Which holidays are official days off?
Bulgaria’s official public holidays are set out in Article 154 of the Labour Code. They include New Year’s Day, Liberation Day, Labour Day, St George’s Day and Army Day, Culture and Literacy Day, Unification Day, Independence Day, the Christmas holidays and the Orthodox Easter period.
The standard working week is Monday to Friday, with 8 hours a day. For anyone planning around that pattern, the weekday on which a holiday falls matters alongside the holiday date itself. The Council of Ministers may also declare one-off extra non-working days by decision.
What happens when holidays fall at weekends?
When a fixed public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the first working day after it is a day off. This replacement-day rule is important when checking the calendar for work, leave or a visit to Bulgaria.
In 2026, Culture and Literacy Day on 24 May and Unification Day on 6 September both fall on Sundays. The Second Day of Christmas on 26 December falls on a Saturday. These fixed holidays come under the replacement-day rule; the Easter holidays do not.
Orthodox Easter and Christmas breaks
Orthodox Easter provides a four-day public holiday period, from Good Friday through Easter Monday. In 2026, this runs from Friday, 10 April, to Monday, 13 April, with Easter Sunday on 12 April. The Saturday and Sunday within this period do not generate compensatory days off.
Christmas has statutory holidays on 24, 25 and 26 December. In 2026, these fall on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The Saturday holiday also brings the fixed-holiday replacement rule into play, making it relevant when planning time away from work.
Other dates to note in 2026
Labour Day on 1 May falls on a Friday, adjoining the weekend for those on a standard working week. St George’s Day and Army Day on 6 May falls on a Wednesday. Liberation Day on 3 March and Independence Day on 22 September both fall on Tuesdays.
Day of the Bulgarian Enlighteners on 1 November is different from the general public holidays. It honours Bulgarian educators, writers and figures of the National Revival, but is a non-attendance day only for educational institutions, not a general day off.