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 holidays, as nearly all 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
2022202320242025
New Year's Day N 1 January * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 26 1 January 2022 1 January 2023 1 January 2024 1 January 2025
Berchtold's Day N 2 January * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 14 2 January 2022 2 January 2023 2 January 2024 2 January 2025
Epiphany N 6 January * * * * * 5 6 January 2022 6 January 2023 6 January 2024 6 January 2025
International Women's Day N 8 March * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 26 8 March 2022 8 March 2023 8 March 2024 8 March 2025
St Joseph's Day N 19 March * * * * * * * * 8 19 March 2022 19 March 2023 19 March 2024 19 March 2025
Näfels Ride N 3 April * 1 3 April 2022 3 April 2023 3 April 2024 3 April 2025
Good Friday Y Easter Sunday – 2 d * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * [3] * [3] * * * 24 2022 2023 2024 2025
Easter Monday Y Easter Sunday + 1 d * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 25 18 April (2022-04-18) 2022 10 April (2023-04-10) 2023 1 April (2024-04-01) 2024 21 April (2025-04-21) 2025
Labour Day N 1 May * * * * * * * * * * * 11 1 May 2022 1 May 2023 1 May 2024 1 May 2025
Ascension Day Y Easter Sunday + 39 d * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 26 26 May (2022-05-26) 2022 18 May (2023-05-18) 2023 9 May (2024-05-09) 2024 29 May (2025-05-29) 2025
Whit Monday Y Easter Sunday + 50 d * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 25 6 June (2022-06-06) 2022 29 May (2023-05-29) 2023 20 May (2024-05-20) 2024 9 June (2025-06-09) 2025
Corpus Christi Y Easter Sunday + 60 d * * * * * * * * * * * * * 14 16 June (2022-06-16) 2022 8 June (2023-06-08) 2023 30 May (2024-05-30) 2024 19 June (2025-06-19) 2025
Saints Peter and Paul N 29 June [4] [4] * 1 29 June 2022 29 June 2023 29 June 2024 29 June 2025
Independence Day N 1 August * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 26 1 August 2022 1 August 2023 1 August 2024 1 August 2025
Assumption N 15 August * * * * * * * * * * * * 12 15 August 2022 15 August 2023 15 August 2024 15 August 2025
Jeûne genevois Y Thursday after 1st Sunday in Sept * 1 2022 2023 2024 2025
Lundi du Jeûne (Monday after previous) Y Day after 3rd Sunday in Sept [4] [3] [3] * 1 2022 2023 2024 2025
Saint Nicholas of Flüe Day N 25 September * 1 25 September 2022 25 September 2023 25 September 2024 25 September 2025
All Saints Day N 1 November * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 15 1 November 2022 1 November 2023 1 November 2024 1 November 2025
Immaculate Conception N 8 December * * * * * * * * * * * * * 13 8 December 2022 8 December 2023 8 December 2024 8 December 2025
Christmas Day N 25 December * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 26 25 December 2022 25 December 2023 25 December 2024 25 December 2025
St Stephen's Day N 26 December * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 21 26 December 2022 26 December 2023 26 December 2024 26 December 2025
Restoration Day N 31 December * 1 31 December 2022 31 December 2023 31 December 2024 31 December 2025

Public holidays in specific places, parts of cantons

HolidayDateHolidayPartial Holiday
Carnival1 Second Monday before Ash Wednesday SZ
Thursday before Ash Wednesday LU, UR, NWSZ, SG, GR
Monday before Ash Wednesday GLZH, LU, UR, SZ, ZG, SG, AG
Tuesday before Ash Wednesday SZ, NW, OWLU, UR, BL, SG, AG, TI
Ash Wednesday NWSZ, BL, AR, TI, JU
Friday after Ash Wednesday TI
Monday after Ash Wednesday BSBL (Lower Part Afternoon), ZH
Tuesday after Ash Wednesday FR
Wednesday after Ash Wednesday BSBL (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 TILU, 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

  1. Swiss National Day
  2. "Familienurlaub Ratgeber". Interhome.ch. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  3. most stores are closed, despite the day not being a public holiday
  4. some areas
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