St Stephen’s Day

St Stephen’s Day belongs to Liechtenstein’s legally protected calendar. Article 18 of the Employment Act equates the named statutory holidays with Sundays, so work is generally prohibited from 23:00 on the preceding evening until 23:00 on the holiday unless an authorised exception applies. The rule protects rest rather than promising that every shop, restaurant or transport service will close, and the official Office of Economic Affairs list is the controlling practical reference.

Liechtenstein’s calendar reflects the principality’s predominantly Catholic history, its position between Switzerland and Austria and the working life of eleven closely connected municipalities. The date itself is not moved when it falls at a weekend, and the law does not create a general Monday substitute. Public administration may publish additional staff days, such as bridge days, but those must not be presented as further nationwide statutory holidays. December 26 independently protects Saint Stephen’s feast and the second Christmas day without a substitute when it meets a weekend.