Half of Dutch want May 5 to be a holiday for all

Almost half of all Dutch people are willing to give up one of their official holidays to have Liberation Day off, according to an Ipsos poll for public broadcaster NOS.

In practice this means sacrificing one of the Christian holidays, with Whit Monday and Ascension Day as preferences, Ipsos found. Other holidays such as Easter are always on a Sunday, or are not a day off for everyone either, such as Good Friday.

An earlier Ipsos poll had found that 70% of people were in favour of adding May 5 to the holiday calendar.

Most countries only have one national holiday, NOS writes. The Netherlands has two: King’s Day which celebrates the country’s unity under the crown and Liberation Day, a day for remembering the country’s war dead and reflecting on democratic privileges.

At the moment only students and civil servants have Liberation Day off, with other workers only enjoying the extra day every five years. The distinction is a sore point with the Dutch, especially at a time when according to the Comité 4 & 5 mei’s annual freedom poll eight in 10 Dutch people feel a strong bond with their compatriots.

The Netherlands has eleven official holidays in total.