Whenever the topic of days off comes up, I remember a history lesson in high school and the supposed fact that Egyptians only had five days off a year, not counting weekends.
Whether that was really the case or whether the homeroom teacher wanted to point out to us that we were whining too much, and we had long holidays, I will never know.
What I know for sure is that many people are already counting down the next mini vacation and how many days off they can take in a row, and the Christmas and New Year holidays have just passed.
Calendars are looked at, days off and vacations are added and subtracted.
"Friday is a non-working day, it's a public holiday, and if I take Thursday as well, then I have four days off, plus a day off from work." - various mathematical equations come into play.
The number of non-working days varies from year to year.
The majority of employees in Serbia in 2026. will have 12 days off according to the calendar of public and religious holidays.
We don't count vacations and weekends, of course.
Watch the video: How time was measured in Serbia
Neighbors in the Balkans will probably rest a few more days, and the calculation is similar in Europe.
The number of non-working days varied and in the former Yugoslavia but on average there were seven days off, with a day or two of holidays in the republics.
Instead of the former November 29th as the Day of the Republic or December 22nd as the Day of the Yugoslav People's Army, other dates are now celebrated.
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In January, all the non-working days were used up - it was celebrated January 1, 2 and 7.
The Serbian government has meanwhile recommended that no work be done on January 6th, which some employers have adopted.
But February is coming, and with it three days off for National Day (Meeting) 15, 16 and 17. - is there a weekend trip coming up?
In March, only members of the Islamic faith will have a day off. March 20 when they celebrate the first day Eid al-Fitr.
April is marked by the Sun and egg dyeing, and Catholics will not work from April 3 to 6.
A week later, the days off arrive for Orthodox believers - from April 10th to 13th.
It is not traditionally done May 1 and 2 because the Labor Day, and that month only members of the Islamic community will have an additional day off.
They will not work on May 27th, because it is the first day of Eid al-Adha.
There are no public or religious holidays during the summer months, but there are summer vacations.
In September, members of the Jewish community will have one day off.
Prvi and Jom Kippur commemorated on September 20th.
The first following non-working day is November 11th, which is celebrated Armistice Day in the First World War.
December is here, and so is a day off for Catholics and members of other Christian communities who celebrate Christmas on the 25th.
Balkans: Between 11 and 14 days off
In some Balkan countries, employees will have an extra day off.
Montenegro in 2026 has 14 days off according to the calendar of public and religious holidays.
So in the year, July 13th is National Day., and four months later, on November 13th, they will celebrate Njegoš Day, dedicating it to the bishop and poet Petar Petrovic Njegos.
And now (13) has the majority of employees in Croatia, a member of the European Union (EU).
One of the national holidays in this country is Victory and Homeland Gratitude Day and Defenders' Day, which is celebrated on August 5th.
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is a little different due to its political system, and everyone has seven days off due to public holidays, but religious holidays differ by entity - the Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska.
One of them is March 2nd, which is celebrated as the Independence Day of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Statehood Day is celebrated on November 25th.
Cause of celebration of religious holidays throughout BiH, Orthodox Christians and Catholics will have five non-working days each, and Muslims will have two.
In North Macedonia, it is 11 non-working days and they usually fall on Friday or Monday, so there will be as many as seven extended weekends.
Republic Day is August 2nd, and since it's Sunday, Monday will also be a day off.
Number of non-working days on Kosovo is like in Croatia - 13.
Among the days off is February 17th, when Independence Day is celebrated.
Who will vacation the most in Europe?
Judging by the calendar Lithuanians will be the ones who will rest the most, because in this Baltic state in 2026 there will be even 16 holidays.
Only one less is in Cyprus, Slovakia and Romania.
In Malta it is 14 public holidays in 2026, and the Austrians aren't bad either, as they will have 13 days off.
Germany officially has nine public holidays, but due to its federal structure, provinces can introduce additional holidays.
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