New Year's Day

The next dates

• 2026Thursday, 1 January
• 2027Friday, 1 January
• 2028Saturday, 1 JanuaryWeekend

In which cantons is New Year's Day a holiday?

• 26cantonspublic holiday throughout the canton

Origin

For a long time, it was not a given that the year begins on 1 January. In the Middle Ages, it began at Christmas in the dioceses of Basel, Constance and Chur, and in parts of western Switzerland on 25 March or at Easter. 1 January, already the start of the year in the Roman calendar, only became established in Switzerland in the 16th century. Even then, New Year was not celebrated everywhere on the same day: the Catholic cantons adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1584, but Zurich, Bern and Basel only in 1701. Until 1700, New Year there fell ten days later than in Lucerne, for example.

Sources: Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz: Kalender

What the three types mean

Public holiday

Treated like a Sunday (Art. 20a Labour Act). Employees have the day off.

Cantonal rest day

Public rest day under cantonal law, e.g. shops are closed. Under employment law it is a working day.

Customary day off

Not a public holiday, but many employers give the day off. Your employment contract decides whether you are off.