Is today a public holiday in Finland?

Finnish Public Holidays (Pyhäpäivät), Arkipyhät, Midsummer Eve & Vuosilomalaki Leave Rules

In Finland, official public holidays (pyhäpäivät or viralliset juhlapäivät) are established exclusively by acts of Parliament: the Church Act (Kirkkolaki 652/2023, Chapter 4, Section 3), the Act on the Celebration of Independence Day as a Public Holiday and General Flag Day (388/1937), and the Act on May Day (272/1944). The University of Helsinki Almanac Office (Yliopiston almanakkatoimisto) maintains the official Finnish calendar and flag days.

Finnish Holiday Terminology: Pyhäpäivä vs. Arkipyhä vs. Aattopäivä

To plan working days and annual leave accurately in Finland, residents and employers distinguish between three legal and workplace categories:

• Pyhäpäivä (Official Public Holiday): Any Sunday or statutory religious/civic holiday established by law.
• Arkipyhä (Weekday Public Holiday): An official public holiday that falls between Monday and Friday (or Monday and Saturday in annual leave calculations). Under most Finnish collective agreements (työehtosopimukset – TES), an arkipyhä shortens that week's regular working hours without reducing monthly pay or consuming annual leave.
• Aattopäivä (Holiday Eve – Juhannusaatto & Jouluaatto): Midsummer Eve (Juhannusaatto) and Christmas Eve (Jouluaatto, 24 December) are not official statutory public holidays under the Church Act. However, under Section 4 of the Annual Holidays Act (Vuosilomalaki 162/2005), both eves are legally treated on a par with public holidays when counting vacation days, and virtually all Finnish collective agreements, banks, government offices, and Nasdaq Helsinki observe them as full paid non-working days.

Midsummer (Juhannus), Vappu, Independence Day & Moving Saturday Holidays

Finland's seasonal calendar features distinctive date rules established in the 1955 church calendar reform:

• Midsummer (Juhannus): Official Midsummer Day (Juhannuspäivä) is permanently set as the Saturday between 20 and 26 June (Saturday, 20 June 2026 and Saturday, 26 June 2027). Because Midsummer Eve (Juhannusaatto: Friday, 19 June 2026 and Friday, 25 June 2027) is a contractual and banking non-working day nationwide, Midsummer always creates a 3-day long weekend in practice.
• All Saints' Day (Pyhäinpäivä): Permanently observed on the Saturday between 31 October and 6 November (Saturday, 31 October 2026 and Saturday, 6 November 2027). Because it is anchored to Saturday, it never reduces Monday–Friday working days.
• May Day (Vappu, 1 May): Combines the statutory spring festival and labor day with student cap (ylioppilaslakki) celebrations beginning on Vappu Eve (30 April). In 2026, 1 May falls on a Friday (a 3-day weekend); in 2027, it falls on a Saturday.
• Finnish Independence Day (Itsenäisyyspäivä, 6 December): Commemorates Finland's 1917 declaration of independence. Legally, 6 December is the only holiday in Finland where a dedicated statute (Act 388/1937) directly mandates paid time off if it would otherwise have been a workday. In 2026, 6 December falls on a Sunday (no Monday rollover); in 2027, it falls on a Monday, creating a 3-day weekend.

The 'Saturday Counts' Rule (Arkipäivä) & Finnish Annual Leave Planning

Under the Finnish Annual Holidays Act (Vuosilomalaki 162/2005), employees accrue 2 or 2.5 leave days per month (up to 30 leave days per year: 24 days of summer holiday kesäloma taken between 2 May and 30 September, and 6 days of winter holiday talviloma). Crucially, Finnish law defines leave days in arkipäivät (Monday through Saturday):

• 6 Leave Days per Full Week: Taking a standard Monday-to-Friday week off consumes 6 leave days from your 30-day balance because Saturday is counted as an arkipäivä.
• How Arkipyhät Save Leave Days: Section 4 of Vuosilomalaki explicitly excludes Sundays, church holidays, Independence Day, Vappu, Midsummer Eve, and Christmas Eve from being counted as arkipäivät. Therefore, booking a vacation week that contains Epiphany (Tuesday 6 Jan 2026), Easter, Vappu (Friday 1 May 2026), Ascension Day (Thursday 14 May 2026), or Midsummer Eve (Friday 19 June 2026) consumes only 4 or 5 leave days instead of 6:

Banking Clearing (Suomen Pankki TARGET2) & Nasdaq Helsinki

Bank of Finland (Suomen Pankki) operates within the Eurosystem TARGET2 framework, while domestic Finnish banks and Nasdaq Helsinki (Helsingin Pörssi) close on all weekday Finnish statutory holidays—including Epiphany (6 Jan), Good Friday, Easter Monday, Vappu (1 May), Ascension Day (Helatorstai), Independence Day (6 Dec), Christmas Day (25 Dec), and St. Stephen's Day (26 Dec)—as well as full-day closures on Midsummer Eve (Juhannusaatto), Christmas Eve (Jouluaatto), and New Year's Eve (Uudenvuodenaatto). Note that Åland Autonomy Day (9 June) is a regional holiday exclusive to the autonomous region of Åland.