The 26 cantons that make up Switzerland set their public holidays independently – with the exception of 1 August, which is the only federal holiday. 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 | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 26 | 1 January 2025 | 1 January 2026 | 1 January 2027 | 1 January 2028 |
Berchtold's Day | N | 2 January | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 14 | 2 January 2025 | 2 January 2026 | 2 January 2027 | 2 January 2028 | ||||||||||||
Epiphany | N | 6 January | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 5 | 6 January 2025 | 6 January 2026 | 6 January 2027 | 6 January 2028 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Republic Day | N | 1 March | Y | 1 | 1 March 2025 | 1 March 2026 | 1 March 2027 | 1 March 2028 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Saint Joseph's Day | N | 19 March | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 6 | 19 March 2025 | 19 March 2026 | 19 March 2027 | 19 March 2028 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Näfels Ride | N | First Thursday in April | Y | 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 | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 24 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | ||
Easter Monday | Y | Easter Sunday + 1 d | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 25 | 21 April (2025-04-21) 2025 | 6 April (2026-04-06) 2026 | 29 March (2027-03-29) 2027 | 17 April (2028-04-17) 2028 | |
Labour Day | N | 1 May | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 9 | 1 May 2025 | 1 May 2026 | 1 May 2027 | 1 May 2028 | |||||||||||||||||
Ascension Day | Y | Easter Sunday + 39 d | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 26 | 29 May (2025-05-29) 2025 | 14 May (2026-05-14) 2026 | 6 May (2027-05-06) 2027 | 25 May (2028-05-25) 2028 |
Whit Monday | Y | Easter Sunday + 50 d | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 25 | 9 June (2025-06-09) 2025 | 25 May (2026-05-25) 2026 | 17 May (2027-05-17) 2027 | 5 June (2028-06-05) 2028 | |
Corpus Christi | Y | Easter Sunday + 60 d | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 14 | 19 June (2025-06-19) 2025 | 4 June (2026-06-04) 2026 | 27 May (2027-05-27) 2027 | 15 June (2028-06-15) 2028 | |||||||||||||
Saints Peter and Paul | N | 29 June | Y | 1 | 29 June 2025 | 29 June 2026 | 29 June 2027 | 29 June 2028 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
National Day | N | 1 August | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 26 | 1 August 2025 | 1 August 2026 | 1 August 2027 | 1 August 2028 |
Assumption Day | N | 15 August | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 12 | 15 August 2025 | 15 August 2026 | 15 August 2027 | 15 August 2028 | ||||||||||||||
Jeûne genevois | Y | Thursday after First Sunday in September | Y | 1 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lundi du Jeûne (Monday after previous) | Y | Day after Third Sunday in September | Y | 1 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Saint Nicholas of Flüe Day | N | 25 September | Y | 1 | 25 September 2025 | 25 September 2026 | 25 September 2027 | 25 September 2028 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
All Saints' Day | N | 1 November | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 15 | 1 November 2025 | 1 November 2026 | 1 November 2027 | 1 November 2028 | |||||||||||
Immaculate Conception | N | 8 December | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 13 | 8 December 2025 | 8 December 2026 | 8 December 2027 | 8 December 2028 | ||||||||||||||
Christmas Day | N | 25 December | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 26 | 25 December 2025 | 25 December 2026 | 25 December 2027 | 25 December 2028 |
Saint Stephen's Day | N | 26 December | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 21 | 26 December 2025 | 26 December 2026 | 26 December 2027 | 26 December 2028 | ||||
Restoration Day | N | 31 December | Y | 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 |
---|---|---|---|
Carnival | 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) |
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
- ^ some areas
- https://www.bj.admin.ch/dam/bj/de/data/publiservice/service/zivilprozessrecht/kant-feiertage.pdf.download.pdf/kant-feiertage.pdf
External links
- Comprehensive overview of Swiss holidays (German PDF file)
- "Feiertage Schweiz". Kalender12.ch. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- "Switzerland Public Holidays". SwissCalendar.com. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
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