A Quick Guide to Slovenian Holidays
1.11.2024 |
Slovenia has two types of public holiday. State holidays are celebrated by the state, whereas work-free days are Christian religious holidays. There are 14 public holidays altogether. Nine of them are work-free state holidays. Of the other six, which are religious holidays, two of them are always on a Sunday.
Supermarkets and other stores don’t open on public holidays. If you are arriving in Slovenia on a public holiday and are staying in a vacation rental, ask if your host can provide some grocery essentials. Some bars and restaurants close, but many open. Tourist attractions may also be open, but do check in advance.
The first holiday of the calendar year is New Year’s Day: it’s a full state holiday – like a bank holiday in the UK. In 2012, Slovenians lost a day’s holiday when 2 January ceased to be a state holiday due to the introduction of numerous austerity measures. In December 2016, however, the National Assembly voted to reinstate the holiday. The 2 January holiday was first introduced in 1955.
The next state holiday comes the following month with Prešeren Day on 8 February. Franc Prešeren is Slovenia’s most celebrated poet and he wrote the words of what is now the Slovenian national anthem. Prešeren Day is a celebration of Slovene culture in general and on this day museums which usually charge an admission fee are free to the public.
Slovenia’s national poet Franc Prešeren
Easter Sunday and Easter Monday are public holidays. There is no ‘Good Friday’ holiday like in some other countries. However, on the Friday before Easter Monday Slovenians do follow many long-standing traditions. Easter Monday is officially a ‘work-free day’ rather than a state holiday. Fifty days after Easter comes Whit Sunday, officially a work-free day but often forgotten since it’s a Sunday.
Next up is Resistance Day on 27 April. Previously known as as Liberation Front Day, it’s a state holiday commemorating the establishment of the Slovenian Liberation Front in 1941.
As is traditional in many countries around the world, Slovenians celebrate May Day on 1 May. Slovenians get a bonus day’s holiday on 2 May.
Statehood Day is celebrated on 25 June, commemorating independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. It’s a state holiday, known in Slovenian as ‘Dan državnosti’.
On 15 August, Assumption Day is a work-free day. This celebration of the Feast of the Assumption is common in Catholic countries.
The next state holiday comes along when Reformation Day is marked on 31 October. Another state holiday, All Saints Day (also known as All Hallows) follows on 1 November. On this day, Slovenians take flowers (often chrysanthemums) to the graves of their relatives.
Christmas Day, 25 December is a work-free day and 26 December is a state holiday, Independence and Unity Day, or ‘Dan samostojnosti in enotnosti’ in Slovene. On this day in 1990, the results of the referendum on Slovenian independence were proclaimed. 94.8% of the votes were in favour of Slovenia being a sovereign and independent nation.
On 8 June, Primož Trubar Day is a state holiday established in 2010 but not a work-free day. There’s a similar situation on 17 August when the ‘Day of Slovenes in Prekmurje Incorporated into the Mother Nation’ is marked. Other state holidays that are not work-free are Rudolf Maister Day (23 November), and ‘Day of Restoration of the Littoral Region to the Motherland’ (15 September).
Various functions attended by national and local dignitaries take place on state holidays. On these days, Slovene, EU and regional flags fly from flagpoles.
