Czech holiday calendar 2022: five state holidays fall on the weekend

Every year, the number of state holidays that people will get off is a roll of the calendar dice, as the Czech Republic does not compensate by moving weekend dates to the closest Monday. Of the 13 state holidays, five fall on a Saturday or Sunday.

There are only three long weekends, including the mandatory four-day weekend for Easter and a paltry three-day weekend for Christmas. The other is for the Establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic, which falls on a Friday.

The bad luck starts right at the beginning of the year, with Jan. 1, which marks the Restoration Day of the Independent Czech State, falling on a Saturday.

There is no avoiding a four-day Easter weekend. Easter Sunday falls relatively late on April 17, This gives us Good Friday on April 15 and Easter Monday on April 18. While it is not a holiday, the related Masopust, also called Mardi Gras or Carnevale, falls on Tuesday, March 1. The following day is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, the season of austerity leading up to Easter for devout Christians.

Then there is more bad luck. The next two holidays – May Day on May 1 and Liberation from Fascism on May 8 – both fall on Sundays.

Czech Statehood Day, also called St. Wenceslas Day, falls on Wednesday, Sept. 28. Wednesdays are likely the least popular day for holiday. Just after a short bit of relaxation, people have to come back for two more days that probably won’t be that productive.

The first bit of real luck is Friday, Oct. 28, which is the Establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic. This gives people a three-day weekend while hopefully weather is still nice enough to enjoy the fall leaves.

Freedom and Democracy Day falls on Thursday, Nov. 17, making it tempting to take the following Friday off to make another long weekend.

Christmas is another disappointment, with just one of the three days falling on a weekday. Dec. 24, when Czechs traditionally celebrate, falls on a Saturday, while Dec. 25 is a Sunday. Just St. Stephen's Day, also called Boxing Day by some, is an extra day off. It falls on Monday, Dec. 26.

As with every year 2016, large stores over 200 square meters will close on some holidays, with some exceptions. Most stores must remain closed on New Year's Day, Easter Monday, May 8, Sept. 28, Oct. 28, and Dec. 25 and 26. Most stores also have to close at noon on Dec. 24, the day most Czechs celebrate Christmas.

There are no significant anniversaries on any of the holidays, and no extraordinary public celebrations have been announced. More information will likely become available closer to the holidays and will depend on the pandemic conditions in effect at the time.

The Czech Republic’s 13 state holidays are around average. India and Colombia have 18, while Thailand, Lebanon, and South Korea have 16. The least is in Mexico with seven, followed by the Netherlands, UK, and Hungary with eight days. The last state holiday to be added was Good Friday, which became a day off starting in 2016.

There are also 15 significant days on the Czech calendar. These are recognized as important but are not days off. Aug. 21, for example, is the Day of Memory of the Victims of the 1968 Invasion and Subsequent Occupation of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact Troops. Others include remembering Jan Palach on Jan. 16, International Women’s Day on March 8, Family Day on May 15, and several others related to World War I, World War II, the Holocaust, and events during communism.