Many of Public Holidays in Norway (helligdager) mark historical religious events or important days in Norway’s history. However, Norwegians traditionally tend to use most of these days as a reason to get out into the forests and mountains. Even On New Year’s Day, Norwegians will most likely head to the hills for a hike. Despite this being the main Norway’s approach to celebrating public holidays, there is still a lot of interesting things you can see if you decide to visit the country on a holiday. Help us
Public Holidays and Observances in Norway for 2024-2025 year
Thursday 21 March - Birken ski festival in Rena, Norway (Birken festival, usually taking place in February in Rena, follows the route that a group of skiers took during Norway’s civil war back in 1200, to carry the young prince Haakon Haakonsøn away from the enemies and to safety)
Friday 7 June - Union Dissolution Day (Norway. The Union Dissolution Day, observed in Norway on 7 June (though not a public holiday), is marked in remembrance of the Norwegian parliament's 1905 declaration of dissolution of the union with Sweden, a personal union which had existed since 1814)
Sunday 23 June - St John's Eve and the first day of the Midsummer celebrations (Roman Catholic Church, Europe: - Bonfires of Saint John in Spain; Festa del Poble in Andorra; First night of Festa de São João do Porto; First day of Golowan Festival in Cornwall; Jaaniõhtu in Estonia; Jāņi in Latvia; Kupala Night in Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Ukraine; Last day of Drăgaica fair in Buzău, Romania)
Monday 29 July - Olsok or St. Olaf's Day (King Olaf II Haraldsson of Norway is remembered as Rex perpetuus Norvegiae, the Eternal King of Norway. Olsok is a national day of celebration in the Nordic countries of Norway and the Faroe Islands, and also in the provinces of Härjedalen in Sweden and Savonlinna in Finland)
Wednesday 31 July - Peer Gynt Festival in Lillehammer, Norway (The Peer Gynt Festival, taking place in the Gudbrandsdalen valley every August, celebrates the iconic play-in-verse by the famous Norwegian play writer, as well as the historical person who inspired the tale—because Per Gynt actually lived in this valley during the 17th century)
Tuesday 6 August - Øya Festival in Oslo, Norway (Øyafestivalen is a four-day music fest that brings together about 60,000 people on the green grass of Tøyen Park, who are excited to listen to tunes from internationally acclaimed stars)
Monday 9 December - Anna's Day (Sweden, Finland and Norway. Marks the day to start the preparation process of the lutefisk to be consumed on Christmas Eve, as well as a Swedish name day, celebrating all people named Anna)
Friday 13 December - Lucia Festival (a tradition that is widespread in the countries of Northern Europe: Sweden, Denmark, Norway); Saint Lucia Day (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and parts of Italy. Dedicated to Saint Lucia's independence from the United Kingdom in 1979)
Thursday 26 December - Second day of Christmas (Western Christianity. Public holiday in the Netherlands, Poland, Norway); St. Stephen's Day (public holiday in Alsace, Austria, Andorra, Catalonia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovakia and Switzerland); Boxing Day (Belgium, Fiji, The Bahamas, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Samoa...)
Friday 31 January - Northern Lights Festival in Tromsø, Norway (The Nordlysfestivalen or Northern Lights Festival has since its beginning in 1988, developed from a small classic music festival, to a huge ten days music festival in Tromsø)
Public days off in Norway (with some exceptions) fall on a specific date. This means that there are usually some that fall on a weekend, so the number of actual public holiday days in Norway varies each year. Many of the days fall in May and early June, which can lead to a lot of 3-day or 4-day weeks in the run-up to summer.