In brief
How many days off does Lithuania have?
Article 123 of the Labour Code lists 16 entries. Two of them — Mother’s Day and Father’s Day — always fall on a Sunday, so they add no extra day off.
Why are flags up on the buildings if it is a working day?
These are two different lists, and they do not always coincide. 25 October is Constitution Day, 23 November is Armed Forces Day: the flag goes up, and both are working days.
A holiday fell on a Sunday. Do we get the Monday off?
No. In Lithuania a public holiday that falls on a weekend is not moved to another day — that is what happened with 1 November in 2026.
Is it true that the day before a holiday is shorter?
Yes. The working day before a public holiday is shortened by one hour — that is Article 112 of the Labour Code.
Is a holiday the same thing as a commemorative day?
No, and the difference is exactly whether you go to work. Lithuania has several dozen commemorative days, and almost all of them are ordinary working days.
Three different statuses, one word in conversation
When people say “tomorrow is a holiday”, it can mean one of three things — with very different consequences.
| What it is | Do we work? | Where it is written |
|---|---|---|
| Šventės diena — a public holiday, a non-working day | No | Article 123 of the Labour Code |
| Atmintina diena — a commemorative day | Yes | Law on Commemorative Days |
| Vėliavos kėlimo diena — a flag-raising day | Yes | Law on the State Flag |
| A folk day such as Mykolinės or Andriejinės | Yes | Nowhere — it is a custom, not a rule |
One date can carry two statuses at once. 25 October, for instance, is both a commemorative day and a flag day — and still an ordinary working day. 2 November is both a day off and a commemorative day.
Hence the confusion: the news says “today Lithuania marks…”, people expect a day off, and there isn’t one.
Every date in one table
| Name | Date | Day off? | Flag? |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year · Lithuanian Flag Day Naujieji metai · Lietuvos vėliavos diena | 1 January | 🎉 | 🇱🇹 |
| Defenders of Freedom Day Laisvės gynėjų diena | 13 January | 🇱🇹 | |
| Restoration of the State Day Lietuvos valstybės atkūrimo diena | 16 February | 🎉 | 🇱🇹 |
| Estonian Independence Day Estijos nepriklausomybės diena | 24 February | 🇱🇹 | |
| Restoration of Independence Day Lietuvos Nepriklausomybės atkūrimo diena | 11 March | 🎉 | 🇱🇹 |
| NATO accession day Lietuvos įstojimo į NATO diena | 29 March | 🇱🇹 | |
| Easter and Easter Monday Šv. Velykos, Antroji Šv. Velykų diena | March or April | 🎉 | |
| Labour Day · EU accession day Tarptautinė darbo diena · Lietuvos įstojimo į Europos Sąjungą diena | 1 May | 🎉 | 🇱🇹 |
| Mother’s Day Motinos diena | 1st Sunday of May | 🎉 | |
| Europe Day Europos diena | 9 May | 🇱🇹 | |
| Father’s Day Tėvo diena | 1st Sunday of June | 🎉 | |
| Day of Mourning and Hope Gedulo ir vilties diena | 14 June | 🇱🇹 | |
| Day of Occupation and Genocide Okupacijos ir genocido diena | 15 June | 🇱🇹 | |
| Midsummer, St John’s Day Joninės (Rasos) | 24 June | 🎉 | |
| Statehood Day — coronation of Mindaugas, 1253 Valstybės (Karaliaus Mindaugo karūnavimo) diena | 6 July | 🎉 | 🇱🇹 |
| Battle of Grunwald Day Žalgirio mūšio diena | 15 July | 🇱🇹 | |
| Assumption of Mary Žolinė | 15 August | 🎉 | |
| Remembrance of the victims of Stalinism and Nazism · Baltic Way Europos diena stalinizmo ir nacizmo aukoms atminti · Baltijos kelio diena | 23 August | 🇱🇹 | |
| Freedom Day Laisvės diena | 31 August | 🇱🇹 | |
| Coronation of Vytautas the Great Vytauto Didžiojo karūnavimo diena | 8 September | ||
| Baltic Unity Day Baltų vienybės diena | 22 September | ||
| Remembrance of the victims of the genocide of Lithuanian Jews Lietuvos žydų genocido atminimo diena | 23 September | 🇱🇹 | |
| Constitution Day Konstitucijos diena | 25 October | 🇱🇹 | |
| All Saints’ Day Visų šventųjų diena | 1 November | 🎉 | |
| All Souls’ Day Vėlinės | 2 November | 🎉 | |
| Latvian Independence Day Latvijos nepriklausomybės paskelbimo diena | 18 November | 🇱🇹 | |
| Armed Forces Day Lietuvos kariuomenės diena | 23 November | 🇱🇹 | |
| Christmas Eve Šv. Kūčios | 24 December | 🎉 | |
| Christmas Šv. Kalėdos, Antroji Šv. Kalėdų diena | 25 and 26 December | 🎉 |
The table lists only days with an official status. A row with both columns empty is a commemorative day: it is in the calendar and in the news, but it is an ordinary working day.
