St Stephen's Day – Ireland

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

In Ireland it's a public holiday, so schools, government offices and most businesses close.

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. If it falls at the weekend you get a substitute day on the next free weekday, and the calendars here show that substitute day rather than the original. 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. Banks, government offices and schools close. Supermarkets and larger shops usually open on reduced hours, smaller independents often don't bother, and public transport tends to run a Sunday timetable. Post isn't collected or delivered. If you need something from a council, a bank or a doctor's surgery, the working day before it is the one to aim for, and it will be busier than usual for exactly that reason. 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 Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, 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