Greece follows the Orthodox liturgical calendar for its movable holidays, so Easter — and everything tied to it — usually falls on a different date than in Western/Catholic countries. This is the single biggest date-related surprise for newcomers.
Compiled from Greece's official national public holiday calendar · Last verified 2026-07-16
Why This Matters
Assuming Greek Easter matches the Western Easter date (as it does most other places relocators come from) means missing that Greece's biggest holiday period — with the heaviest closures of the year — falls on a completely different week most years.
Key Facts
Fixed-date national holidays: New Year's Day (Jan 1), Epiphany (Jan 6), Independence Day (Mar 25), Labour Day (May 1), Assumption of Mary (Aug 15), Ohi Day (Oct 28), Christmas Day (Dec 25), Synaxis/Boxing Day (Dec 26).
Movable holidays follow the Orthodox (not Western/Gregorian) Easter calculation: Clean Monday (start of Orthodox Lent, 41 days before Orthodox Easter), Orthodox Good Friday, Orthodox Easter Sunday, and Orthodox Whit Monday (50 days after Orthodox Easter) — check the current year's Orthodox Easter date specifically, don't assume it matches Western Easter.
Orthodox Easter week is the heaviest closure period of the year in Greece — many businesses close for several days around it, more so than around Christmas.
Sunday closing is standard for most shops outside major tourist areas.
August, particularly around the Aug 15 Assumption holiday, is a common vacation period with reduced hours or closures for smaller businesses, especially outside the islands' tourist season.
Common Mistakes
Assuming Orthodox Easter falls on the same date as Western Easter — most years it doesn't, sometimes by several weeks, and this shifts every other movable holiday with it.
Underestimating how much closes around Orthodox Easter week — it's a bigger practical disruption than Christmas for day-to-day errands.