HolidayTally

Moving holiday

Ascension Day 2026

Thursday 14 May 2026

The Thursday 39 days after Easter Sunday, the sixth Thursday of the Western (Gregorian) Easter season.

In 2026, Ascension Day falls on Thursday 14 May 2026 in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Alsace-Moselle, Germany (all 16 states), Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland (all 26 cantons). It is a Thursday: one day of leave on the Friday after it gives a four-day weekend. For comparison in Austria, the 2027 date is Thursday 6 May 2027.

Dates in 2026

Thursday 14 May 2026

France

Germany

Switzerland

See also: Whit Monday 2026, Corpus Christi 2026.

About Ascension Day

Ascension Day marks the day on which, in the Christian tradition, Jesus ascended into heaven. It falls 39 days after Easter Sunday, which is the fortieth day of the Easter season when the days are counted inclusively, so it is always a Thursday. Because Easter Sunday follows the Western (Gregorian) calendar, Ascension Day moves between 30 April and 3 June. Some churches observe the feast on the following Sunday, but where it is a public holiday the Thursday is the day off.

It is a public holiday in much of continental Europe, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, and in Switzerland it is a holiday in all 26 cantons. It is not a public holiday in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Italy or Poland; Italy took it off its list of civil holidays in 1977. The Orthodox churches date their own Ascension from Orthodox Easter, but none of Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece and Romania makes it a public holiday.

Because it always falls on a Thursday, Ascension Day invites a bridge: one day of leave on the Friday gives a four-day weekend. In 2026 the national administration of Liechtenstein gives its own staff that Friday off as a bridge day, while in most places the Friday is a normal working day. The holiday never needs a substitute day, since it cannot fall on a weekend. It is followed ten days later by Whit Sunday, and its related feasts are Whit Monday and Corpus Christi.

Sources

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