Holiday Guide for Estonia in 2023

Estonia information

List of National Holidays in Estonia in 2023

	Sunday January 1st New Year's Day Estonia: New Year's Day is a public holiday in all countries that observe the Gregorian calendar, with the exception of Israel
	Friday February 24th  Long Weekend!  Independence Day Estonia: Marks the declaration of independence from the Germans near the end of the first world war.
	Friday April 7th  Long Weekend!  Good Friday Estonia: Good Friday occurs on the Friday before Easter. The day commemorates the Crucifixion of Jesus.
	Sunday April 9th Easter Sunday Estonia: Easter Sunday is the most important date in the Christian church. In the bible, it is the day when Mary Magdalene found that an empty tomb in the cave in which Jesus had been placed.
	Monday May 1st  Long Weekend!  Spring Day Estonia: This holiday is most commonly associated as a commemoration of the achievements of the labour movement
	Sunday May 28th Pentecost Sunday Estonia: Celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is celebrated on the seventh Sunday after Easter
	Friday June 23rd  Long Weekend!  Victory Day Estonia: Marks the key victory in the 1919 Battle of Võnnu (near Cesis, Latvia)
	Saturday June 24th St. John's Day Estonia: The feast day of St John the Baptist marking Midsummer. John by tradition was born six months before Jesus.
	Sunday August 20th Independence Restoration Day Estonia: In 1991 Estonia re-established independence after the end of the Soviet Union
	Saturday October 21st Ethnicity day Estonia: day dedicated to the Estonian unique language and cultural identity
	Sunday December 24th Christmas Eve Estonia: Christmas Eve marks the culmination of the Advent period before Christmas that started on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Eve.
	Monday December 25th  Long Weekend!  Christmas Day Estonia: Christmas celebrates the Nativity of Jesus which according to tradition took place on December 25th 1 BC
	Tuesday December 26th Boxing Day Estonia: The second day of Christmas is known as Boxing Day or St. Stephens Day. St Stephen was the first Christian martyr.

Notes

• Holidays are observed on their calendar date. If the date of a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, then the holiday will not be moved to a weekday.
• According to section 45, subsection 2 of the Employment Contracts Act, all employees who work on public holidays, including those whose scheduled workday falls on a public holiday, must be paid double pay. By agreement between the employer and employee, working on a public holiday may also be compensated with paid time off instead.
• According to section 53 of the Employment Contracts Act, employers must shorten the working day preceding New Year's Day, Independence Day, Victory Day and Christmas Eve by three hours. If an employee's workday falls on a Saturday or Sunday coinciding with a day required to be shortened as noted in section 53, then their Saturday or Sunday workday must be shortened as well.