According to Greek Law every Sunday of the year is a public holiday. In addition, there are four obligatory, official public holidays: March 25^th, Easter Monday, August 15^th and December 25^th. Two more days, May 1^st and October 28,^th are regulated by law as optional but it is customary for employees to be given the day off. There are, however, more public holidays celebrated in Greece than are anounced by the Ministry of Labour each year as either obligatory or optional. The list of these non-fixed National Holidays rarely ever changes, and has never changed in recent decades, giving a total of eleven (11) National Holidays each year.

A public holiday that occurs on a Sunday is not transfered to another date, with the exception of May 1^st, which is regarded by the locals more as a General strike than a Public Holiday.

In addition to the National Holidays, there Public Holidays that are not celebrated nationwide, but only by a specific professional group or a local community. For example many municipalities have a patron Saint or a Liberation Day, and at this day is customary for schools to have a day off.

National Holidays

National Holidays
Date	English Name	Greek Name (transliterated)	Greek Name	Remarks
January 1	New Year's Day	Protochronia	Πρωτοχρονιά	Also celebrated ecclesiastically as the feast of St. Basil the Great and of the church of Christ.	3
January 6	Epiphany or Theophany	Theophaneia	Θεοφάνεια		3
moveable Moveable feast In Christianity, a moveable feast or movable feast is a holy day – a feast day or a fast day – whose date is not fixed to a particular day of the calendar year but moves in response to the date of Easter, the date of which varies according to a complex formula... Easter Easter Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...  - 41 days	Clean Monday Clean Monday Clean Monday , also known as Pure Monday, Ash Monday, Monday of Lent or Green Monday, is the first day of the Eastern Orthodox Christian and Eastern Catholic Great Lent...  or Shrove Monday	Kathara Deftera	Καθαρά Δευτέρα	The first day of Lent Lent In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and... .Next: 28 February 2012	3
March 25	Annunciation Annunciation The Annunciation, also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Virgin Mary, that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus the Son of God. Gabriel told Mary to name her...	Evagelismos tis Theotokou	Ευαγγελισμός της Θεορόκου	Celebration of the Annunciation Annunciation The Annunciation, also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Virgin Mary, that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus the Son of God. Gabriel told Mary to name her...  - when the birth of Christ was announced to the Virgin Mary.	1
	Independence Day Independence Day An Independence Day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's assumption of independent statehood, usually after ceasing to be a colony or part of another nation or state, and more rarely after the end of a military occupation...	Eikosti-pempti Martiou (lit. 25th of March)	Εικοστή Πέμπτη Μαρτιου	Anniversary of the declaration of the start of Greek War of Independence Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...  from the Ottoman Empire, in 1821.
moveable Moveable feast In Christianity, a moveable feast or movable feast is a holy day – a feast day or a fast day – whose date is not fixed to a particular day of the calendar year but moves in response to the date of Easter, the date of which varies according to a complex formula... Easter Easter Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...  - 2 days	Good Friday Good Friday Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...	Megali Paraskevi	Μεγάλη Παρασκευή	Next: 13 April 2012	3
moveable Moveable feast In Christianity, a moveable feast or movable feast is a holy day – a feast day or a fast day – whose date is not fixed to a particular day of the calendar year but moves in response to the date of Easter, the date of which varies according to a complex formula...	Easter Easter Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...	Kyriaki tou Pascha	Κυριακή του Πάσχα	Next: 15 April 2012	*
moveable Moveable feast In Christianity, a moveable feast or movable feast is a holy day – a feast day or a fast day – whose date is not fixed to a particular day of the calendar year but moves in response to the date of Easter, the date of which varies according to a complex formula... Easter Easter Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...  + 1 day	Easter Monday Easter Monday Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday and is celebrated as a holiday in some largely Christian cultures, especially Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox cultures...	Deutera tou Pascha	Δευτέρα του Πάσχα	Next: 16 April 2012	1
May 1	Labor Day Labor Day Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.-History:...	Ergatiki Protomagia (lit. May 1st of the Workers)	Εργατική Πρωτομαγιά		2,4
August 15	Assumption Assumption of Mary According to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...  or Dormition Assumption of Mary According to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...  of the Holy Virgin	I Kimisis tis Theotokou	Η Κοίμησις της Θεοτόκου	The most important celebration of the Virgin Mary	1
October 28	The "Ochi day"	'To Ochi' or 'Imera tou Ochi" (lit. Day of the "No")	Το Όχι or Ημέρα του Όχι	Celebration of the Greek refusal to the Italian ultimatum of 1940.	2
December 25	Christmas Christmas Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...	Christougenna	Χριστούγεννα		1
December 26	Glorifying Mother of God	Synaxis Hyperagias Theotokou Marias	Σύναξις Ὑπεραγίας Θεοτόκου Μαρίας	The religious meaning of the holiday is a coming together to glorify the Theotokos Theotokos Theotokos is the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its literal English translations include God-bearer and the one who gives birth to God. Less literal translations include Mother of God... .But in general and in effect the day is considered a holiday because it's the day after Christmas just like Boxing Day Boxing Day Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...  in some Commonwealth Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...  countries.	3

^* Note that Easter Sunday, is not an official holiday as it always occurs on Sunday

¹ Obligatory, fixed by law

² Optional, regulated by law

³ Customary, regulated by the Ministry

⁴ Regarded as a General Stike, can be transfered to another date.

Profession Specific Holidays

Profession SPecific Holidays
Date	English Name	Greek Name (transliterated)	Greek Name	Applies to	Remarks
January 30	The Three Holy Hierarchs	Trion Ierarchon	Τριών Ιεραρχών	Education	Commemoration of the patron saints of education (St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian Gregory of Nazianzus Gregory of Nazianzus was a 4th-century Archbishop of Constantinople. He is widely considered the most accomplished rhetorical stylist of the patristic age... , St. John Chrysostom)
moveable Moveable feast In Christianity, a moveable feast or movable feast is a holy day – a feast day or a fast day – whose date is not fixed to a particular day of the calendar year but moves in response to the date of Easter, the date of which varies according to a complex formula... Easter Easter Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...  + 50 days	Whit Monday Whit Monday Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a movable feast in the Christian calendar. It is movable because it is determined by the date of Easter....	Aghiou Pnevmatos (lit. Of the Holy Spirit)	Αγίου Πνεύματος	Public Sector, a number of professional groups	Monday of the Holy Spirit or Pentecost Monday. Next: 13 June 2011 & 28 May 2012
November 17	Polytechneio	Polytechneio	Πολυτεχνείο	Education	Anniversary of the 1973 students protests Athens Polytechnic uprising The Athens Polytechnic uprising in 1973 was a massive demonstration of popular rejection of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974. The uprising began on November 14, 1973, escalated to an open anti-junta, anti-US and anti-imperialist revolt and ended in bloodshed in the early morning of November...  against the junta of the colonels Greek military junta of 1967-1974 The Greek military junta of 1967–1974, alternatively "The Regime of the Colonels" , or in Greece "The Junta", and "The Seven Years" are terms used to refer to a series of right-wing military governments that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974... (1967-1974).

External links

• List of the various days envisaged as non-working days pursuant to Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 1182/71 of 3 June 1971 http://ec.europa.eu/civiljustice/time_limits/time_limits_gre_en.htm#2.