There are several public holidays in Greece during the year 2024 but not all of them are official. There are those that are declared mandatory holidays by the legislator, such as Christmas, Easter Monday and Assumption (August 15) as well as the national holiday of March 25 (but not that of October 28) and there are those that are left to the discretion of the employer. Still others concern school holidays.
Also, several holidays are celebrated following tradition, even if they are not enshrined into labor law, just as there are some small differences between Greece and Cyprus. Finally, one should not confuse a school holiday with a public holiday for everyone. Several days are public holidays in the National Education system, but they are working days for the rest of the working people, just as some days may be public holidays and non-working days for the public service (so public services are closed) but working days for the private sector (therefore shops and services are open).
It is important to distinguish between a public holiday (day of festivities) and a non-working day (where people do not work). iNFO-GRECE presents here a table with all the dates of the year 2024 - official or not - listed with a different code and color according to the status of each holiday, so that you have the best possible picture of public holidays in Greece and Cyprus and that you can organize your trips and travel accordingly.
Public holidays 2024
| Date | Celebration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Monday |
New Year's Day and St. Basil's Day (Πρωτοχρονιά και Αγίου Βασιλείου, Protochronia) |
Official holiday, day off by custom. |
Saturday |
Theophany or Epiphany (Θεοφάνεια ή Φώτα, Theophania, Phota) |
Official holiday, day off by custom. |
Tuesday |
Of the three Hierarchs (Των Τριών Ιεραρχών, Trion Ierarkhon) |
A public holiday for primary and secondary education, this day is a holiday in Cyprus, but is no longer observed in Greece where it is dedicated, for schoolchildren, to various events and festivities around the work of the Three Hierarchs of Orthodoxy. |
Monday |
Clean Monday (Καθαρά Δευτέρα, Kathara Deftera) |
A moveable feast and official holiday, it is a day off by custom. |
Monday |
Celebration of the Greek Revolution and Annunciation to the Mother of God (Εορτασμός της Ελληνικής Επανάστασης και Ευαγγελισμός της Θεοτόκου, Ethniki eorti, Evangelismos) |
Official holiday, compulsory day off in Greece and Cyprus. |
Monday |
Cyprus National Day (beginning of the Liberation Struggle) (Εθνική εορτή Κύπρου (έναρξη Απελευθερωτικού αγώνα), Ethniki eorti Kyprou) |
Official holiday, compulsory day off in Cyprus. |
Wednesday |
Labor Day and/or Flower Day (Πρωτομαϊά, Protomayia) |
Optional day off. |
Friday |
Good Friday (Μεγάλη Παρασκευή, Megali Paraskevi) |
A moveable feast and official holiday, and half-day off by custom, i.e. shops and services may be closed in the morning. |
Saturday |
Great Saturday, the Descent into Hell (Μέγα Σάββατο, η εις Άδου Κάθοδος, Mega Savvato) |
Official holiday, day off by custom. |
Sunday |
(Πάσχα, Pascha) |
Movable holiday. |
Monday |
Easter Monday or Bright Monday (Δευτέρα του Πάσχα, της Διακαινησίμου, Deftera tou Pascha, Diakainismou) |
Official holiday and compulsory day off. |
Tuesday |
St. Apostle Barnabas, founder of the Church of Cyprus (Αποστόλου Βαρνάβα, ιδρυτή της Εκκλησίας της Κύπρου, Agiou Varnava) |
Optional day off in Cyprus. |
Thursday |
Ascension (Αναλήψη, Analipsis) |
A moveable holiday, it is a working day in Greece but a day off in Cyprus for primary and secondary education. |
Sunday |
Pentecost (Πεντηκοστή, Pentikosti) |
Movable holiday. |
Monday |
Whit Monday, Holy Spirit Day (Tου Αγίου Πνεύματος, Agiou Pnevmatos) |
Movable holiday, generally a working day except in National Education. |
Tuesday |
Transfiguration du Sauveur (Μεταμόρφωση Σωτήρος, Metamorfosi Sotiros) |
An official holiday of the Greek Orthodox Church, but it is not a day off. |
Thursday |
Assumption of the Mother of God (Κοίμησις Θεοτόκου, Koimisis Theotokou) |
Official holiday and compulsory day off. |
Tuesday |
Cyprus Independence Day (Ημέρα ανεξαρτησίας της Κύπρου, Ethniki eorti Kyprou) |
Official holiday, compulsory day off in Cyprus. |
Monday |
Fête nationale - Jour du NON (Εθνική εορτή - Επέτειος του ΌΧΙ, National Day - The OHI/NO Day) |
Official holiday, optional day off. |
Sunday |
(Επέτειος Εξέγερσης Πολυτεχνείου, Exegersi Polytechneiou) |
National Day although it is not part of the official holidays. However, it is traditionally a day off in Education, from primary to higher education. |
Wednesday |
Christmas Day (Χριστούγεννα, Christougenna) |
Official holiday and compulsory day off. |
Thursday |
Synaxis of the Theotokos (Σύναξις Θεοτόκου, Synaxis Theotokou) |
Official holiday, day off by custom. |
School holidays:
- Easter holidaysfrom Holy Monday (April 29) to White Sunday - Thomas Sunday (May 12)
- Summer holidays- In Greece
Primary school: June 15 - September 11
Middle and High School: June 22 - September 11- In Cyprus: Friday, June 28, 2024 - Monday, September 9, 2024 - Christmas holidaysfrom Monday, December 23, 2024 to Monday, January 6, 2025
Other observations
In addition to these celebrations, all Sundays with some exceptions are considered public holidays; there may also be local holidays, for exemple the feast of a city's patron saint or anniversaries of particular historical events, notably the liberation of the city from a foreign occupier, which may also locally be non-working days.
Finally, not directly related to public holidays but important to know, in Greece, commerces operate continuous hours every other day, which means that on these days the hours are extended in the morning but in the afternoon the shops will be closed; the days concerned vary locally and can be Monday-Wednesday-Friday or Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday. Similarly, in some services, continuous hours are applied every working day of the week.