The Netherlands has no consumer fireworks this New Year's Eve: a nationwide ban on selling, owning and setting off them took effect on 1 August 2026 and applies for the first time at the turn of the year, on Thursday 31 December 2026. Everything else about the Dutch festive season runs as usual: Sinterklaas arrives by steamboat in mid-November, children get their presents on 5 December, Christmas Day and Boxing Day are public holidays, and Amsterdam's canals are lit by the Amsterdam Light Festival from 26 November. This guide covers the dates, what the fireworks ban means for a visitor, what to eat, and what is open.
Most 2026/27 programmes (concerts, displays, train timetables) are published in late November and December. Where something is not yet confirmed, this guide says so.
The fireworks ban: what changes on 31 December 2026
Under the Wet veilige jaarwisseling (Safe New Year's Eve Act), consumers can no longer buy, own or set off consumer fireworks. The government says the ban "applies from the coming turn of the year."
- Still allowed: category F1 novelty fireworks such as sparklers, party poppers and knalerwten (the small throw-down bangers). Buyers must be at least 12.
- Not allowed: rockets, cakes, fountains and firecrackers (categories F2 and up), whether bought in the Netherlands or ordered from abroad.
- Professional displays are still allowed. They need a permit and must keep fixed safety distances (15, 40 or 60 metres, depending on the firework).
- Local exemptions: a mayor can let an association or foundation with local ties set off fireworks, under the same safety distances. A September survey by NU.nl, reported by NL Times, found that 198 of 231 municipalities would not grant any exemption this year, so expect few or no amateur displays.
For a visitor the result is a quieter, smoke-free night. Cities usually announce their organised celebrations in December; check the municipality's website for Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. Do not bring fireworks across the border: the ban covers possession, not only sales.
Sinterklaas: 14 November to 5 December
Sinterklaas (St Nicholas) is the Dutch gift-giving holiday, and it comes before Christmas. According to the story, he arrives from Spain by steamboat in mid-November, and children put a shoe by the fireplace or door in the weeks that follow, hoping for sweets.
- Sinterklaasjournaal: the daily children's news programme that follows his journey starts on Monday 9 November 2026.
- National arrival (landelijke intocht): Saturday 14 November 2026 in Grave, in North Brabant, broadcast on TV from about noon. Dozens of towns hold their own arrival the same day, including Rotterdam, Eindhoven, Leiden and Zaandam.
- Amsterdam: the city's arrival is listed for Sunday 15 November 2026, 10:00 to 15:30. Sinterklaas sails on a steamboat from the Omval along the Amstel to the Scheepvaartmuseum, where the mayor hands over the city keys, then rides a horse from Waterlooplein via Rembrandtplein and Utrechtsestraat to a stage at Leidseplein. The route and times can still change, so confirm them with the city before you go.
- Pakjesavond (present evening): 5 December, which is a Saturday in 2026. Families exchange wrapped presents, often with a rhyming poem attached. Sinterklaas's birthday, 6 December, is the next day.
Sinterklaas greeting children during his arrival in Amsterdam, 17 November 1984. Image: Sjakkelien Vollebregt, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The season's sweets are in the shops from September and are thrown to the crowd at the arrivals: pepernoten and kruidnoten (small spiced biscuits), chocolate letters, speculaas and banketstaaf (almond-paste pastry). Most cities now use soot-smudged helpers called roetveegpieten rather than the older Zwarte Piet character.
Christmas: 25 and 26 December
Eerste Kerstdag (25 December) and Tweede Kerstdag (26 December) are public holidays, but the Dutch keep Christmas quietly: a family meal, often a gourmet table with small pans, or a visit to church. Pakjesavond already took care of the presents. In 2026 both days fall on a Friday and a Saturday.
Most museums and attractions in Amsterdam close on 25 December, according to I amsterdam, and hours on 26 December and 1 January vary. The sources for 2026/27 hours disagree, so check each museum's own website, and book timed tickets for the Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh Museum well ahead; both sell out.
For Christmas markets outside the big cities, Limburg is the place to go: see our guides to the Valkenburg and Maastricht markets.
Oudejaarsavond: oliebollen, TV cabaret and midnight
Oudejaarsavond (Old Year's Evening) on 31 December is a family evening at home before it is a street party.
- Oliebollen (deep-fried dough balls with raisins, dusted with icing sugar) and appelflappen (apple turnovers) are the traditional food. Temporary oliebollen stalls open in squares and markets from November, and bakers sell them until early January.
- Oudejaarsconference: Dutch television broadcasts a cabaret review of the year on the evening of the 31st.
- Midnight: the Dutch toast with champagne or a glass of something sparkling and wish each other "gelukkig nieuwjaar". Until this year, the sky filled with consumer fireworks from about 18:00 onward.
An oliebol with icing sugar, the traditional New Year's Eve pastry. Image: Andy Li, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Trains on New Year's Eve: last year, NS stopped most trains after 20:00 on 31 December, apart from Schiphol–Amsterdam Centraal until 22:00, and ran a night network between Rotterdam, The Hague, Schiphol, Amsterdam and Utrecht from 01:00. On 1 January regular trains restarted around 10:00. NS has not yet published the 2026 pattern, so check the NS planner before you plan a late evening out.
1 January: the Nieuwjaarsduik at Scheveningen
On Friday 1 January 2027 at 12:00, thousands of people run into the North Sea at Scheveningen beach in The Hague for the Unox Nieuwjaarsduik (New Year's Dive). It has been held since the 1960s, and the listing gives a registration fee of €4, paid on site. About 10,000 people took part in 2024. Wind can cancel it: the 2026 dive was called off because of strong gusts, so check the day's weather before you travel. Many other beaches and lakes hold their own dives on the same day.
Swimmers running into the sea at the Nieuwjaarsduik, Scheveningen. Image: Alexander Fritze, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Amsterdam Light Festival: 26 November 2026 to 17 January 2027
The Amsterdam Light Festival fills the canals with light art every winter. Sources list the 2026/27 run as 26 November to 17 January, with the dates subject to change, and the artworks and route are announced closer to the date. You can see it on a walking route or from a boat on the canals; check the official site for tickets and times, and dress warmly.
A light installation on a canal during the Amsterdam Light Festival, 2020. Image: Alf van Beem, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Tips for the Dutch festive season
- Book early: tables for Christmas and New Year's Eve dinners, and timed tickets for the main museums, fill up weeks ahead.
- Check hours: most shops are closed on 25 December, and opening on 26 December and 1 January varies by town.
- Bring a rain jacket: December in the Netherlands is usually mild and wet rather than snowy.
- Pick the right day for the right thing: Sinterklaas events are in November, not December, and Pakjesavond is a private family evening, not a public festival.
- No fireworks in your luggage: the ban covers possession, and displays are for permit-holders only.
