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In Belgium, there are ten official public holidays. Other particular days are also celebrated, but these are not official public holidays and employers are not obliged to give their employees a day off.[1] However, some employers do award a day's holiday in accordance with union negotiations.
Public holidays[2] edit
| Date | Name | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Dutch | French | German | |
| 1 January (fixed) | New Year's Day | Nieuwjaar | Nouvel An | Neujahr |
| 23 March – 26 April (floating Monday using Computus) | Easter Monday | Paasmaandag | Lundi de Pâques | Ostermontag |
| 1 May (fixed) | Labour Day | Dag van de arbeid | Fête du Travail | Tag der Arbeit |
| 40 days after Easter (floating Thursday) | Ascension Day | Hemelvaart | Ascension | Christi Himmelfahrt |
| 50 days after Easter (floating Monday) | Whit Monday | Pinkstermaandag | Lundi de Pentecôte | Pfingstmontag |
| 21 July (fixed) | Belgian National Day | Nationale feestdag | Fête nationale | Nationalfeiertag |
| 15 August (fixed) | Assumption Day | Onze Lieve Vrouw hemelvaart | Assomption | Mariä Himmelfahrt |
| 1 November (fixed) | All Saints' Day | Allerheiligen | Toussaint | Allerheiligen |
| 11 November (fixed) | Armistice Day | Wapenstilstand | Jour de l'Armistice | Waffenstillstand |
| 25 December (fixed) | Christmas Day | Kerstmis | Noël | Weihnachten |
In addition to the above, the same legal text names all Sundays as public holidays (which is why Easter and Pentecost, which always fall on Sundays, are "feasted" by extending the Sunday holiday to the following Monday).
Particular days celebrated in Belgium that are not official public holidays edit
| Holiday | Date | Location | Dutch | French | German |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epiphany | 6 January | National | Driekoningen | Épiphanie | Erscheinung des Herrn |
| Valentine's Day | 14 February | National | Valentijnsdag | Saint-Valentin | Valentinstag |
| Veterans Day | 7 April[3] | National | Veteranendag | Journée des Vétérans | Veteranentag |
| Iris Festival | 8 May | Brussels-Capital Region | Irisfeest | Fête de l'Iris | Iris-Festival |
| Day of the Flemish Community | 11 July | Flemish Community | Feest van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap | Fête de la Communauté flamande | Feiertag der Flämischen Gemeinschaft |
| Meyboom | 3 August | Brussels-Capital Region | Meyboom | Meyboom | Meyboom |
| French Community Holiday | 27 September | French Community | Dag van de Franse Gemeenschap | Fête de la Communauté française | Feiertag der Französischen Gemeinschaft |
| Day of the Walloon Region | third Sunday of September | Wallonia | Feest van het Waalse Gewest | Fête de la Région wallonne | Festtag der Wallonischen Region |
| Halloween | 31 October | National | Halloween | Halloween | Halloween |
| All Souls' Day | 2 November | National | Allerzielen | Jour des morts | Allerseelen |
| Saint Martin's Day | 11 November | Ostbelgien, parts of Flanders | Sint-Maarten | Saint-Martin | Sankt Martin |
| Day of the German-speaking Community | 15 November | Ostbelgien | Dag van de Duitstalige Gemeenschap | Fête de la Communauté germanophone | Tag der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft |
| King's Feast | National | Koningsdag | Fête du Roi | Festtag des Königs | |
| Saint Verhaegen | 20 November | Brussels-Capital Region | Sint-Verhaegen | Saint-Verhaegen | Sankt Verhaegen |
| Saint Nicholas Day | 6 December | National | Sinterklaas | Saint-Nicolas | Sankt Nikolaus |
| Second Day of Christmas | 26 December | National | Tweede kerstdag | Lendemain de Noël | 2. Weihnachtstag |
The days of the three communities are holidays for their civil servants and for employees of institutions controlled, supervised or financed by them (e.g. municipalities, universities) and may also be observed by banks in the community concerned. King's Feast is a holiday observed by all (i.e. federal, community or regional, provincial and local) administrations, including some of the schools they organize.