St Stephen's Day – Switzerland

The next St Stephen's Day is on Saturday, December 26, 2026 – in 102 days.

In Switzerland it's a regional holiday. Some states, provinces or regions take the day off and others don't, so check what applies where you live.

When is it? St Stephen's Day falls on the same date every year, December 26. The date itself never changes, but the day of the week does, and that decides whether you get a long weekend out of it. Next time round is Saturday, December 26, 2026, 102 days from now.

Which weekday does it land on? Across the eleven years in the table, St Stephen's Day lands twice on a Friday, twice on a Wednesday, twice on a Tuesday and twice on a Sunday. In three of those it sits next to a weekend, turning it into a three-day break. Those are the years to book early. You can open the printable calendar for any year in the table and see the date in context.

What to expect on the day. It depends entirely on where you are. In the states or regions that observe it, expect the usual public holiday pattern of closures. Everywhere else in Switzerland it's a normal working day, which is worth remembering if you're arranging anything across regional lines. In 2026 it falls in December, which also holds Christmas Eve on the 24th, Christmas Day on the 25th and New Year's Eve on the 31st. Worth seeing them together before you commit to dates.

Putting it in your own calendar. You don't need to. Every calendar on this site already shows St Stephen's Day for whichever country you've selected. What's worth adding is everything around it: the travel, the cover arrangements, who's visiting when. Open the month, click the days and type. Keep a free account and the notes stay with you between devices, and you can send someone a read-only link so you're both working from the same dates.

St Stephen's Day is marked in Ireland, Germany, Italy, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland as well. The date and the way it's observed aren't always the same from one country to the next, so use the links below to get the version that applies to you.

St Stephen's Day dates 2026–2036