How to Add Public and Regional Holidays to Google Calendar

Planning international project deliverables, scheduling client meetings, or coordinating leave with remote team members across different countries requires clear visibility into official statutory holidays. Without public holiday markers overlaid on your work schedule, you risk scheduling important deadlines or conference calls on days when international colleagues or banks are completely closed. Google Calendar maintains an extensive, continuously updated directory of public, national, and religious holiday calendars that you can overlay onto your personal schedule in seconds.

How Public Holiday Subscriptions Work in Google Calendar

Rather than manually typing individual holiday events every year, Google Calendar allows you to subscribe to official holiday feeds curated by country and jurisdiction. When subscribed, holiday events appear as a distinct, color-coded calendar overlay. Google automatically updates these dates every year—including moveable feasts, lunar celebrations, and statutory bank holidays—without cluttering your primary schedule with editable calendar entries.

Method 1: Adding Holidays via the Web Browser on Desktop

The desktop browser interface provides the most detailed catalogue of national and religious holiday options:

1. Navigate to Google Calendar (calendar.google.com) in your desktop browser.
2. Look at the left sidebar panel underneath the mini month grid.
3. Find the section labelled Other calendars.
4. Click the Plus sign (+) immediately to the right of Other calendars.
5. From the pop-up menu, select Browse calendars of interest.
6. Under the Regional holidays section, click Browse all.
7. Scroll through the alphabetical list of countries. Check the box beside any nation you work with (e.g., United Kingdom, United States, India, Canada, or Germany).
8. To filter between strict bank holidays and general observances, click the drop-down menu beside a country and choose either Public holidays only or Public holidays and other observances.

The selected holidays will immediately populate across your day, week, and month views.

Method 2: Adding Religious Holidays

If you collaborate with diverse international teams celebrating specific religious observances:

1. In the Browse calendars of interest screen, scroll down to the Global religious holidays section.
2. Select your desired traditions, such as Christian holidays, Islamic holidays, Jewish holidays, Hindu holidays, or Buddhist holidays.
3. Click the back arrow at the top left of the settings screen to return to your main calendar grid.

Customising Holiday Colours to Prevent Confusion

To ensure holiday markers stand out from your personal and professional work meetings:

1. In the left sidebar under Other calendars, hover your cursor over the newly added Holiday calendar.
2. Click the three vertical dots (Options) icon.
3. Choose a distinct, non-intrusive colour (such as light sage, grey, or soft yellow).
4. You can also click Settings from this menu to configure custom notification alerts ahead of upcoming holidays.

Hiding or Removing Holiday Feeds

If your calendar feels too cluttered during busy weeks:

• To Temporarily Hide: Simply uncheck the square box beside the holiday calendar in the left sidebar. The events disappear from your grid instantly without unsubscribing. Check the box again when you need to inspect upcoming dates.
• To Permanently Remove: Hover over the holiday calendar under Other calendars, click the three dots, select Settings, scroll to the bottom, and click Unsubscribe.