There are two kinds ofpublic holidays in Slovenia –state holidays and work-free days. State holidays are those celebrated by the state. These includeofficial functions and flying thenational flag. The latter are actuallyChristianreligious holidays, which are equivalent to any Sunday: companies and schools are closed, but there is no official celebration.
9 of 14 state holiday days are work-free, and there are additional 6 work-free days in Slovenia.[1] Two of them always fall on Sunday, thus, there are effectively at most 13 work-free days in Slovenia.
State holidays that are work-free are shown in pale green, while work-free days that are not state holidays (coinciding with Christian religious holidays) are shown in blue.
| Date | English name | Slovene name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-2 January | New Year's Day | novo leto | State holiday, work-free. From 1955 until May 2012, when theNational Assembly of Slovenia passed thePublic Finance Balance Act, 2 January was a work-free day.[2][3] It was reintroduced in 2017.[4] |
| 8 February | Prešeren Day | Prešernov dan | State holiday, work-free. Anniversary of the death of Slovenian poetFrance Prešeren, established as the national cultural day in 1944, work-free since 1991.[5] |
| Variable | Easter Sunday andEaster Monday | velikonočna nedelja in ponedeljek,velika noč | Work-free days, in March or April (date varies). |
| 27 April | Day of Uprising Against Occupation | dan upora proti okupatorju | State holiday, work-free. FormerlyLiberation Front Day (dan Osvobodilne fronte), marks the establishment in 1941 of a liberation front to fight the German, Italian, Hungarian, and Croatian partition and annexation of Slovenia. |
| 1-2 May | May Day | praznik dela | State holiday, work-free from 1949.[3] |
| Variable | Whit Sunday | binkoštna nedelja,binkošti | Work-free day (it is always on Sunday), in May or June, fifty days after the Easter (date varies). |
| 25 June | Statehood Day | dan državnosti | State holiday, work-free. Commemorates the act of independence in 1991. |
| 15 August | Assumption Day | Marijino vnebovzetje (veliki šmaren) | Work-free day since 1992.[6] |
| 31 October | Reformation Day | dan reformacije | Civic holiday since 1992,[7] work-free day.[8] |
| 1 November | All Saints' Day | dan spomina na mrtve ordan mrtvih | State holiday, work-free. Before 1991, in the time of theSocialist Republic of Slovenia, it was nameddan mrtvih ('day of the dead').[9] |
| 25 December | Christmas Day | božič | Work-free day. Abolished in 1953 and re-instituted in 1991.[3] |
| 26 December | Independence and Unity Day | dan samostojnosti in enotnosti | State holiday, work free. Commemorates the proclamation of theindependence plebiscite results in 1990. |
In addition to these, several other holidays are traditionally and popularly celebrated by the people of Slovenia, although not being work-free. The best known are: