Norway celebrates a variety of traditional and religious holidays. With 1407 working hours a year, 84% of Norwegians claim to be satisfied with their life.
Public Holidays 2012
New Year’s Day | January 1 |
Palm Sunday | April 1 |
Maundy Thursday | April 5 |
Good Friday | April 6 |
Easter Sunday | April 8 |
Easter Monday | April 9 |
Public Holiday | May 1 |
Constitution Day | May 17 |
Ascension Day | May 17 |
Whit Sunday | May 27 |
Whit Monday | May 28 |
Christmas Day | December 25 |
Boxing Day | December 26 |
Balanced work-life
Norwegians maintain a strong balance between work and leisure. In general, Norwegians work 5 days a week between 08.00 – 16.00, and most people leave the office at 16.00. Foreign business partners may be puzzled by the challenges of securing business deals on Saturday mornings or even Friday afternoons. As Norwegians have a strong separation between work and private life, it is a common expectation that weekends are kept free of business obligations.
Norwegians are entitled to 25 days’ legislative holiday per year, and every Sunday is a public holiday. Norwegians have several public holidays, among them Easter where majority takes the whole week off. Other days may be Whit, May 17, June 23 (Midsummer / “St. John’s Eve”), Christmas and New Years. Traditionally, Norwegians take their summer holiday during the majority of July and first week of August. Independently, private life is especially guarded during the brightest months of the year.
Daylight saving time
The time zone for Norway is Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) +1 hour. Daylight saving time (DST) improves the opportunity to enjoy long summer evenings. During spring the clocks are moved an hour ahead, starting last Sunday in March and ends on the last Sunday in October.