Hungary has a whole host of national holidays which are either fixed (have a fixed date) or are sliding holidays (move depending on weekdays) and some holidays are celebrated but do not get you a day off work. That’s why we have prepared a short overview of national holidays as well as school holidays to give you an idea when to book a trip somewhere nice or when to just put your feet up and relax.
Public holidays in Hungary
| Day | Name | Type |
| Wed, Jan 1st | New Year’s Day | National Holiday |
| Sun, Mar 15th | Revolution Day | National Holiday |
| Friday before Easter Sunday (Apr 10th) | Good Friday | National Holiday |
| Sun, Apr 12th | Easter Sunday | National Holiday |
| Mon, Apr 13th | Easter Monday | National Holiday |
| Fri, May 1st | Labour Day | National Holiday |
| First Sunday in May (May 3rd) | Mother’s Day | Not a Public Holiday |
| 50 Days after Easter (May 31st) | Pentecost Sunday | National Holiday |
| 7th Monday after Easter (Jun 1st) | Pentecost Monday | National Holiday |
| 3rd Sunday in June (Jun 21st) | Father’s Day | Not a Public Holiday |
| Thu, Aug 20th | Saint Stephen’s Day | National Holiday |
| Fri, Aug 21st | Saint Stephen’s Day (Bridge Day) | National Holiday |
| Fri, Oct 23rd | Republic Day | National Holiday |
| Sun, Nov 1st | All Saints’ Day | National Holiday |
| Fri, Dec 25th | Christmas Day | National Holiday |
| Sat, Dec 26th | Second Day of Christmas | National Holiday |
The dates apply to the year 2020. Know that during National Holidays most businesses, shops, restaurants and the like are closed. Similarly, public transport runs on a holiday schedule which means that connections will be less frequent. This influences all modes of transportation from buses and trams to the metro and trolley-busses.
School holidays in Hungary
All told there are four school holidays in Hungary and all of them are nation-wide. The school year begins on the first workday of September and the first holiday is the Autumn break (ranging from around 26th Oct to 3rd Nov). The next holiday is all the way in December and it’s the Christmas Holidays (usually from about 21st Dec to 5th Jan of next year). Then comes the Spring break (from about Apr 9th to Apr 14th). After that, there’s only the Summer holidays which last for about two months (from roughly Jun 16th to Aug 31st or to the beginning of the school year). All the above detailed national holidays are also kept in the school year together with Bridge Holidays.
Days of observance in Hungary
For those of you who are not familiar with the concept, an observed holiday is one which is not celebrated on the actual date to which it falls but is instead moved to a workday. For example, if the American Independence Day (July 4th) falls on a Sunday it is instead moved to a Friday. Hungary does not really have this tradition. Most holidays in Hungary have a fixed date (apart from Easter Sunday and Monday plus the Pentecost which are sliding holidays) and if they happen to fall on a weekend they are never moved. However, Hungary has so-called Bridged Holidays which are days that have been inserted between a national holiday and a weekend to extend the number of consecutive days off work. An example above is the Saint Stephen’s Day which falls on a Thursday but is extended to Friday. Though this gives a nice block of four days off work there is usually a Saturday during the year which supplements the Bridge holiday by becoming a workday.
