National Holidays in The Czech Republic

The Czech Republic observes a mixture of holidays, both religious and secular in nature. Public offices and some private business shut their doors for the entire day, although plenty of businesses stay open, thus ensuring that travelers aren’t left out in the cold. The holidays are listed below.

January 1st is New Year's Day, and it’s celebrated in conjunction with the day the Czechs split up with the Slovaks, creating two autonomous states.

Springtime marks the Easter holiday, which is observed in Prague and the Czech Republic. The exact date varies from year to year.

May 1^st is Labor Day, or May Day. This is a traditional day for demonstrations. People often protest against things like capitalism, communism and fascism… there always seems to be a multitude of subjects to protest against. Czechs take to the streets and the parks in order to voice their opinions, often with a sausage or beer in their hand.

May 8^this the day Czechoslovakia was liberated from Germany by the American and Russian military forces. Liberation day arrived in 1945.

July 5th is the Day of Cyril and Metoděj (Cyril and Metodej). These two apostles brought Christianity to Central Europe at the end of the ninth century. They also introduced the Cyrillic writing system (named after Cyril, the more famous of the duo) into Eastern Europe. Modern Czechs use a Latin script.

July 6^th is Jan Hus Day. This religious reformed was burned alive after he refused to recant his work and his teachings.

September 28^th is St. Wenceslas Day. Truth be told, it was a pretty sad day for Saint Wenceslas. His brother Boleslav murdered him on the 28th.

October 28^th marks the former Czechoslovakia’s independence from the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. This was the Western Slav’s first taste of freedom during the modern era. Their hard-earned independence came about after the hostilities of the First World War abated.

November 17^th is when the Czechs honor the sacrifices made by students protesting for ‘freedom and democracy’ during the Nazi occupation. Following the students’ protests, German authorities shut down the universities and began persecuting, and even executing some of the students.

December 24^th is Vánoce, or Christmas Eve, the main day for celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

December 25^th, Christmas Day, is also observed as a holiday.

December 26^th is St. Stephen's Day, which serves as the ‘second’ Christmas holiday in the Czech Republic.