There are two kinds of public holidays in Slovenia - state holidays and work-free days. State holidays are those celebrated by the state. These include official functions and flying the national flag. The latter are actually Catholic religious holidays, which are equivalent to any Sunday: companies and schools are closed, but there is no official celebration.
There are 11 state holidays and additional 4 work-free days in Slovenia. Two of them always fall on Sunday, thus, there are effectively at most 14 days of work-free days in Slovenia. Until May 2012, when the National Assembly of Slovenia passed the Public Finance Balance Act, 2 January was a work-free day too, thus there were effectively 15 work-free days.
State holidays that are work-free are shown in pale green, while work-free days that are not state holidays (coinciding with Catholic religious holidays) are shown in dark green. Not work-free holidays are shown in white. Altogether, there are 15 work-free days in Slovenia.
| Date | English name | Slovene name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January | New Year | novo leto | State holiday, work-free. |
| 8 February | Prešeren Day, the Slovenian Cultural Holiday | Prešernov dan, slovenski kulturni praznik | State holiday, work-free. Anniversary of the death of Slovenian poet France Prešeren, established as the national cultural day in 1944, work-free since 1991. |
| - | Easter Sunday and 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. Formerly Liberation Front Day (dan Osvobodilne fronte), marks the establishment in 1941 of the Liberation Front to fight the German, Italian, Hungarian, and Croatian occupation of Slovenia. |
| 1 May – 2 May | May Day Holiday | praznik dela | State holiday, work-free from 1949. |
| - | Whit Sunday | binkoštna nedelja, binkošti | Work-free day (it is always on Sunday), in May or June, fifty days after the Easter (date varies). |
| 8 June | Primož Trubar Day | dan Primoža Trubarja | State holiday, not work-free. Established in 2010. |
| 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. |
| 17 August | Day of Slovenes in Prekmurje Incorporated into the Mother Nation | združitev prekmurskih Slovencev z matičnim narodom | State holiday since 2006, not work-free. |
| 15 September | Day of Restoration of the Primorska Region to the Motherland | vrnitev Primorske k matični domovini | State holiday since 2005, not work-free. |
| 31 October | Reformation Day | dan reformacije | State holiday since 1992, work-free day. |
| 1 November | All Saints Day | dan spomina na mrtve | State holiday, work-free. Before 1991, in the time of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia, it was named dan mrtvih ('day of the dead'). |
| 23 November | Rudolf Maister Day | dan Rudolfa Maistra | State holiday since 2005, not work-free. |
| 25 December | Christmas | božič | Work-free day. Abolished in 1953 and re-instituted in 1991. |
| 26 December | Independence and Unity Day | dan samostojnosti in enotnosti | State holiday, work free. Commemorates the proclamation of the independence 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:
- Carnival (pust, date varies),
- International Women's Day, 8 March
- St. George's Day (jurjevanje, the welcoming of spring; 23 April),
- St. Martin's day (martinovanje, changing of must into wine; 11 November) and
- Saint Nicholas Day (miklavž, when children receive presents; 6 December).
Famous quotes containing the word public:
“It is precisely the purpose of the public opinion generated by the press to make the public incapable of judging, to insinuate into it the attitude of someone irresponsible, uninformed.”
—Walter Benjamin (1892–1940)