National holidays
The Netherlands has a Christian background and therefore celebrates many Christian holidays. On these days, companies and schools are closed.
- New Year’s Day (nieuwjaarsdag): 1 January
- Easter Sunday and Easter Monday (eerste paasdag en tweede paasdag): varies
- King’s Day (Koningsdag): 27 April
- National Remembrance Day (dodenherdenking): 4 May (not an official holiday)
- Liberation Day (Bevrijdingsdag): 5 May
- Ascension Day (Hemelvaartsdag): varies
- Whitsun and Whit Monday/Pentecost (Pinksteren en tweede pinksterdag): varies
- Sinterklaas: 5 December (not an official holiday)
- Christmas Day and Boxing Day (eerste kerstdag en tweede kerstdag): 25 and 26 December
School holidays
The main school vacation periods and public holidays for public schools are as follows:
- Autumn holiday (herfstvakantie)
- Christmas holiday (kerstvakantie)
Christmas Eve is not necessarily included in the winter vacation and schools may open again on 2 January. - Spring/Carnaval holiday (voorjaarsvakantie)
- Easter Monday (tweede paasdag) - Good Friday is not necessarily included in the Easter weekend holiday.
- King’s Day (Koningsdag 27 April)*
- Liberation Day (Bevrijdingsdag 5 May)*
- May holiday (meivakantie)
- Ascension Day (Hemelvaart)
- Whit Monday/Pentecost (Pinksteren)
- Summer holiday (zomervakantie)
* These days are public holidays and schools are also usually, but not always, closed on these days. Your school will publish their holiday dates on their website.
Events
The region hosts many annual events. One of the most popular is Carnaval (held over the five days before Lent every year) when everyone in the entire region lets their hair down, dresses up in crazy costumes, and celebrates in a festival of music and color with events for all ages!
King’s Day (Koningsdag) is on 27 April and celebrates King Willem-Alexander’s birthday. The country turns orange as everyone wears orange clothing! The tradition is that the royal family visits a particular place in the Netherlands and participates in local activities. There are also many festivities throughout the country, as well as flea markets in the city centers.
Other events that take place in Brabant include Dutch Design Week, which is held in Eindhoven every October, and Tilburg Fun Fair (kermis), which is held in July and is the largest funfair in Benelux. Funfairs are held across the Netherlands throughout the summer and into early autumn. Many smaller towns also have their own funfair, but none are as big as the one in Tilburg!
Festivals
There are also many festivals in the region. Here are just a few examples.
Bloemencorso (Valkenswaard)
Bloemencorso is a combination of street show and music theater that attracts more than 30,000 spectators. Huge parade wagons covered in dahlias, together with street artists, show bands and brass bands from all over the Netherlands form a colorful experience for young and old.
Brabantsedag (Heeze)
Brabantsedag is a theatrical parade through the streets of Heeze that brings the past to life. Every year there is a different theme, and events, figures, or themes from historical Brabant are transformed into impressive rolling theatre sets – full of drama, expression, and meaning. Brabantsedag takes place on the last Sunday of August and attracts over 30,000 visitors every year.
Breda Jazz Festival
This 4-day festival always opens on Ascension Day (Hemelvaartsdag) and attracts some 250,000 visitors.
GLOW Eindhoven
GLOW Eindhoven is a (largely) free, open-air, light art festival held each year in November. Artists and designers from home and abroad show light art and design applications that are created through the use of new media technologies, such as computers, sensors, animations, and projection techniques.
EMOVES festival
EMOVES is the Urban Culture Festival in the south of the Netherlands. At this annual festival you can see young talent and (inter)national professionals performing in four different disciplines: music, dance, art and sports. There are competitions, events, shows, projects, seminars, and much more.
There are also lots of music festivals throughout the summer.
Activities for children
Brabant is packed full of activities for children! Typical Dutch and regional events especially for children are:
- The arrival of Sinterklaas toward the end of November. Sinterklaas and his Petes live in the Helmond Castle every year, from mid-November until 5 December!
- Children’s Carnaval (before Lent, usually in February).
- A tour of Christmas stables in the villages surrounding Eindhoven.
- Eindhoven’s Lichtjesroute (Light route) from 18 September until early October celebrates the liberation of Eindhoven at the end of World War II.