St Nicholas Day (Nikolaus) – Germany

The next St Nicholas Day (Nikolaus) is on Sunday, December 6, 2026 – in 82 days.

In Germany it's an observance, which means plenty of people mark it but nobody gets the day off work or school.

When is it? St Nicholas Day (Nikolaus) falls on the same date every year, December 6. 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 Sunday, December 6, 2026, 82 days from now.

Which weekday does it land on? Across the eleven years in the table, St Nicholas Day (Nikolaus) lands twice on a Saturday, twice on a Thursday, twice on a Wednesday and twice on a Monday. 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. Nothing closes. Shops, offices, schools and transport all run as normal, because this is a day people mark rather than a day they get off. That said, restaurants, florists and retailers often build around it, so booking ahead is sensible if you're planning to go out. In 2026 it falls in December, which also holds Christmas Eve on the 24th, Christmas Day (1. Weihnachtstag) on the 25th, St Stephen's Day (2. Weihnachtstag) on the 26th 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 Nicholas Day (Nikolaus) 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 Nicholas Day (Nikolaus) is marked in Belgium, Austria and Poland 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 Nicholas Day (Nikolaus) dates 2026–2036