Updated: Guide to Public Holidays & Saturdays as Working Days in Hungary

  • 29 Nov 2024 7:52 AM
Updated: Guide to Public Holidays & Saturdays as Working Days in Hungary
There are many bank holidays, and some extra ‘rest days’ in Hungary this year. As you can see from the easy to read lists below, instead of having one free day in the middle of the work week, Hungarians usually prefer to have long weekends in exchange for a Saturday that would otherwise be a ‘rest day’.

Depending on which day of the week a bank holidays falls on, the previous or the following day is deemed to be a ‘rest day’ to make a long weekend for employees to enjoy.

In these cases, Saturday is usually declared a working day instead, to keep the number of work days the same during the year.

National holidays and rest days in 2024

7 December (Saturday): working day in exchange for a rest day on 24 December (Christmas Eve)
14 December (Saturday): working day in exchange for a rest day on 27 December (Friday)
24 December (Tuesday): Christmas Eve
25 – 26 December (Wednesday – Thursday): 1st and 2nd day of Christmas
27 December (Friday): rest day, so almost the entire week of Christmas is free (24 December – 29 December )
1 January 2025 (Wednesday)

Earlier:

1 January 2024 (Monday): New Year’s Day
15 March (Friday): commemoration of the revolution in 1848
29 March – 1 April (Friday – Monday): 4-day long weekend with Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday
1 May (Wednesday): Labor Day
19 & 20 May (Sunday and Monday): Pentecost
3 August (Saturday): working day in exchange for a rest day on 19 August (Monday)
19 August (Monday): rest day to create a 4-day long weekend (17 August – 20 August)
20 August (Tuesday): St. Stephen’s Day or the Day of the New Bread
23 October (Wednesday): commemoration of the revolution in 1956
1 November (Friday): All Hallows’ Day


Working Saturdays in Hungary in 2024

3 August – in exchange, 19 August will be a day off;
7 December – in exchange, 26 December will be a day off; 
14 December – in exchange, 27 December will be a day off.

Special days which are not public holidays

Around the end of the year there are two “short” days, when most employees are allowed to leave early, shops close around noon, and even public transport switches to night mode around 4 p.m.

In 2024 these are:

24 December, Christmas Eve (Tuesday in 2024, and already a rest day)
31 December, New Year’s Eve (Tuesday in 2024)

  • How does this content make you feel?

Explore More Reports

  • International Father's Day Celebrated in Hungary, 15 June

    International Father's Day Celebrated in Hungary, 15 June

    • 5 Mar 2025 12:32 PM

    Father’s Day is celebrated worldwide to recognize the contribution that fathers and father figures make to the lives of their children. This day celebrates fatherhood and male parenting. Although it is celebrated on a variety of dates worldwide, many countries observe this day on the third Sunday in June (18 June in 2017).

  • Peace Light of Bethlehem Arrives at Parliament in Budapest

    Peace Light of Bethlehem Arrives at Parliament in Budapest

    • 18 Dec 2024 3:52 PM

    The Peace Light, lit in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, arrived to Budapest’s Parliament on Monday, brought by a delegation of Hungarian scouts. The flame is a symbol of peace and love, and its arrival marks a significant moment in the Advent season.