne) |
Also celebrated in NE and parts of BE. Bank holiday in VS. |
| Mauritius Day | 22 September | AI (only) except Oberegg District | |
| St. Leodegar (Schutzengelfest) | 2 October | Lucerne City (only) | |
| L'Escalade | 12 December | GE (only) |
| 1 | The days around Carnival are (with the exception of very few individual municipalities) not public holidays. However, due to widely observed celebrations in the cantons mentioned, there are usually restrictions: for example, businesses might already close at noon or not open at all. |
Notes and references
- ^ Swiss National Day
- ^ "Familienurlaub Ratgeber". Interhome.ch. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
- ^ most stores are closed, despite the day not being a public holiday
- ^ a b some areas
- ^ "Gesetzliche Feiertage und Tage, die in der Schweiz wie gesetzliche Feiertage behandelt werden" [Public holidays and days treated as public holidays in Switzerland] (PDF) (in German). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 October 2020.
External links
- Comprehensive overview of Swiss holidays (in German)
- "Feiertage Schweiz". Kalender12.ch. Retrieved 24 January 2024. (in German)
- "Switzerland Public Holidays". SwissCalendar.com. Retrieved 1 March 2024.