{"id":1967,"date":"2012-03-30T21:59:34","date_gmt":"2012-03-30T21:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=1967"},"modified":"2014-07-18T15:40:10","modified_gmt":"2014-07-18T15:40:10","slug":"april-and-may-public-holiday-heaven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/april-and-may-public-holiday-heaven\/","title":{"rendered":"April and May: Public Holiday Heaven"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you have lived in the Netherlands for any length of time, you probably have noticed that it isn\u2019t a country blessed with many public holidays. Even worse, perhaps, is the fact that if one of those precious holidays falls on a weekend, the day off is basically lost.<\/p>\n

It is understandable then why when there is a public holiday (and even better if it is combined with some sunny weather) everyone seems to flock outside with a huge grin on their face, relishing the moment.<\/p>\n

The majority of public holidays in the Netherlands fall within the months of April and May, so just around the corner really. Most of these holidays are related to Easter and Pentecost.<\/p>\n

So what holidays are there, when are they in 2012 and what are their Dutch names? Here\u2019s a list:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

2012 Date<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

English Name<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Dutch Name<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

April 6th<\/sup><\/td>\nGood Friday<\/td>\nGoede Vrijdag<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
April 8th<\/sup><\/td>\nEaster Sunday<\/td>\nEerste Paasdag<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
April 9th<\/sup><\/td>\nEaster Monday<\/td>\nTweede Paasdag<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
April 30th<\/sup><\/td>\nQueen\u2019s Day<\/td>\nKoninginnedag<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 17th<\/sup><\/td>\nAscension Day<\/td>\nHemelvaartsdag<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 27th<\/sup><\/td>\nPentecost Sunday<\/td>\nEerste Pinksterdag<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 28th<\/sup><\/td>\nPentecost Monday<\/td>\nTweede Pinksterdag<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

One thing to mention is that Good Friday, whilst a national holiday, is not a mandatory day off for commercial companies. However, most government organisations, banks and insurance companies are closed on the day.<\/p>\n

You have also probably noticed that similar to first and second Christmas day (Eerste Kerstdag and Tweede Kerstdag), Easter (Paasdag) is named in a similar fashion \u2013 first Easter day and second Easter day. You see that again on the relevant days of Pentecost (Pinksteren).<\/p>\n

Queen\u2019s Day, whilst it falls amongst all those Easter and Pentecost related holidays is not related to them. It is its own special event filled with alcohol and the colour orange. We will talk about that in a later post!<\/p>\n

What’s your favourite Dutch public holiday?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

If you have lived in the Netherlands for any length of time, you probably have noticed that it isn\u2019t a country blessed with many public holidays. Even worse, perhaps, is the fact that if one of those precious holidays falls on a weekend, the day off is basically lost. It is understandable then why when…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":69,"featured_media":1968,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[60713],"tags":[4191,3167,7,6027,10149,7550],"class_list":["post-1967","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-2","tag-april","tag-easter","tag-holidays","tag-may","tag-netherlands","tag-public-holidays"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t