Skating Under the Lights on Tweede Kerstdag
It is 26 December, a Saturday in 2026, and the Netherlands is in the middle of its long Christmas feast — the twelve days that once ran from 25 December to Epiphany on 6 January, of which Tweede Kerstdag is the surviving second day. In Rotterdam the light goes early, the air smells of oil and sugar from the food stalls, and the city's seasonal markets are still running. The custom that defines the day is the Christmas market with its mobile ice skating rink: lace up, take a turn around the ice, and warm up afterwards with something hot from a stall. Because the holiday falls on a Saturday, expect the city to be busy with families and friends who have come out between the two big meals.
A Day Built for Two Kinds of People
Tweede Kerstdag is a public holiday and also Saint Stephen's Day, and the Dutch keep it in ways you can join rather than just observe.
- Church services for Saint Stephen's Day are held; Stephen was the saint who distributed aid to widows and was stoned to death for blasphemy, and the day carries his name.
- Long meals with family and friends are the backbone of the day — if you are invited to one, go.
- Walks and cycle rides are traditional, especially out toward the countryside and the coast; Rotterdam's position makes a ride out of the city an easy half-day.
- Sports competitions take place on the day, and children's farms are a common outing for families.
- Evening theatre, musicals and cinema draw people out after dark.
What Will Be Open — and What Won't
Plan around the holiday's rhythm rather than against it. Banks, post offices and many businesses close on 26 December. Shops set their own hours and may open late or close early, so check before you set out. Public transport runs a slightly reduced service, with the possibility of none at all in rural areas, and some restrictions on alcohol sales apply. Dutch employees are not legally entitled to a day off on a public holiday, so you will find some places trading normally and others shuttered — the variation is the rule, not the exception.
The Great Winter Sports Departure
One of the day's quieter spectacles is the exodus: 26 December is the traditional departure day for winter sports holidays to France, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. Stations and roads fill with people hauling ski bags, and the city has a slightly emptied feel by evening as families head for the mountains. If you are staying in Rotterdam, that thinning of the crowds works in your favour — book a theatre or cinema seat for the evening and enjoy a calmer city.
Where the Day Fits in the Twelve Days
Think of Tweede Kerstdag as the hinge of the season. Couples often alternate between each partner's parental home on 25 and 26 December, so the visiting shifts from one set of relatives to another, and the city's mood changes with it. The Christmas markets and their skating rinks remain the anchor for anyone without a family table to go to, and the tradition of the twelve-day feast means the celebrations do not stop on the 26th — they run on toward Epiphany.
Start with the calendar: 26 December 2026 is a Saturday, which puts the markets, the rink and the evening's theatre within reach of a long weekend. Check opening hours before you travel, book your evening tickets early, and leave room for a walk or a cycle ride while the light lasts.