Accumulating the 26 working days of minimum annual paid leave (and more depending on the collective agreements), the 11 public holidays and the four days of compensatory rest, that’s 41 days of “leave”. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Accumulating the 26 working days of minimum annual paid leave (and more depending on the collective agreements), the 11 public holidays and the four days of compensatory rest, that’s 41 days of “leave”. (Photo: Shutterstock)

With the Christmas holidays about to begin for many, it’s never too early to look at the holidays we’ll be able to take in the new year of 2026, which will have four bank holidays that fall on a weekend.

Will 2026 be good for long weekends and made-up public holidays? Of the 11 statutory public holidays in Luxembourg, four will fall on a weekend. So, provided you don’t work at the weekend, that will represent four compensatory rest days, according to the specific nature of Luxembourg law.

Without taking extra days off, you will have four extended weekends that will fall automatically:

—on 4-5-6 April with Easter Monday (6 April);

—on 1-2-3 May with Friday 1 May (Labour Day);

—on 23-24-25 May with Whit Monday (25 May);

—the 25-26-27 December with Christmas falling on a Friday.

For the more daring, two even longer weekends will be possible by taking a day off:

—if you put down Friday 15 May, that will make a four-day weekend with Ascension Thursday (14 May);

—if you post on Monday 22 June, that will also make a four-day weekend with the National Holiday on 23 June, which falls on a Tuesday.

Thus, four public holidays will fall on a weekend: Saturday 9 May - Europe Day -, Saturday 15 August - Assumption -, Sunday 1st November - All Saints’ Day -, and Saturday 26 December - St Stephen’s Day. Regarding school holidays, the Luxembourg government has communicated the following dates for 2026:

—the Carnival holiday begins on Saturday 14 February and ends on Sunday 22 February;

—the Easter holiday begins on Saturday 28 March and ends on Sunday 12 April;

—the Whitsun holiday begins on Saturday 23 May and ends on Sunday 31 May;

—the summer holiday begins on Thursday 16 July and ends on Monday 14 September;

—the All Saints’ holiday begins on Saturday 31 October and ends on Sunday 8 November;

—the Christmas holiday begins on Saturday 19 December and ends on Sunday 3 January 2027.

What about 2027?

For a “classic” employee in Luxembourg who works Monday to Friday, there will be five compensatory days in 2027: on Saturday 1st May (Labour Day), on Sunday 9 May (Europe Day), Sunday 15 August (Assumption), Saturday 25 December (Christmas) and Sunday 26 December (Saint Stephen’s Day). In 2027, several public holidays will make it possible to enjoy extended weekends: Friday 1st January, Easter Monday (29 March), Whit Monday (17 May) and All Saints’ Day (Monday 1st November) will directly offer long weekends.

Other dates will allow longer breaks by taking a single day off: Ascension Day, on Thursday 6 May, can be turned into a four-day weekend by taking Friday off, and Bastille Day, on Wednesday 23 June, can create a long break by taking two days around it. By combining a few days off with these strategic public holidays, it is possible to free up long holiday periods in spring or early summer.

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