Holidays

holidays Luxembourg

With just under 2,600 square kilometres, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg may be the smallest territorial state on earth, but nevertheless – or perhaps precisely because of this – the Luxembourgers are big when it comes to preserving traditions.

Also beyond the official holidays, special customs are cultivated: For example, on Ash Wednesday people throw burning straw dolls from the Moselle bridge, meet on the Tuesday after Whitsun in honor of St. Willibrord for the “jumping procession” (where the more or less pious actually hop according to a certain pattern) or visit the “Schueberfouer” – large colorful carny festivals – at the end of August/beginning of September.

Every Luxembourg worker is entitled to ten public holidays a year – if one of them falls on a day off anyway, you’re allowed to take a compensatory day within the next three months.

Overview

New Year’s Day – on January 1

Easter Sunday – Sunday after the first full moon in spring

Easter Monday – one day after Easter Sunday

Labor Day – on May 1

Ascension Day – 39 days after Easter Sunday

Pentecost Monday – 50 days after Easter Sunday

National Day – on June 23

Ascension Day – on August 15

All Saints’ Day – on November 1

1st Christmas Day (“Chrëschtdag”) – on December 25

2nd Christmas Day (“Stiefesdag”) – on December 26

Worth knowing about selected holidays

Easter

Even the period before Easter holds a very special custom in Luxembourg: On the third Sunday after Shrovetide, on “Bratzelsonndeg”, men give your beloved a pretzel. If the lady is not averse, she returns the favour on the holidays with an egg. In leap years, by the way, the roles are reversed: then the woman gives the pretzel and the man, if necessary, the egg.

From Good Friday to Easter Vigil, the bells are not rung (children are often told that the bells flew to Rome and brought sweets on their way back), but the offspring make sure that it is not too quiet: With colorfully decorated bouquets of blackthorn, the children parade through the streets singing and chattering.

Equally noisy then comes Monday, heralding the joyful Easter message – 87 percent of Luxembourgers are estimated to be Catholic: The traditional “Éimaischen” recalls the story from the village of Emmaus, as recorded in the Gospel of Luke, where several disciples are said to have encountered the risen Jesus. Only on Easter Monday can you buy the so-called “Péchvillchen”, bird-shaped pipes made of terracotta, on which you can warble in the highest notes.

National Day

Luxembourg is the last of the once nine European grand duchies, a hereditary parliamentary monarchy. So it is not surprising that the national holiday was originally – already since the end of the 18th century – closely linked to the birthdays of the rulers and the date changed several times.

As William III’s birthday was only three days before the anniversary of his brother’s death and he was not in the mood for merriment, he moved the celebration to 17 June, his wife’s birthday, in 1850. After 23 January had been chosen in the meantime, under Grand Duchess Charlotte, which often spoiled the joy with bad winter weather, 23 June was declared “Groussherzogs Gebuertsdag” in 1961 – regardless of when the current regent actually saw the light of day.

The festivities always begin on the eve, which is marked by folk festivities, torchlight processions, fireworks and music of all kinds. Then on the 23rd comes the official part with military parade, cannon firing and Te Deum.