Add a Country Holiday Calendar to Mac and iCloud

Updated 5 November 2026 · Standard formula, shown below

To add public holidays for a country to Calendar on your Mac, open Calendar, choose File > New Holiday Calendar, and select the country you want. The calendar is added as a separate holiday calendar and can sync through iCloud to your other devices signed in to the same Apple Account with Calendar enabled.

How the holiday calendar works

A holiday calendar is a subscribed calendar that Apple provides for a country or region. It displays that region’s listed holidays alongside your personal events, but keeps them in a separate calendar. You can hide it, show it, or remove it without deleting your own appointments.

Adding one does not change your Mac’s country setting, language, time zone, or date format. It also does not automatically subscribe you to every country’s holidays: you choose a calendar from the countries available in the menu. The dates and names shown depend on the calendar Apple supplies, so a holiday calendar is useful for planning but should not be treated as an authoritative source for workplace closures or local rules.

Add a country’s holidays on Mac

Open the Calendar app on your Mac.
From the menu bar, choose File > New Holiday Calendar.
Choose the country or region whose holidays you want to see. If asked, confirm the addition.
Look in the calendar list for the new holiday calendar. If the list is hidden, choose View > Show Calendar List.

Calendar names and menu wording can vary slightly across macOS releases. If you do not see New Holiday Calendar, check the Calendar app’s File menu and make sure you are using Apple Calendar rather than a different calendar application. You can also add a calendar subscription using a calendar URL, but that is a separate method and requires a trustworthy URL from the calendar provider.

Choose, show, and manage calendars

Choose the country whose public or national holidays are relevant to your plans. For example, someone coordinating with colleagues in Japan might add Japan’s calendar while keeping their personal events in their home-region calendar. If you need to compare dates across countries, you can add more than one holiday calendar when those calendars are offered.

Show or hide: In the calendar list, select or clear the checkbox beside a calendar. Hiding it changes what you see; it does not delete its events or stop the calendar from existing.
Keep calendars distinguishable: Separate calendars make it easier to tell public holidays from personal appointments. Calendar colors can help, though the color does not change the event’s meaning.
Remove one: Control-click or right-click the holiday calendar in the list and choose the available delete or unsubscribe command. Confirm only after checking that you selected the holiday calendar, not a personal calendar.

Holiday calendars generally contain date-based entries, not custom reminders for every holiday. If you want an alert, check the event details and add an alert if Calendar permits editing that event. Subscribed calendar entries may be read-only, so you may need to create a separate personal event with an alert instead.

Sync holidays with iCloud

To see calendars across Apple devices, sign in to the same Apple Account and enable Calendar in iCloud settings. On a Mac, open System Settings, select your name, choose iCloud, and check that Calendar is enabled. On an iPhone or iPad, check the iCloud settings for Calendar as well.

iCloud sync does not make a holiday calendar available to every account or device automatically. Confirm that the device is using the same account and that Calendar sync is on. Also check whether the calendar is merely hidden on that device: calendar visibility can differ from one device to another even when the calendars are syncing.

If you use a non-Apple calendar service, its calendars may appear in Calendar through that service’s account settings, but that is not the same as syncing an Apple holiday subscription through iCloud. Avoid adding the same holidays through multiple services unless you want duplicate entries.

Common problems and what to try

The menu option is missing: Verify that Calendar is the active app and inspect its File menu. Update macOS if an update is available, or check Apple’s Calendar help for instructions specific to your system.
The holidays do not appear: Show the calendar list and make sure the new calendar is checked. Switch to a view that includes the relevant date, such as Month, and navigate to the correct year.
The dates look wrong: Check the selected country, year, and time zone. Some holidays move each year or are observed on a nearby weekday; not every regional or local observance is necessarily included.
It appears on the Mac but not another device: Confirm both devices use the same Apple Account, that iCloud Calendar is enabled, and that the calendar is visible on the other device. Allow time for syncing and reopen Calendar.
There are duplicate holidays: Look for another holiday calendar or subscription containing the same dates. Hide or remove the duplicate source rather than deleting individual events from a subscribed calendar.

Accuracy and useful alternatives

Countries can have national, regional, religious, and local observances, and official holidays may differ from days when a particular employer or school closes. A country holiday calendar is a convenient overview, not a guarantee that every local observance is included or that every listed date applies to your situation. For a consequential date, confirm it with the relevant government, employer, school, or event organizer.

If your country is not offered, or you need a regional calendar, look for a subscription from a source you trust. Calendar subscriptions use a URL, commonly an iCalendar address, and can update as the publisher changes the calendar. Check who maintains the feed and what events it contains before subscribing. You can also create a personal calendar and enter important dates yourself, which gives you control over titles and alerts but requires manual upkeep.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add holidays for more than one country?
Yes, if the countries are available in the holiday-calendar choices. Add each calendar separately, then show or hide them from the calendar list.

Will adding a holiday calendar change my Mac’s region?
No. It adds a calendar; it does not change your Mac’s language, region, time zone, or date format.

Why can I see holidays on my Mac but not my iPhone?
Check that both devices use the same Apple Account, Calendar is enabled in iCloud on each, and the holiday calendar is visible on the iPhone.

Can I set alerts for holidays?
Possibly, depending on whether the subscribed event is editable. If it is read-only, create a separate personal event and set an alert on that event.

How do I remove a holiday calendar without deleting my events?
Select the holiday calendar in Calendar’s list and use its delete or unsubscribe command. Removing that separate calendar does not remove events stored in your other calendars.

Method: the standard formula for this calculation, rounded as each result states. See how the calculators work or report an error.