Every country has public holidays – and Czech Republic is no exception. But while these often mean a pleasant day off work, they can also be inconvenient, as many shops and restaurants might be closed on that day. As such, it’s best to know ahead when a public holiday is coming up – and that applies also to school holidays.
After all, you need to know when to book that family vacation for! We at Flatio understand your needs, and so we have put together this handy little article, in which we tell you all about Czech public holidays, school holidays and days of observance.
Public holidays in Czech Republic
The dates of Czech public holidays (all of which are also national and bank holidays) are as follows:
- 1 January – New Year’s Day
- March/April – Good Friday (the exact date is different each year)
- March/April – Easter Monday (again, the exact date differs each year)
- 1 May – Labour Day
- 8 May – Liberation Day
- 5 July – Saints Cyril and Methodius Day
- 6 July – Jan Hus Day
- 28 September – Czech Statehood Day
- 28 October – Czech Independence Day
- 17 November – Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day
- 24 December – Christmas Eve
- 25 December – Christmas Day
- 26 December – St. Stephen’s Day (2nd Day of Christmas)
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School holidays in Czech Republic
The Czech education system is known for its quality; but while children have to study hard, they also get plenty of school holidays. For the current school year (2019-2020), the school holidays are as follows:
- 2 September 2019 – 1st Day of School
- 29-30 October 2019 – Autumn Holidays
- 23 December 2019 - 3 January 2020 – Christmas Holidays
- Early February - middle of March – Spring Holidays (these are a week long in each school, but the exact dates depend on which group the school falls in)
- 9-10 April 2020 – Easter Holidays
- 1 July - 31 August 2020 – Summer Holidays
The dates of school holidays for each school year are published here. The site also has more information about the spring holiday groups mentioned above, so if you’re curious about those, do check it out!
Days of observance in Czech Republic
Days of observance are special days which are often celebrated in some way, but which aren’t national or bank holidays (i.e. shops will most likely be open as normal and you are unlikely to get time off work). The most prominent days of observance in Czechia are:
- 14 February – St. Valentine’s Day
- 8 March – International Women’s Day
- 10 May – Mother’s Day (this date is for 2020 – the exact date changes slightly each year, as it is always celebrated on the second Sunday in May)
- 1 July – Children’s Day
- 21 June – Father’s Day (again, this is for 2020 – each year the date varies a bit, since this day of observance is always celebrated on the third Sunday in June)
And that’s it. Make sure to mark all these dates in your calendar – you don’t want to find yourself outside of a closed shop wondering why on earth they aren’t open, only to realize much too late that it’s a public holiday!
