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HOLIDAYS

When do the Swiss have their public holidays in 2020?

There are few national holidays in Switzerland, but individual cantons and regions have their own official days as well. Here's a look at how the national or regional public holidays fall in 2020.

Published: 2 January 2020 14:59 CET
When do the Swiss have their public holidays in 2020?
FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

Here are the national public holidays in 2020 when businesses and schools normally close.

Wednesday January 1st: New Year’s Day

Good Friday, April 10th: Two days before Easter Sunday, Christians commemorate Jesus Christ’s crucifixion.

Ascension Day, Thursday, May 21st: Traditionally celebrated the 40th day after Easter Sunday, this holiday commemorates Jesus’s ascension into heaven.

National Day, Saturday August 1st: Swiss celebrate the historic alliance concluded in 1291 by the three cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden, which laid the foundation of present-day Switzerland.

Christmas Day, Friday December 25th: As in all Christian nations, it is a public holiday in Switzerland as well.

In addition to these official national events, individual cantons or regions celebrate their own holidays:

Monday January 6th otherwise known as the Epiphany or Three Kings Day is a holiday in the cantons of Graubünden/Grisons, Lucerne, Schwyz, Ticino and Uri. 

READ ALSO: REVEALED: the Swiss communes with the most public holidays`

St Joseph's Day on Thursday March 19th is a holiday in the cantons of Nidwalden, Solothurn, Schwyz, Ticino, Uri and Valais.

Easter Monday on April 13th is also a holiday in most cantons, but not nationwide.

Labour Day, Friday,May 1st: This celebration of the working classes is a public holiday in Fribourg, Jura, Lucerne, Neuchâtel, Schaffhausen, Solothurn, Thurgau, Ticino, Zurich.

Thursday June 11th – Corpus Christi is a public holiday in Aargau, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Fribourg, Jura, Lucerne, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Ticino, Uri, Valais, Zug.

Assumption Day, Saturday, August 15th: Celebrated in Aargau, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Fribourg, Jura, Lucerne, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Schwyz, Solothurn, St Gallen, Ticino, Uri, Valais, and Zug, this Christian holiday it is the principal feast of the Blessed Virgin, the mother of Jesus Christ.

Jeûne genevois, Thursday September 10th: – A Geneva holiday dating back to the 16th century originally involved fasting but that is no longer the case today. A typical food eaten on this day is a plum tart.

Lundi du Jeûne fédéral, Monday September 21st: Celebrated on Sunday September 20th in the whole of Switzerland (except in Geneva), this interfaith holiday focusing on thanks-giving and repentance is a public holiday in Vaud the following Monday.

Sunday November 1st – All Saints day falls on a Sunday in 2020 but it is normally a pubic holiday in the following cantons: Appenzell Innerrhoden, Glarus, Jura, Lucerne, Nidwalden, Obwalden, St. Gallen, Schwyz, Ticino, Uri, Valais and Zug

Tuesday December 8th – the Christian feast of the Immaculate Conception is a holiday in most cantons.

December 26th is also a public holiday in most cantons although given it falls on a Saturday in 2020 it won't be a day off.

There are also some minor holidays celebrated in certain individual cantons in 2020. You can more information here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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TRAVEL

Denmark opens way for summer trips to holiday islands

Denmark has opened up for self-isolation-free travel to a long list of European holiday islands, with the Balearics, Canary Islands, Azores, Madeira and Malta all classed as "yellow" in the updated travel restrictions issued on Friday.

Published: 14 May 2021 19:50 CEST
Denmark opens way for summer trips to holiday islands
Danes will now be able to travel and return to the Playa de las Américas resort on Tenerife without self-isolation. Photo: Arnstein Rønning/Wikimedia Commons

Under the third phase of travel reopening which came into force at midnight on Thursday, those travelling from EU or Schengen countries classed as “yellow” no longer need to self-isolate on arrival in Denmark, meaning the change will allow Danes to return easily to some of the most popular holiday destinations. 

READ ALSO: Denmark eases travel restrictions: EU tourists can now come to Denmark

“This is the first time since before Christmas that you can now actually go on a regular holiday trip to destinations where we would all actually like to go on holiday,” Erik Brøgger Rasmussen, a director at Denmark’s foreign ministry, told the Ritzau newswire. “It’s not a huge reopening, but it is the first for many months.”

Most of the new regions now rated “yellow” in the revised travel guidelines released on Friday afternoon are Spanish, including the Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Ibiza etc), the Canary Islands (Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Tenerife etc), the North African enclave of Ceuta, Asturia, Extremadura, Galicia, Murcia, and Valencia.

In Portugal, the Azores and Madeira are now rated “yellow”, as is the entire island nation of Malta. 

Rasmussen pointed out that all of the holiday areas which have been opened up for isolation-free travel are also open for travel from Denmark.

“The ones I have mentioned are also open at the other end, so to speak,” he said. “Portugal as a whole is also so low [in cases] that infection is not a problem. But they do not want us in at the moment, so we are not going to open up to the whole country.”

The changes come into force at 4pm on May 15th.

The only other change in travel guidelines was for travel from Nepal, which has now been rated a “red” country due to the prevalence of the new “Indian variant” of coronavirus.

“Nepal currently has a high infection rate, and as the variant of concern B.1.617 is now seen as widespread in several Indian states bordering Nepal, there is a high risk that B.1.617 may have spread to Nepal and be contributing to the current high incidence,” the foreign ministry said. “This means there is also a presumed high risk of travellers from Nepal importing this variant.”

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