Apr 3, 2026

How to Add Holidays to Outlook Calendar (2026)

Outlook How-to Calendar Holidays Microsoft 365 Outlook Calendar Public Holidays Ics

Outlook can show public holidays directly on your calendar, but the steps to enable them vary depending on which version of Outlook you’re using. Here’s how to add holidays in every version, manage holidays for multiple countries, remove ones you don’t need, and subscribe to custom holiday calendars.

1. Add Holidays in Outlook on the Web

This works for anyone with a Microsoft 365, Outlook.com, or Hotmail account.

Go to outlook.com and sign in.
Click the Calendar icon in the left navigation bar.
Click Add calendar in the left sidebar.
Select Interesting calendars.
Expand the Holiday calendars section.
Toggle on the countries whose holidays you want to see (e.g., “United States,” “United Kingdom,” “Canada”).

Holidays appear as all-day events on your calendar. Each country’s holidays get their own calendar entry in the left sidebar, so you can toggle visibility or change the color independently.

2. Add Holidays in New Outlook for Windows and Mac

The new Outlook app (which replaced the classic version for many users in 2024-2025) uses the same interface as Outlook on the web.

Open Outlook and switch to the Calendar view.
Click Add calendar in the left sidebar.
Select Interesting calendars.
Under Holiday calendars, toggle on the countries you want.

The holidays sync immediately and appear as all-day events. These calendars are tied to your Microsoft account, so they’ll also show up in Outlook on the web and the Outlook mobile app.

3. Add Holidays in Classic Outlook for Windows

Classic Outlook (the traditional desktop app with the ribbon interface) handles holidays differently. Instead of subscribing to a live feed, it imports holiday events directly into your default calendar.

Open Outlook and go to File > Options.
Click Calendar in the left pane.
Under the Calendar options section, click Add Holidays.
Check the boxes next to the countries you want (you can select multiple).
Click OK.

Outlook imports the holidays as individual events on your default calendar. This is a one-time import, not a live subscription — if Microsoft updates its holiday data later, you won’t automatically get those changes.

Important: If you run Add Holidays again for a country you’ve already imported, Outlook will create duplicate events. To avoid this, remove the existing holidays first (see section 6 below) before re-importing.

4. Add Holidays in Outlook Mobile (iOS and Android)

The Outlook mobile app supports holiday calendars through the Interesting calendars feature.

Open the Outlook app on your phone.
Tap the Calendar tab at the bottom.
Tap the calendar icon (top-left on iOS, top-right on Android) to open the calendar list.
Tap Add calendars (or the + icon).
Select Interesting calendars.
Under Holiday calendars, toggle on the countries you want.

These calendars sync across all your Outlook clients. If you already added holidays on the web or new Outlook desktop, they’ll appear on mobile automatically.

5. Add Holidays for Multiple Countries

If you work with international teams, have clients in other countries, or observe holidays from multiple cultures, you can layer several holiday calendars at once.

Outlook on the web / New Outlook / Mobile:

Simply toggle on additional countries in the Interesting calendars > Holiday calendars section. Each country appears as a separate calendar in your sidebar.

Classic Outlook for Windows:

When you click Add Holidays (File > Options > Calendar), check multiple countries at once before clicking OK. All selected countries’ holidays get imported into your default calendar.

Tips for managing multiple countries:

Color-code each country’s calendar. In new Outlook or Outlook on the web, right-click a holiday calendar in the sidebar and assign a distinct color. This makes it easy to scan your week and see which holidays belong to which country.
Use the overlay view. In classic Outlook, you can overlay calendars side by side to compare holidays across countries.
Hide countries you don’t need right now. Uncheck a holiday calendar in the sidebar to temporarily hide it without removing it.

6. Remove Holidays From Your Outlook Calendar

How you remove holidays depends on which version of Outlook you’re using and how the holidays were added.

Outlook on the web / New Outlook / Mobile (subscribed calendars):

Open the Calendar view.
In the left sidebar, find the holiday calendar you want to remove.
Right-click (or long-press on mobile) the calendar name.
Select Remove.

This removes the entire holiday calendar. You can always re-add it from Interesting calendars.

Classic Outlook for Windows (imported holidays):

Since classic Outlook imports holidays as individual events rather than a separate calendar, you need to delete them manually.

Switch to the Calendar view.
Go to View > Change View > List.
Click View > View Settings (or View Settings in the ribbon).
Click Filter > Advanced.
Click Field > All Mail Fields > Categories.
Set the condition to contains and type the country name (e.g., “Holiday”).
Click Add to List, then OK twice.
Select all the filtered holiday events (Ctrl+A) and delete them.

After deleting, switch back to your normal calendar view via View > Change View > Calendar.

Outlook’s built-in holiday calendars cover major national and public holidays, but they may not include every religious, cultural, or organizational observance. You can fill those gaps by subscribing to an ICS calendar feed.

Where to find ICS holiday calendars:

timeanddate.com offers downloadable holiday calendars for many countries.
interfaith-calendar.org publishes interfaith and multifaith holiday calendars.
Many religious organizations publish their own ICS feeds (search for “Jewish holidays ICS,” “Islamic holidays ICS,” “Hindu holidays ICS,” etc.).
Your company or school may publish an internal holiday calendar as an ICS file.

Subscribe in Outlook on the web / New Outlook:

Copy the ICS calendar URL.
Click Add calendar > Subscribe from web.
Paste the URL.
Give the calendar a name (e.g., “Jewish Holidays” or “School Breaks”).
Pick a color and click Import.

Subscribe in classic Outlook for Windows:

Go to Calendar view.
Click Open Calendar in the ribbon > From Internet.
Paste the ICS URL and click OK.
Click Yes to confirm the subscription.

Import an ICS file (one-time):

If you have a downloaded .ics file instead of a URL:

In Outlook on the web or new Outlook: Add calendar > Upload from file > select the file > Import.
In classic Outlook: File > Open & Export > Import/Export > Import an iCalendar (.ics) or vCalendar file (.vcs) > browse to the file.

Subscribed calendars update automatically when the publisher changes the feed. Imported files do not.

Quick Reference

Task	Outlook on the web / New Outlook	Classic Outlook for Windows	Outlook Mobile
Add public holidays	Add calendar > Interesting calendars > Holiday calendars	File > Options > Calendar > Add Holidays	Calendar > calendar icon > Add calendars > Interesting calendars
Add multiple countries	Toggle on additional countries in Holiday calendars	Check multiple countries in Add Holidays dialog	Toggle on additional countries in Holiday calendars
Remove holidays	Right-click calendar > Remove	Filter and delete imported events (see section 6)	Long-press calendar > Remove
Subscribe to ICS feed	Add calendar > Subscribe from web	Open Calendar > From Internet	Not supported (subscribe on web, syncs to mobile)
Import .ics file	Add calendar > Upload from file	File > Open & Export > Import/Export	Not supported (import on web or desktop)
Change holiday color	Right-click calendar > choose color	Right-click event > Categorize	Tap calendar > choose color

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