Google Calendar removed religious holidays from its default view in 2021

In December 2021, Google stopped showing religious holidays automatically on Google Calendar. Before that change, the calendar displayed Christian holidays (Christmas, Easter), Jewish holidays (Hanukkah, Yom Kippur), and Islamic holidays (Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha) by default for all users, regardless of their religion or location. Now, none of these holidays appear unless you turn them on yourself.

Google's stated reason was to make the default calendar more neutral and let people choose which holidays matter to their own schedule. The company kept national holidays like Thanksgiving, Independence Day, and New Year's Day visible by default, since these are secular observances tied to specific countries rather than religions.

This change affects how you see your calendar when you first set it up, but it does not remove the holidays from Google's system entirely. You can still add them back in seconds if you want them to show.

Key Takeaways

  • Google removed Christian, Jewish, and Islamic holidays from the default calendar view in December 2021, but kept national holidays like Thanksgiving and Independence Day visible.
  • You can add any religious holiday back to your calendar by opening Settings, selecting your calendar, and checking the box next to the holiday list you want.
  • The change applies only to the default view—Google did not delete the holidays, just stopped showing them automatically.
  • If you share a calendar with others, they see only the holidays you have turned on, so team calendars may look different depending on who set them up.

How to turn religious holidays back on in Google Calendar

Open Google Calendar on your computer (the mobile app works differently and is covered below). In the left sidebar under "Other calendars," look for a plus sign next to "Subscribe to calendar." Click it and search for the holiday list you want—type "Christian holidays," "Jewish holidays," or "Islamic holidays." Select the one that appears in the results.

Google will add that calendar to your sidebar. The holidays now show on your main calendar view in a different color so you can tell them apart from your own events. You can rename the calendar, change its color, or hide it temporarily by unchecking the box next to its name in the sidebar.

If you want to remove a holiday calendar later, right-click its name in the sidebar and select "Unsubscribe." This does not affect your personal events—it only hides that holiday list.

Adding holidays on the Google Calendar mobile app

The process on iPhone or Android is slightly different because the mobile app does not have a sidebar. Open the app and tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top left. Scroll down to "Settings" and tap it. Select "Add holidays" or "Holidays," depending on your phone's version of the app.

You will see a list of countries and regions. Tap the one where you live or where you want to see holidays. Google will add that country's national holidays to your calendar. For religious holidays, you may need to go back to the main settings menu and look for "Other calendars" or "Subscribe to calendar" to add them the same way you would on a computer.

Why Google made this change and what it means for shared calendars

Google said the change was about respecting user choice. The company received complaints from people whose calendars were cluttered with holidays they did not observe, and from users in countries where the default holidays did not match their own observances. By removing the automatic display, Google let each person decide what belongs on their calendar.

The practical effect is that shared team calendars now depend on who created them. If your manager set up a shared calendar before December 2021, it might still show religious holidays. If someone created a new shared calendar after the change, those holidays will not appear unless they manually added them. This can cause confusion when team members do not realize a holiday is coming because it is not on the shared calendar.

If you manage a team calendar, you may want to add the holidays your team observes so everyone sees them. This is especially important if your team includes people from different religious backgrounds or countries.

National holidays that Google Calendar still shows by default

Google kept these holidays visible on all calendars without requiring you to turn them on: New Year's Day, Independence Day (in the United States), Thanksgiving (in the United States and Canada), Christmas Day, and Boxing Day (in Commonwealth countries). The exact list varies by country—if you set your calendar to a different country in Settings, you will see that country's national holidays instead.

You can hide national holidays if you want a completely blank calendar, but you have to do it manually. Go to Settings, find "Holidays," and uncheck the country or region whose holidays you want to remove. Unlike religious holidays, you cannot pick and choose individual national holidays—it is all or nothing for each country.

What changed for Google Workspace and business accounts

If you use Google Calendar through a work account (Google Workspace), your organization's administrator can set which holidays appear on everyone's calendar by default. This means your company might have turned religious holidays back on for all employees, or added holidays specific to your industry or location. Check with your IT department or administrator if you are unsure what your workplace calendar shows.

Personal Google accounts (the kind you create with a Gmail address) are not affected by workplace settings. Your personal calendar shows only the holidays you choose, regardless of what your work calendar displays.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I see what holidays Google removed?

Google removed Christian holidays (Christmas, Easter, Good Friday), Jewish holidays (Hanukkah, Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, Passover), and Islamic holidays (Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Islamic New Year) from the default view. You can see the complete list by going to Settings and searching for "holidays" to see what is available to add back.

If I add religious holidays, will they show on calendars I share with others?

Yes, anyone you share your calendar with will see the holidays you have turned on. If you share a calendar with coworkers and add religious holidays, those holidays will appear on their view of your calendar. Make sure your workplace culture supports this before adding them to a shared team calendar.

Do I have to add holidays back every time I create a new calendar?

Yes. Each calendar you create starts with the default settings, which means no religious holidays. If you frequently create new calendars, you may want to add the holidays you observe to each one. Google does not have a way to set a permanent default for all future calendars you create.

Why does my calendar still show religious holidays if Google removed them?

Your calendar might have been created before December 2021, when Google still showed religious holidays by default. Existing calendars kept their settings after the change. If you want to clean up your calendar, you can unsubscribe from holiday lists you no longer need in the sidebar.

Can I add holidays for a country other than where I live?

Yes. When you add holidays, you can choose any country from the list, even if you do not live there. This is useful if you work with international teams or observe holidays from your heritage country. Just search for the country name when you subscribe to a holiday calendar.