In 2023, over 1.5 billion people used Google Calendar, and many of them find holiday calendars cluttering their view.

Why hide holidays

Holiday calendars add a layer of color and reminders that can distract from work or personal events. When the list of public holidays fills the day view, it becomes harder to spot meetings or deadlines that matter most.

Changing the calendar view

To stop showing holidays, open Google Calendar on a computer or mobile device. Locate the left‑hand panel that lists all calendars, and find the entry labeled “Holidays” under the “Other calendars” section. Click the eye icon next to it, or uncheck the box, to make the holiday entries invisible. The same option appears in the settings menu under “Add calendar” where you can deselect the holiday subscription.

What changes after disabling

Once the holiday calendar is hidden, the days return to a clean layout, showing only the events you have created or subscribed to. Existing holiday entries remain in the system, but they no longer appear on the screen. You can reactivate the view by checking the box again, bringing back the reminders when needed.

This adjustment helps keep your schedule focused and reduces visual noise.

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Questions on the topic

1. How can I permanently disable the holiday calendar in Google Calendar on a desktop computer?
To turn off holidays permanently on a desktop, open Google Calendar in your web browser and locate the “My calendars” section on the left side. Click the three‑dot menu next to “Holidays” (or the specific country’s holiday calendar) and select “Hide from list.” If the holiday calendar isn’t visible, click “+” next to “Other calendars,” choose “Browse calendars of interest,” and uncheck the box for the holiday calendar you want to remove. This action hides the holidays from your main view and prevents them from reappearing unless you manually re‑enable them. For a more permanent solution, go to “Settings” (gear icon → Settings), scroll to “Add calendar,” click “Browse calendars of interest,” and ensure the holiday calendar is unchecked. The changes sync across all devices linked to the same Google account, so you won’t see holidays on any platform after this adjustment.

2. What steps do I need to follow to turn off holidays on the Google Calendar mobile app for Android?
Open the Google Calendar app on your Android device, tap the three‑line menu icon in the top left, and scroll down to the “Settings” section. Tap “General,” then select “Show holidays.” Toggle the switch off to hide all holiday events. If you only want to disable holidays for a specific country, go back to the main menu, tap “Add calendar,” then “Browse calendars of interest.” Find the holiday calendar you wish to remove and uncheck it. After you deselect the holiday calendar, return to the main view; the holidays will disappear instantly. The app automatically syncs these preferences with your Google account, so the same settings will apply on any other device where you use the same account.

3. Can I hide holidays for only certain calendars while keeping them visible in others?
Yes, Google Calendar allows you to control holiday visibility per calendar view. In the web version, click the “+” next to “Other calendars,” then “Browse calendars of interest,” and add the holiday calendar to a specific secondary calendar (e.g., a personal or work calendar). Once added, you can toggle the visibility of that secondary calendar by checking or unchecking its box in the left‑hand sidebar. This way, the holiday events appear only when the secondary calendar is active, while remaining hidden in your primary calendar view. On mobile, you can achieve a similar effect by creating separate calendar groups (e.g., “Work,” “Personal”) and assigning the holiday calendar to the group you want visible. Then, hide or show the group as needed. This granular control lets you keep holidays visible for certain contexts without cluttering all your schedules.

4. Why do holidays keep reappearing after I hide them, and how can I stop this from happening?
Holidays may reappear if you have multiple Google accounts signed in on the same device, or if you’ve enabled the “Browse calendars of interest” feature that automatically adds holiday calendars based on your location settings. To stop this, first ensure you’re signed into the correct Google account. Then, go to Google Calendar’s web settings, navigate to “Add calendar” → “Browse calendars of interest,” and manually deselect all holiday calendars. Additionally, check your device’s location settings; on Android, go to Settings → Location → Google Location History and turn off “Location History” for the calendar app, which can trigger automatic holiday additions. Finally, clear the app cache or reinstall the Google Calendar app to reset any lingering preferences. After these steps, the holidays should stay hidden permanently.

5. Is there a way to customize which holidays appear, such as showing only federal holidays but hiding religious or regional observances?
Google Calendar’s built‑in holiday calendars are grouped by country, not by specific holiday type, so you cannot directly filter out only federal holidays while keeping others. However, you can achieve a customized view by creating a new calendar and manually adding the specific holidays you want to see. First, disable the default holiday calendar as described earlier. Then, click “+” → “Create new calendar,” name it “Custom Holidays,” and manually add events for federal holidays using the “Create” button. For recurring holidays, set the repeat option (e.g., yearly on July 4). If you prefer an automated approach, search for third‑party iCal feeds that list only federal holidays, then add that URL via “+” → “From URL” in the “Other calendars” section. This method gives you full control over which holidays appear, ensuring that only the desired observances are displayed in your Google Calendar.

Questions on the topic

Q1: How can I hide public holidays in Google Calendar?
A: Open Google Calendar, click the three dots next to the “Holidays” calendar in the left sidebar, and select “Hide from list.” The holidays will no longer appear on your calendar view.

Q2: Can I permanently remove the holiday calendar from my Google account?
A: Yes. In the left panel, hover over the holiday calendar, click the “X” (or “Unsubscribe”) icon, and confirm the removal to delete it from your account.

Q3: Is there a way to disable holidays for only a specific calendar view (e.g., week view)?
A: No, Google Calendar applies the hide/unsubscribe setting globally across all views; you cannot hide holidays for just one view.

Q4: How do I stop Google Calendar from automatically adding new holiday calendars each year?
A: Go to Settings → Add calendar → Browse calendars of interest, and make sure the “Holidays” toggle is turned off for each country you don’t want to auto‑subscribe to.

Q5: Will hiding holidays affect other shared calendars or only my personal view?
A: Hiding or unsubscribing removes the holiday calendar from your personal view only; it does not affect other users’ calendars or shared events.

Q6: Can I temporarily mute holiday notifications without removing the calendar?
A: Yes. Click the three dots next to the holiday calendar, choose “Settings,” then set “Event notifications” to “None” to stop alerts while keeping the calendar visible.