Public Holiday Finder

How to Use the Public Holiday Finder

Search or select a country, choose a year, and browse public holidays, bank holidays, and other observances from the Nager.Date API. Educational reference — confirm critical dates with official sources.

1. Wait for the country list to load, then search or pick a country from the dropdown.
2. Select a year from the year selector (typically current year ± nearby years).
3. Holidays load automatically when country or year changes; use Find Holidays or Refresh if needed.
4. Review each holiday’s date, weekday, name, and type badges (Public, Bank, School, Optional, Observance, Authorities).
5. Use Reset to return to defaults or pick another country/year for a different calendar.

Methodology & statutory holiday rules

The holiday engine queries national and regional gazetted calendars powered by official statutory holiday schedules. It accounts for fixed-date civil holidays, astronomical calculations (e.g. equinoxes), lunar-based religious calendars (e.g. Eid, Ramadan, Lunar New Year), and movable ecclesiastical holidays (e.g. Easter computed via the Computus algorithm).

In jurisdictions with weekend substitution rules (e.g. UK, USA, Australia), holidays falling on Saturday or Sunday automatically map to the officially observed Monday.

Worked holiday calendar query example

• Query parameters: Country = United Kingdom; Subdivision = England & Wales; Year = 2026.
• Result highlights: - New Year's Day: Thursday 1 January 2026 - Good Friday: Friday 3 April 2026 - Easter Monday: Monday 6 April 2026 - Early May Bank Holiday: Monday 4 May 2026 - Spring Bank Holiday: Monday 25 May 2026 - Summer Bank Holiday: Monday 31 August 2026 - Christmas Day: Friday 25 December 2026 - Boxing Day (substitute day): Monday 28 December 2026 (since 26 Dec is Saturday).
• Practical use: Annual leave scheduling, payroll bank holiday entitlements, and project milestone planning.

Holiday types

• Public — widely recognized national or regional holidays.
• Bank — banking-sector closures (may differ from general public holidays).
• School — school-term related observances where provided.
• Optional / Observance — commemorative days that may not be full public closures.
• Authorities — government-office observances where listed.

Data source

Lists are fetched live from the Nager.Date public API. The country selector follows AvailableCountries — no hardcoded allowlist. Coverage and supported years can change when Nager updates providers.

Common mistakes

• Assuming every employer closes on every listed holiday.
• Using this alone for visa, payroll, or court deadlines without official confirmation.
• Expecting India or Pakistan before Nager.Date publishes their data.

Limitations

Educational reference only. Subdivision rules, employer policies, and last-minute government changes are not guaranteed. API errors or missing years show a clear message — try another year or retry.

FAQ

What is a public holiday?

A public holiday is a day recognized by a country (or subdivision) when many workplaces, schools, or government offices are closed or operate on reduced schedules. Exact rules vary by jurisdiction and employer.

How do I find public holidays for a country?

Search or select a country, choose a year, then use Find Holidays. The tool loads that country’s holiday calendar from Nager.Date and lists each holiday with date, weekday, type, and national or subdivision details when available.

Are bank holidays the same as public holidays?

Not always. Some countries treat bank holidays as a distinct category from public holidays, while others overlap. This tool shows holiday types returned by the API (for example Public, Bank, School, Optional, or Observance) so you can compare them side by side.

Can I check holidays for another year?

Yes. Change the year selector and run Find Holidays again. Supported years depend on the Nager.Date API; if a year is not available, the tool shows a clear error so you can pick another year.

Does the tool support different holiday types?

Yes. When the API provides them, holidays can include Public, Bank, School, Authorities, Optional, and Observance types. Each row shows its types so you can distinguish them quickly.

Where does the holiday data come from?

Holiday lists are fetched live from the official Nager.Date public API (no API key). The country selector lists every country returned by AvailableCountries. Coverage can change when Nager.Date adds providers.

Why are India or Pakistan missing from the list?

The country selector shows only countries Nager.Date publishes. India (IN) and Pakistan (PK) are omitted until Nager includes holiday data for them. Bangladesh (BD) appears when Nager adds it.

Are subdivision-specific holidays shown?

When Nager.Date provides county or subdivision codes (for example regional UK or US observances), they appear in the holiday details. National vs regional scope varies by country.

Can I rely on this for payroll or legal deadlines?

Use this as a planning reference. Employers, regions, and religious calendars may observe different dates. Confirm legally or operationally critical dates with official government calendars.

Does the tool store my country selection?

Your last selected country is saved locally in browser storage so the page can reopen with the same country. Holiday results are fetched live when you change country or year.