Exporting to Europe? Know your public holidays

Did you know that today is a public holiday in many countries around the world? 1st May is International Workers’ Day so across most of Europe, offices will be closed today.

If you are exporting to Europe or you have European suppliers, you will know how important it is to be aware of all the different public holidays. If you don’t include them into your planning, you risk delaying deliveries, lorries turning up at closed customs offices, long queues at country borders due to holiday traffic, etc.

Public holidays differ in each country and are deeply connected to the political and religious history of a country. In Germany, for example, there are some public holidays that apply to the whole country, and others that are specific to individual federal states. At the bottom of this blog, we have pulled together a table with the most important German and French public holidays in 2015.

One of the best ways to keep up to date with public holidays in other countries is to use Google Calendar and add country-specific holiday calendars. We work with German and French customers and translators on a daily basis and we tend to add a reminder one week in advance of any public holidays so we can plan ahead and minimise disruptions. Every little helps 🙂

German public holidays 2015

NameDateWhere?
Tag der Arbeit (Labour Day)01.05.2015 Whole country
Christi Himmelfahrt (Ascension)14.05.2015 Whole country
Pfingstsonntag (Whit Sunday)24.05.2015 Brandenburg only
Pfingstmontag (Whit Monday)25.05.2015 Whole country
Fronleichnam (Corpus Christi)04.06.2015 Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland
Mariä Himmelfahrt (Assumption)15.08.2015 Bavaria, Saarland
Tag der Deutschen Einheit (Day of German Unity) 03.10.2015 Whole country
Reformationstag (Reformation Day)31.10.2015 Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, Saarland, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia
Allerheiligen (All Saints' Day)01.11.2015 Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland
Buß- und Bettag (Day of Atonement)18.11.2015 Saxony
1. Weihnachtstag (Christmas Day)25.12.2015 Whole country
2. Weihnachtstag (Boxing Day)26.12.2015 Whole country

French public holidays 2015

NameDateWhere?
Fête du Travail (Labour Day)01.05.2015Whole country
Fête de la Victoire 1945 (WWII Victory Day)08.05.2015Whole country
Ascension catholique (Ascension Day)14.05.2015Whole country
Pentecôte (Whit Sunday)24.05.2015Whole country
Lundi de Pentecôte (Whit Monday)25.05.2015Whole country
Fête nationale (Bastille Day)14.07.2015Whole country
Assomption (Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary)15.08.2015Whole country
Toussaint (All Saints' Day) 01.11.2015Whole country
Armistice 1918 (Armistice Day)11.11.2015Whole country
Noël (Christmas Day)25.12.2015Whole country