Public holidays 2026 in Scotland

Scotland has 11 public holidays in 2026; 10 fall on a working day.

Download calendar file (.ics) For Outlook, Google Calendar and Apple Calendar; all-day events.

All public holidays with date and weekday

DateWeekdayHolidayCountdown
ThursdayNew Year's Day
FridayNew Year Holiday
FridayGood Friday
MondayMay Day
MondaySpring Bank Holiday
MondayScotland's participation in the FIFA World Cup final
MondaySummer Bank Holiday
MondaySaint Andrew's Day
FridayChristmas Day
SaturdayBoxing Day
MondayBoxing Day (observed)

Falling on a weekend in 2026: Boxing Day (Saturday, 26 Dec).

Not a public holiday in every nation, but in Scotland: New Year Holiday, Scotland's participation in the FIFA World Cup final, Summer Bank Holiday and Saint Andrew's Day.

For comparison: in 2026 the number of public holidays ranges from 9 (England and Wales) to 12 (Northern Ireland). Scotland lies in between with 11.

Days marked "observed" are substitute days off when a holiday falls on a weekend. Holidays based on a lunar calendar can shift by a day once the official announcement is made.

Dates are generated from the open-source library python-holidays and automatically cross-checked against Nager.Date and the public Google Calendar holiday calendars; every holiday on a working day must be confirmed by a second source. Official announcements take precedence, especially for holidays that depend on the moon or are declared at short notice.

Long weekends 2026

8 times a public holiday lies close to a weekend – with a little leave it becomes a long weekend:

Take leaveOffDays of leaveDays offRatioOccasion
Mon 30 Mar, Tue 31 Mar, Wed 1 Apr, Thu 2 Apr28 Mar – 5 Apr 2026492.3Good Friday
Tue 5 May, Wed 6 May, Thu 7 May, Fri 8 May2 May – 10 May 2026492.3May Day
Tue 26 May, Wed 27 May, Thu 28 May, Fri 29 May23 May – 31 May 2026492.3Spring Bank Holiday
Tue 16 Jun, Wed 17 Jun, Thu 18 Jun, Fri 19 Jun13 Jun – 21 Jun 2026492.3Scotland's participation in the FIFA World Cup final
Tue 4 Aug, Wed 5 Aug, Thu 6 Aug, Fri 7 Aug1 Aug – 9 Aug 2026492.3Summer Bank Holiday
Tue 1 Dec, Wed 2 Dec, Thu 3 Dec, Fri 4 Dec28 Nov – 6 Dec 2026492.3Saint Andrew's Day
Mon 21 Dec, Tue 22 Dec, Wed 23 Dec, Thu 24 Dec19 Dec – 28 Dec 20264102.5Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Boxing Day (observed)
Tue 29 Dec, Wed 30 Dec, Thu 31 Dec25 Dec – 4 Jan 20273113.7Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Boxing Day (observed), New Year's Day, New Year Holiday, New Year Holiday (observed)

Counted are gaps of up to four working days between a public holiday and the weekend or another public holiday. "Ratio" = days off per day of leave. Weekends follow the local working week.

Sources

Last updated:

More on 2026 in Scotland

Public holidays in Scotland: other years

Public holidays 2026 in other nations