When: Annually, July/August/September.
Schoolchildren and Students in the Netherlands (primary) education have holidays in July, August and September. This depends on the starting time of the summer holidays or the “big holiday.” Holiday staggering annually ensures that there is no fixed time in July when holidays start.
Since the 1980s
The educational central region is not the only region that has to take into account a variable start of the summer holidays. Every year, the North Netherlands and South Netherlands regions also have to take this into account. They have had to do so since the 1980s. That was when the Dutch government decided that so many people went on holiday at the same time that it was better to spread the holidays. This did not go for other sectors. Only for the education sector was this possible. Then especially for primary and secondary education. However it should be noted here that secondary education has just slightly longer holidays.
Six weeks' holiday
Primary education in the Netherlands usually has six weeks of holidays. This makes the Netherlands no different from, say, Denmark or Germany. Belgium does things slightly differently, where the summer holidays start on July 1 and end on Augustus 31.
For those who think that summer holidays were traditionally an allowance for parents working in the agricultural sector: this is not correct. Rather, the holidays were the result of a changing conception of education and, later, of how to recreate it. The working class also wanted to relax. On the other hand, there was no holiday spread at all back then. Just as there is no spread for certain sectors of the economy now. For instance, a significant part of the population still goes on holiday in July and August a period we know as the “construction holiday” (or the “construction leave”). This still creates crowds in some cases. Moreover, some families wait until all family members can take holidays off before the holidays can start. Holiday spreading never really changed this. On the contrary, sometimes only confusion and frustration.
Grote vakantie
We also know this summer holiday as the grote vakantie (big holiday). Because of its length and because of the number of people who go on holiday during that period. This explains the government’s decision to apply holiday staggering at the time. The only question is whether it succeeded.
Website of the Dutch government
The Dutch government (Rijksoverheid) is leading. The information on this website is indicative. The government determines which holidays are final and which have not yet been determined. Therefore, no rights can be derived from the dates on this website. The most up-to-date information can be found via this website. The information is only offered in the Dutch Language.
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