Public holidays in Latvia
Latvia has 15 public holidays a year, and each one that falls Monday to Friday is a day off. The next is Proclamation Day of the Republic of Latvia, Wednesday 18 November 2026 (in 54 days).
The list comes from Section 1 of the Law on Holidays, Remembrance and Celebration Days, and Section 144 of the Labour Law says employees are not put to work on those days.
Updated
Every public holiday and its dates
| Holiday | Date rule | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | 1 January | 1 January Wednesday | 1 January Thursday | 1 January Friday |
| Good Friday | Friday before Easter | 18 April Friday | 3 April Friday | 26 March Friday |
| Easter Sunday | Easter Sunday, movable | 20 April Sunday | 5 April Sunday | 28 March Sunday |
| Easter Monday | Monday after Easter | 21 April Monday | 6 April Monday | 29 March Monday |
| Labour Day | 1 May | 1 May Thursday | 1 May Friday | 1 May Saturday |
| Restoration of Independence Day | 4 May | 4 May Sunday | 4 May Monday | 4 May Tuesday |
| Mother's Day | Second Sunday of May | 11 May Sunday | 10 May Sunday | 9 May Sunday |
| Whit Sunday | Seventh Sunday after Easter | 8 June Sunday | 24 May Sunday | 16 May Sunday |
| Midsummer Eve (Līgo) | 23 June | 23 June Monday | 23 June Tuesday | 23 June Wednesday |
| Midsummer Day (Jāņi) | 24 June | 24 June Tuesday | 24 June Wednesday | 24 June Thursday |
| Proclamation Day of the Republic of Latvia | 18 November | 18 November Tuesday | 18 November Wednesday | 18 November Thursday |
| Christmas Eve | 24 December | 24 December Wednesday | 24 December Thursday | 24 December Friday |
| Christmas Day | 25 December | 25 December Thursday | 25 December Friday | 25 December Saturday |
| Second day of Christmas | 26 December | 26 December Friday | 26 December Saturday | 26 December Sunday |
| New Year's Eve | 31 December | 31 December Wednesday | 31 December Thursday | 31 December Friday |
In festival years (every five years, next in 2028) the closing day of the General Latvian Song and Dance Festival is a holiday too. The law also added one-off holidays in 2018 and 2023.
The rules behind the days off
A holiday on a weekend
Usually the day off is not moved. Only when 4 May, 18 November or the Song and Dance Festival closing day falls on a Saturday or Sunday is the next working day a day off. In 2025 that made Monday 5 May a day off.
The day before a holiday
The working day right before a public holiday is one hour shorter, unless a collective agreement, the work rules or the contract set an even shorter day (Labour Law, Section 135).
Transferred working days
When a working day falls between a holiday and the weekend, the Cabinet may move it to a Saturday in the same month. The order binds institutions financed from the state budget; for municipalities and companies it is a recommendation, and the employer decides (Labour Law, Section 133(4)).
Working on a holiday
An employee who does work on a public holiday is owed a supplement of at least 100 percent of the hourly or daily rate (Labour Law, Section 68).
The holidays in your calendar
The calendar holds the public holidays of 2025 to 2027, days off in lieu, shortened pre-holiday days and the working days moved for state institutions.
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Google Calendar
On a computer, press + next to “Other calendars” in Google Calendar, choose “From URL”, paste the link and press “Add calendar”. It then shows on your phone too.
Apple Calendar (iPhone, Mac)
On an iPhone or iPad, tap “Subscribe” and confirm. On a Mac, open Calendar, choose File > New Calendar Subscription and paste the link.
Outlook
In Outlook on the web, choose “Add calendar”, then “Subscribe from web”, paste the link and save.
A subscribed calendar updates itself when the data here changes; the calendar app checks on its own schedule, sometimes only once a day. A downloaded file is a one-off copy.
Frequently asked questions
How many public holidays does Latvia have?
The Law on Holidays, Remembrance and Celebration Days sets 15 public holidays that recur every year, plus the closing day of the General Latvian Song and Dance Festival in the years it is held (every five years, next in 2028). Three always fall on a Sunday: Easter Sunday, Mother’s Day and Whit Sunday.
Is a public holiday a day off?
Yes. Section 144(1) of the Labour Law says employees are not employed on the public holidays set by law. Where work on a holiday is unavoidable, it earns a supplement of at least 100 percent (Section 68).
What happens when a holiday falls on a weekend?
Usually nothing: the day off is not moved. The exceptions are 4 May, 18 November and the Song and Dance Festival closing day. When one of these falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the next working day is a day off (Section 1 of the law).
Is the day before a holiday shorter?
Yes. The working day right before a public holiday is one hour shorter, unless a collective agreement, the work rules or the contract set an even shorter day (Labour Law, Section 135). A Friday before a Monday holiday is not shortened.
Do private companies have to follow transferred working days?
No. The Cabinet’s order binds only institutions financed from the state budget; for municipalities and companies it is a recommendation. An employer may itself make a working day that falls between a holiday and the weekend a day off and move it to a Saturday in the same month (Labour Law, Section 133(4)).
Is Lāčplēsis Day, 11 November, a day off?
No. Lāčplēsis Day is a commemoration day, not a public holiday. A bill to make it one has been submitted to the Saeima but has not been adopted (as of 25 September 2026).
Is Orthodox Christmas a day off in Latvia?
No. The law lets Orthodox, Old Believer and other believers mark Easter, Whitsun and Christmas on the dates their church sets, but those dates are not days off for everyone.
Sources
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