The flag: what the table does not show
Three times a year the flag is required on residential buildings too: 16 February, 11 March and 6 July. It goes up at 7 a.m. and comes down at 10 p.m. Failing to raise it carries a warning or a fine of 10–12 euros, and 12–16 euros for a repeat offence. On the other twelve days only state and municipal institutions raise it — so if you see flags on official buildings but none on the houses around you, that is exactly how it should look.
The neighbours' national days on the list are not a mistake. Estonia (24 February) and Latvia (18 November) stand alongside dates from Lithuania’s own history.
On 14 June, 15 June and 23 September the flag is raised with a mourning ribbon. These are days of remembrance, not celebrations.
Commemorative days: a working day, but not an ordinary one
Lithuania has several dozen commemorative days. Shops are open, children go to school, you go to work — but there are events in town and the date is in the news all day.
The clearest example is 8 September, the Coronation Day of Vytautas the Great. A coronation was set for that day in 1430 and never took place: the crown was intercepted on its way from Rome. That row has no ticks at all — no day off, no flag, an ordinary working day.
Another example is 22 September, Baltų vienybės diena, Baltic Unity Day. It was established in 2000 by decisions of the Lithuanian and Latvian parliaments, marking the Battle of Saule of 1236; in Latvia it is a public holiday, in Lithuania a commemorative day. In the evening fires are lit on hillforts — this is called the roll-call of the fires of Baltic unity.
23 September is the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Genocide of Lithuanian Jews. The date was established in 1994 and marks the liquidation of the Vilnius Ghetto on 23–24 September 1943. On this day the state flag is raised with a mourning ribbon and memorial events are held. It is a day of remembrance, not a celebration.
What this means in practice
Institutions and schools. On non-working days state and municipal institutions, schools and kindergartens are closed.
The day before is an hour shorter. The working day preceding a public holiday is shortened by one hour. That is the Labour Code, not the employer’s goodwill.
Transport. Timetables on non-working days differ from weekday ones. Your city’s operator publishes the exact schedule — check it in advance, especially on 1 and 2 November, when extra services run to the cemeteries.
Shops and cafés. The law does not close them on holidays — each sets its own hours. Check the specific place rather than relying on a general rule.
School holidays. They do not match public holidays and are announced separately — check the school-year calendar rather than the list above.
Clock changes. Clocks go back an hour on the last Sunday of October and forward an hour on the last Sunday of March. It has nothing to do with holidays, but it sits next to them in the calendar and gets confused with them.
How to use this
The simplest check to remember: if the date is not on the Article 123 list, you are going to work. Flags, events and news coverage do not change the status of a day.
And the words worth recognising in Lithuanian notices: nedarbo diena — non-working day, šventinė diena — holiday, atmintina diena — commemorative day, trumpinama darbo diena — shortened working day. The first two mean you can stay home. The third means you are going in.