Public holidays in Slovenia

There are two kinds of public holidays in Slovenia – state holidays and work-free days. State holidays are those celebrated by the state. These include official functions and flying the national flag. The latter are actually Catholic religious holidays, which are equivalent to any Sunday: companies and schools are closed, but there is no official celebration.

9 of 14 state holiday days are work-free, and there are additional 6 work-free days in Slovenia.[1] Two of them always fall on Sunday, thus, there are effectively at most 13 work-free days in Slovenia.

State holidays that are work-free are shown in pale green, while work-free days that are not state holidays (coinciding with Catholic religious holidays) are shown in blue.

Date English name Slovene name Remarks
1 January – 2 January New Year's Day novo leto State holiday, work-free. From 1955 until May 2012, when the National Assembly of Slovenia passed the Public Finance Balance Act, 2 January was a work-free day.[2][3] It was reintroduced in 2017.[4]
8 February Prešeren Day Prešernov dan State holiday, work-free. Anniversary of the death of Slovenian poet France Prešeren, established as the national cultural day in 1944, work-free since 1991.[5]
– Easter Sunday and Easter Monday velikonočna nedelja in ponedeljek, velika noč Work-free days, in March or April (date varies).
27 April Day of Uprising Against Occupation dan upora proti okupatorju State holiday, work-free. Formerly Liberation Front Day (dan Osvobodilne fronte), marks the establishment in 1941 of the Anti-Imperialist Front to fight "imperialists", later renamed the Liberation Front to fight the German, Italian, Hungarian, and Croatian partition and annexation of Slovenia.
1 May – 2 May May Day praznik dela State holiday, work-free from 1949.[3]
– Whit Sunday binkoštna nedelja, binkošti Work-free day (it is always on Sunday), in May or June, fifty days after the Easter (date varies).
25 June Statehood Day dan državnosti State holiday, work-free. Commemorates the act of independence in 1991.
15 August Assumption Day Marijino vnebovzetje (veliki šmaren) Work-free day since 1992.[6]
31 October Reformation Day dan reformacije State holiday since 1992, work-free day.[7]
1 November Day (of Remembrance) of the Dead dan spomina na mrtve or dan mrtvih State holiday, work-free. Before 1991, in the time of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia, it was named dan mrtvih ('day of the dead').[8]
25 December Christmas Day božič Work-free day. Abolished in 1953 and re-instituted in 1991.[3]
26 December Independence and Unity Day dan samostojnosti in enotnosti State holiday, work free. Commemorates the proclamation of the independence plebiscite results in 1990.

In addition to these, several other holidays are traditionally and popularly celebrated by the people of Slovenia, although not being work-free. The best known are:

  • Carnival (pust, date varies),
  • International Women's Day, 8 March
  • St. George's Day (jurjevanje, the welcoming of spring; 23 April),
  • St. Martin's Day (martinovanje, changing of must into wine; 11 November)
  • Saint Nicholas Day (miklavž, when children receive presents; 6 December)
  • Insurrection Day (dan vstaje, 22 July, work-free until 1991)

References
  1. "Državni prazniki in dela prosti dnevi" [National holidays]. Urad Vlade Republike Slovenije za komuniciranje (in Slovenian). Urad Vlade Republike Slovenije za komuniciranje. 25 November 2019.
  2. "DZ sprejel varčevalne ukrepe" [The National Assembly Passes Austerity Measures]. Krizno ogledalo (in Slovenian). Slovenian Press Agency. 12 May 2012. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013.
  3. "Odprava praznikov je poseg v socialne pravice" [The Abolishment of Holidays is an Intervention into Social Rights]. Dnevnik.si (in Slovenian). 30 April 2012.
  4. "Poslanci odločili: 2. januarja bomo spet lahko ostali doma", MMC RTV Slovenija (in Slovenian)
  5. Naglič, Miha (3 February 2008). "Prešernov dan" [Prešeren Day]. Gorenjski glas (in Slovenian). GG Plus. Archived from the original on 24 December 2012.
  6. "Za ene veliki šmaren, za druge prost dan" [The Assumption Day for Ones, the Free Day for Others]. Slovenske novice (in Slovenian). 14 August 2011.
  7. "Zakaj je danes dela prost dan?" [Why Is Today a Work-Free Day?]. Slovenske novice (in Slovenian). 31 October 2011.
  8. "1. november – dan, ki velja za praznik zmagoslavja in veselja" [1 November – the Day Which Is Seen as the Holiday of Triumph and Joy]. MMC RTV Slovenija (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija.
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