St Stephen’s Day 2024, 2025 and 2026
Saint Stephen’s Day is a public holiday throughout many cantons of Switzerland. The holiday falls on 26 December every year, and businesses tend to close down both for Christmas and Saint Stephen’s.
| Year | Date | Day | Holiday | Cantons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 26 Dec | Thu | St Stephen's Day | National except GE, JU, NE, SO, VS, VD & ZG |
| 2025 | 26 Dec | Fri | St Stephen's Day | National except GE, JU, NE, SO, VS, VD & ZG |
| 2026 | 26 Dec | Sat | St Stephen's Day | National except GE, JU, NE, SO, VS, VD & ZG |
| 2027 | 26 Dec | Sun | St Stephen's Day | National except GE, JU, NE, SO, VS, VD & ZG |
| Please scroll down to end of page for previous years' dates. | ||||
Saint Stephen’s Day is basically like “second Christmas”. First Christmas is a bit different in Switzerland, where the angelic being “Christkindli” brings the gifts instead of the more familiar Saint Nick. And he doesn’t sneak in, but openly hands out the presents in front of a candle-lit Christmas tree.
On the day after Christmas, after having filled themselves already the day before with traditional Christmas delicacies, people traditionally sit around eating “Saint Stephen Day’s pie”, which is stuffed with turkey and ham.
Many may take time to relax and recover from the busy holiday season on Saint Stephen’s Day. It’s a good transition day between festivities and work as usual.
Previous Years
| Year | Date | Day | Holiday | Cantons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 26 Dec | Tue | St Stephen's Day | National except GE, JU, NE, SO, VS, VD & ZG |
| 2022 | 26 Dec | Mon | St Stephen's Day | National except GE, JU, NE, SO, VS, VD & ZG |