Norway Public Holidays 2026 and 2027

Norway has 12 public holidays and days treated like Sundays (helligdager and høytidsdager) in addition to ordinary Sundays. The moving ones follow Easter, so the dates change every year. This page lists the holidays for 2026 and 2027, tells you how many working days each year has, and points out squeeze days (inneklemte dager): single working days between a holiday and a weekend, where one day of leave gives you a long break. The calculator lets you look up any year.

Norwegian public holidays 2026 and 2027

Grey dates fall on a Saturday or Sunday and give no extra day off.

What the law says

The Holidays and Holiday Peace Act (helligdagsfredloven), section 2, lists the public holidays: ordinary Sundays, New Year's Day, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Monday, Ascension Day, Whit Sunday and Monday, Christmas Day and the Second Day of Christmas. Labour Day (1 May) and Constitution Day (17 May) are not in that list. A separate 1947 act makes them days of celebration that are to be treated like Sundays, which is why they are days off in practice. The moving dates follow Easter: in 2026 Easter Sunday is Sunday, 5 April 2026, and in 2027 it is Sunday, 28 March 2027. That is early, so Ascension Day and Whitsun also come early.

Working days per year

How many holidays fall on weekdays varies. 2027 is a poor year, with only 6 weekday holidays, against 8 in 2026. In 2027 Whit Monday and Constitution Day are the same day (Monday 17 May), so one day off is lost. Working days here are Monday to Friday minus public holidays, with Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve counted as working days. Your own working days depend on your contract.

Worked example: Ascension and Easter 2026

Ascension Day 2026 is Thursday 14 May. Constitution Day falls on Sunday 17 May, so it gives no extra day off. One day of leave on Friday 15 May gives 4 days off in a row. At Easter, 3 days of leave before the holiday give 10 days off (Sat 28 Mar to Mon 6 Apr), and 4 days of leave after it give 11 days off. The tables show every break of up to four days of leave.

These are calendar calculations, not official days off. Holiday in Norway is counted in working days that include Saturdays, so a break that runs across a Saturday can cost one more day of leave than the tables show. Work out the exact leave days with the Norway holiday pay calculator, and check your notice dates with the notice period calculator.

Eves and other days that are not holidays

Exceptions apply where the nature of the work makes Sunday and holiday work necessary (hospitals, transport, hotels and so on), and collective agreements often give more generous terms.

If you have just moved to Norway

Expect quiet streets and closed shops on every public holiday and Sunday, and buy groceries the day before. Constitution Day on 17 May is the biggest celebration of the year, with parades and national costume (bunad). Many people take extra time off around Easter. Note that there is no statutory "bank holiday Monday" when a holiday falls on a weekend: unless your contract or collective agreement says otherwise, the day is simply lost. Pay for working on a public holiday depends on your contract or collective agreement, so if you work shifts, check what yours says.

What this calculator does not cover

It shows the national public holidays. It does not cover school holidays, local or company days off, or the pay rules in collective agreements. Whether you are paid for a holiday, or get a supplement for working on one, depends on your contract, and the calculator does not know your working pattern.