Christmas break 2026

The christmas break 2026 runs from 23 December to 7 January.

Vianočné prázdniny is the Christmas school break, the longest break of the school year apart from summer. It runs from a few days before Christmas Eve to early January, covering the entire holiday season including Štedrý deň, Christmas Day, Saint Stephen's Day, New Year's Day, and the Epiphany.

Typical length is twelve to seventeen calendar days; the 2025-2026 school break, running from 22 December to 7 January, is among the longest in recent years.

Christmas markets in Bratislava, Košice, Banská Bystrica, and Trnava run through 23-24 December, with cups of varené víno (mulled wine) and lokše (potato flatbread) on every other stall. Ski resorts open for the season: Jasná in the Low Tatras and Štrbské Pleso in the High Tatras are the main destinations.

Many families travel to grandparents or to Czechia and Austria for the holidays. Ice skating rinks open in city centres.

Watching the 1964 Soviet fairy-tale film "Mrázik" (Aleksandr Rou's "Morozko") is a generation-spanning ritual that Slovak and Czech television networks broadcast every Christmas.

Schools, after-school clubs, and most childcare are closed. Many parents take additional leave around the holidays.

Public transport runs on a Sunday or holiday schedule on 24, 25, 26 December and 1, 6 January. Shops are closed on 24 December afternoon, 25-26 December, and 1 January (the mandatory retail-closure dates under §94 of the Labour Code, narrowed to six days nationwide as of 1 November 2025).

Epiphany on 6 January is a paid day off but trading is not legally restricted, so most large retailers operate Sunday hours.

Christmas Eve dinner (Štedrá večera) blends Catholic and folk customs that vary by region. Eastern Slovakia traditionally serves twelve dishes, one per apostle; central and western families more often use a magic number of three, six, or nine.

The meal opens with oblátky (thin wafers) spread with honey for sweetness in the year ahead and rubbed with garlic for health and protection from evil. Kapustnica (sauerkraut soup with sausage and dried mushrooms) is the universal centrepiece, followed by carp with potato salad.

Children watch for the zlaté prasiatko (golden pig) said to appear to those who fast all day. Slovak children receive gifts from Ježiško (Baby Jesus) on Christmas Eve, not from Santa; Mikuláš (St Nicholas) visits earlier on the evening of 5 December, leaving sweets and small presents in shoes left in the window.

The first public Christmas tree in Bratislava was lit in 1896, and the custom only reached most villages in the early twentieth century.