How to Add Public Holidays to Outlook Calendar for Your Country

You need to see your country’s official holidays alongside your meetings and appointments in Outlook. Manually adding each holiday is time-consuming and prone to errors. Outlook includes a feature to subscribe to a calendar of public holidays for many regions. This article explains how to find and add the correct holiday calendar for your location in a few steps.

Understanding Outlook Holiday Calendars

Outlook provides two main ways to add public holidays. The first method installs a static set of dates into your personal calendar. These holidays become part of your own schedule and do not update automatically if official dates change in future years. This method is best for stability and offline access.

The second method is a subscription to an online calendar published on the web. This type appears as a separate calendar in your folder pane. It can update automatically when the publisher revises it, ensuring you always have the current dates. You need an active internet connection for the initial setup and for updates to sync.

Prerequisites for Adding Holidays

Before you start, ensure you are using a version of Outlook that supports these features. The built-in holiday installer is available in the desktop apps for Microsoft 365, Outlook 2021, 2019, and 2016. Calendar subscription via Internet Calendar requires Outlook for Windows or Mac. The web version of Outlook does not support adding holidays via the File menu but may support some online subscriptions.

Steps to Add Built-in Holidays

Use this method to add a predefined list of holidays for your country directly to your primary calendar.

1. Open Outlook Options
   In Outlook, click the File tab in the top-left corner. Select Options from the menu on the left side.
2. Navigate to Calendar Settings
   In the Outlook Options window, click the Calendar category on the left. This opens settings related to your calendar view and functions.
3. Open the Add Holidays Dialog
   In the Calendar options, find the Calendar options section. Click the button labeled Add Holidays. A new dialog box titled Add Holidays to Calendar will appear.
4. Select Your Country or Region
   In the dialog, you will see a scrollable list of countries and regions. Locate and check the box next to your country, for example, United States or United Kingdom. You can select multiple countries if needed. Click OK to confirm.
5. Confirm the Import
   Outlook will display a confirmation message stating the holidays have been added. Click OK. The holidays are now permanent entries in your default calendar. You can view them by switching to a monthly or yearly view.

Steps to Subscribe to an Online Holiday Calendar

This method adds a separate, updatable calendar to your folder list. You need the web address of a published calendar file.

1. Find a Calendar Subscription Link
   Search online for a reliable source of holiday calendar files in iCalendar format for your country. Many government or cultural websites provide these. The link must end with .ics.
2. Start the Add Process
   In the Outlook calendar view, go to the Home tab on the ribbon. In the Manage Calendars group, click Add Calendar. From the dropdown, select From Internet.
3. Enter the Calendar URL
   A dialog box titled New Internet Calendar Subscription will appear. Paste the full web address of the .ics file you found into the field. Ensure the box for Download attachments is unchecked for a holiday calendar. Click OK.
4. Name and Confirm the Subscription
   Another dialog will appear asking you to confirm. You can change the calendar name here, for example, to Canada Holidays 2025. Click OK to finish. The new calendar will appear in your Other Calendars list in the folder pane.

Common Mistakes and Limitations

Holidays Are Missing for My Specific Region

The built-in list in Outlook may not include regional or local holidays. If your state or province has specific holidays not in the national list, they will be absent. The solution is to use the online subscription method and search for a calendar specific to your region, or manually add the missing dates.

The Online Calendar Does Not Update

Internet calendars in Outlook sync on a schedule, not instantly. To force an update, right-click the calendar name under Other Calendars and select Refresh. If updates still fail, the publisher may have moved the .ics file to a new address. You will need to find the new link and re-subscribe.

Duplicate Holidays Appear After Adding

This happens if you add the built-in holidays and then also subscribe to an online calendar with overlapping dates. To clean up, you must delete the duplicate entries from your primary calendar manually. Use the List view to find all items labeled Holiday for easier deletion.

Built-in vs. Online Holiday Calendar Comparison

Item	Built-in Holiday List	Online Calendar Subscription
Update Method	Static, no automatic updates	Can update automatically
Location	Merged into your default calendar	Appears as a separate calendar
Offline Access	Full access without internet	Requires sync, may need internet for updates
Customization	You can edit or delete individual entries	Entries are read-only; you cannot edit them
Best For	Users who want a simple, permanent set of dates	Users who need accurate, current holiday information

You can now view your national holidays directly within your Outlook calendar. For recurring personal events like birthdays, use the All-day event option and set the recurrence to yearly. A useful advanced tip is to color-code your subscribed holiday calendar for quick visual identification by right-clicking its name and selecting a color from the Color category menu.