How to Add Holidays to Your Outlook Calendar (New, Classic and Web)

Here's the catch with classic Outlook. Microsoft says the holiday information in Outlook for Microsoft 365, Outlook 2019 and Outlook 2016 covers the Gregorian calendar years 2016-2026, as of October 2026. Holidays are copied into your calendar, and adding the same country twice creates duplicates. If you want a list that updates itself when holidays are added or changed, add it through Outlook on the web instead.

Three ways holidays get into Outlook

Outlook version	Where to add holidays	What you end up with
New Outlook for Windows	Calendar view, Add Calendar, Holidays	Outlook copies the holidays for the countries you pick into your calendar
Classic Outlook for Windows	File, Options, Calendar, Add Holidays	Holiday events for each ticked country, for the years 2016-2026
Outlook on the web and Outlook.com	Calendar, Add calendar, Holidays	A holiday calendar in your My calendars list that receives automatic updates

When you first use Outlook there aren't any holidays on the calendar at all, so a blank December isn't a fault. You add them yourself, for one country or several.

Adding holidays in new Outlook for Windows

1. Open new Outlook and go to the calendar view.
2. In the pane below the calendar grid, select Add Calendar.
3. Select Holidays, then choose one or more countries.
4. Outlook copies the relevant holidays into your calendar.

To take them off again, right-click the holiday calendar in the Navigation pane, select Remove, then Remove again to confirm. If these steps don't match what you see, Microsoft says you may not be on new Outlook for Windows yet, so try the classic steps below.

Adding holidays in classic Outlook

1. Click File, then Options, then Calendar.
2. Under Calendar options, click Add Holidays.
3. Check the box for each country whose holidays you want.
4. Select OK.

Look carefully at that list before you click OK. If a country's holidays are already in your calendar, its box is already ticked in the Add Holidays to Calendar dialog box, and Microsoft says that if you select OK anyway, the holidays are added again and duplicates are created. That's an easy way to end up with every holiday twice.

Holiday calendars in Outlook on the web and Outlook.com

1. Go to Calendar and select Add calendar.
2. Select Holidays.
3. Select the holiday calendar you want to add, or use the Filter to search for one, then select it.

Microsoft's tip for telling the two apart: if you sign in with a personal Microsoft account, you're using Outlook.com, and if you sign in with a work or school account, you're using Outlook on the web. The steps are the same in both, and the holiday calendar is added to your My calendars list.

This is the version I'd use for anything you want to keep. If you have a work or school account in Microsoft 365, Microsoft says you can subscribe to a holidays calendar in Outlook on the web and get automatic updates when holidays are added or changed. Once it's there, the More menu next to the calendar lets you change its colour, add a charm or rename it, and More options then Remove takes it off in Outlook.com.

Why classic Outlook stops at 2026

The holiday file in classic Outlook only goes as far as the years it was built for: Gregorian calendar years 2016-2026. If you use a non-Gregorian calendar, Microsoft says holidays that fall in the same period are included. Either way, the holiday list in those versions doesn't go past 2026.

If you're on one of those versions and aren't seeing holiday dates through 2026, Microsoft's fix has three parts. Delete the existing holiday information from your calendar using the steps in the next section, make sure you've installed the latest updates for Outlook, and then add the holidays again. For dates beyond that, a holiday calendar added through Outlook on the web is the route that keeps updating.

One warning if you do both. Microsoft says you may see duplicated events if you add a holidays calendar through both Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web, so clear out the holidays you imported in classic Outlook first.

Deleting duplicate holidays in classic Outlook

Because classic Outlook adds holidays as individual events, you remove them as events too:

1. From your classic Outlook Calendar, choose View, Change View, List.
2. In the Arrangement group, choose Categories. This sorts all your events by category.
3. Scroll through the list until you reach the Holidays category.
4. Select the holidays you want to delete. They're sorted by location, which groups them by country.
5. Choose Home, then Delete.
6. To get your normal calendar back, choose View, Change View, Calendar.

Sorting by location is the useful bit: if you added one country twice, you can select that country's block and delete it in one go, then add it back once. If you're tidying up more than holidays, here's how to delete a calendar in Outlook, including the ones that won't go.

When the holiday calendar you want isn't listed

Microsoft says the calendars and options available vary based on your location. If the one you're after isn't in the Holidays list, you can import or subscribe to a calendar instead. Outlook.com and Outlook on the web can import events from an .ics file, or subscribe to a calendar online and receive automatic updates, known as an ICS or iCal subscription. Calendar programs that support the .ics format include Apple iCal, Google Calendar and Mozilla Lightning.

Microsoft adds that it isn't responsible for the accuracy or content of third-party calendars and recommends reading their terms before you import or subscribe. If your holidays already live in Google, you can export your Google Calendar as a file and bring it across.

School holidays are the classic gap, because they're not country holidays. Microsoft notes that websites for schools, theatres and sports teams often have an Add to calendar link you can use to download an iCal, and that Bing also has suggestions for calendars. TeamSnap users can export a team calendar and bring it in as an .ics calendar with the Subscribe from web feature.

Renaming and colouring your holiday calendar

A holiday calendar is easier to read at a glance if it has its own colour. In Outlook.com or Outlook on the web:

1. Select Calendar, then Add calendar and Edit my calendars.
2. Choose the holiday calendar from the list.
3. Change its name if you want to.
4. Pick a colour, a charm or both.
5. Select Save.

There's an optional step to share the calendar from the same screen, handy if your whole household or team works from the same holiday list.

Other calendars on the same Add calendar menu

The menu you used for holidays does more. In Outlook.com and Outlook on the web, Add calendar also lets you add a birthday calendar built from your contacts, create a blank calendar with its own name, colour and charm, and edit your existing calendars. With a work or school account, you can add a person's calendar from your organisation's directory, or connect a personal Outlook.com or Google calendar so your personal events count towards your work availability. That connection adds only the calendar, not your personal email. For the full tour, my guide on how to add a calendar in Outlook covers each option.

My verdict on Outlook holiday calendars

I'd add holidays through Outlook on the web if you've got the choice, because it's the version that keeps itself up to date and you won't hit the 2026 wall. I'd only use classic Outlook's Add Holidays if you're on a desktop with no web access, and then I'd check the ticked boxes before clicking OK every time. If you already see doubles, delete one country's block in List view and add it once, rather than living with two of everything.

Frequently asked questions

Why are there no holidays in my Outlook calendar?

When you first use Outlook, there aren't any holidays on the calendar. You add them yourself for one or more countries, from Add Calendar in new Outlook, Add Holidays in classic Outlook or Add calendar on the web.

Why are my Outlook holidays showing twice?

In classic Outlook, selecting OK when a country's box is already ticked adds its holidays again and creates duplicates. Adding holidays through both Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web can also create duplicates.

Why doesn't classic Outlook show holidays after 2026?

The holiday information in Outlook for Microsoft 365, Outlook 2019 and Outlook 2016 covers Gregorian calendar years 2016-2026. A holiday calendar added through Outlook on the web receives automatic updates instead.

How do I remove holidays from new Outlook?

Right-click the holiday calendar in the Navigation pane, select Remove, then Remove again to confirm.

Do Outlook holiday calendars update automatically?

A holidays calendar added through Outlook on the web receives automatic updates when holidays are added or changed. For holidays added through classic Outlook, Microsoft points you to Outlook on the web for automatic updates.