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New Year's Day

New Year’s Day 2024, 2025 and 2026

New Year’s Day is celebrated every 1 January and is marked by a public holiday in Belgium. Just like many other places around the globe, people in Belgium have unique traditions for celebrating New Year’s Day. In Belgium, New Year’s Eve is referred to as Saint Sylvester Eve.

YearDateDayHoliday
20241 JanMonNew Year's Day
20251 JanWedNew Year's Day
20261 JanThuNew Year's Day
Please scroll down to end of page for previous years' dates.

The New Year in Belgium is celebrated with many preparations ahead of time. The majority of the people arrange parties with close friends and family members.

A sweet custom that prevails in Belgium is something many children participate in. They collect money throughout the year and save it to purchase beautiful decorations for New Year’s Day. When the time comes, they decorate their homes, send good wishes to the elderly, and pass out holiday greetings in their neighbourhoods. When the clocks strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, the children read their well-wishes out loud.

Every individual in Belgium celebrates the New Year in their unique way. Regardless of how they choose to “ring in” the New Year, they do so with quite a bit of enthusiasm. They spend the night and day bidding farewell to the past year and to welcoming in the brand new year with all their new hopes and aspirations for the fresh start.

Previous Years

YearDateDayHoliday
20231 JanSunNew Year's Day
20221 JanSatNew Year's Day
20211 JanFriNew Year's Day
20201 JanWedNew Year's Day
20191 JanTueNew Year's Day
20181 JanMonNew Year's Day
20171 JanSunNew Year's Day