As of 20 October 2026. Google’s rules have been checked against Google Business Profile Help, and the public holidays against the Swedish Public Holidays Act (1989:253) on riksdagen.se. We have worked out and checked the weekdays ourselves. The sources are listed at the end.

Wrong opening hours are one of the few mistakes in a Google profile that customers notice straight away: they find themselves outside a locked door. The next exception is close. All Saints’ Day, a public holiday in Sweden, falls on Saturday 31 October, and then comes Christmas, with Christmas Eve on a Thursday. This guide covers how special hours work, when temporarily closed is the right choice, what must not appear in the profile, and every Swedish public holiday up to and including New Year 2028.

How do you add special hours to your Google profile?

Under Edit profile, Hours and Special hours, one date at a time. This is how Google’s help centre describes the steps in a web browser:

  1. Go to your Business Profile and select Edit profile and then Hours.
  2. Next to Special hours, select the edit icon.
  3. Choose the date. If Google already suggests the date, select Review; otherwise select Add a date.
  4. If you are closed, tick Closed. If you are open, untick Closed and enter the hours. If you have several sets of hours on the same day, such as a break at midday, select More and add the hours.
  5. Select Save.

Good to know:

  • Special hours only apply on the chosen days. The next day the profile shows your regular hours again, so there is nothing to change back.
  • A set of hours can be no longer than 24 hours. If you are open past midnight, split the hours in two: one set that ends at midnight and one that starts at midnight the next day.
  • Confirm the public holidays. Google recommends giving your hours for official holidays even when they are the same as usual, so customers can see that the information is accurate.
  • With many locations you can add special hours for all of them at once using a spreadsheet. An x in the column means closed all day. Empty columns with a heading erase the existing information, so only include the columns you want to change.

The help centre describes the steps for the browser. On mobile and in the Google Maps app, the buttons may be in other places.

How many days can special hours cover?

Up to six days in a row. If the business is closed for seven days in a row or more, or for an unknown period, Google recommends marking it as temporarily closed instead.

Special hoursTemporarily closed
WhenChanged hours or closed for up to six days in a rowClosed for seven days in a row or more, or for an unknown period
ExampleClosed from Christmas Eve to Sunday 27 DecemberA holiday closure in July, or closed from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day
How it showsThe special hours, only on the chosen days”Temporarily closed” in Search and Maps
AfterwardsRegular hours return by themselvesYou have to mark the business as reopened yourself
Keep in mindOnly shows if the profile has regular hoursMay rank lower for broad searches, according to Google

An example from Christmas 2026: closing from Thursday 24 to Sunday 27 December is four days, so special hours are enough. Closing from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day inclusive is nine days, so you should choose temporarily closed. Google says temporarily closed businesses may rank lower than open ones for broad searches. So mark the business as reopened as soon as you are back, and put a reminder in your calendar.

You mark the business as temporarily closed under Edit profile and Hours, where you choose Temporarily closed and Save.

Comparison of special hours and temporarily closed in a Google profile: special hours cover up to six days in a row, for example closed 24–27 December 2026, show only on the chosen days and require regular hours. Temporarily closed covers seven days or more, for example Christmas Eve to New Year's Day, shows as temporarily closed in Search and Maps, must be reopened manually and may rank lower for broad searches.
Google draws the line at six days in a row. If you are closed for longer, Google recommends temporarily closed, and you then have to reopen the profile yourself.

Why are my special hours not showing?

Check your regular hours first. Special hours only show if the profile is set to open with main hours.

Two other situations are worth knowing about:

  • Businesses that should not provide hours. Under Google’s guidelines, certain businesses should not provide hours, including those that operate only by appointment and those with varied hours, for example classes or performances. If that is you, tell customers about the holidays in a post, on your website and in your booking system.
  • Suggested edits. Google can suggest changes to your details. You have four days after the notification to accept or reject a suggestion, and if you do not respond Google may publish the change if it is supported by other publicly available information. Old opening hours left on your website could therefore affect the profile, in our assessment. Log in and check for suggestions twice a week.

Other reasons a profile does not show up are covered in Why your business doesn’t show up on Google Maps.

Which days are public holidays in Sweden in 2026 and 2027?

Swedish public holidays, often called red days, are set out in the Public Holidays Act (1989:253). Under the act every Sunday is also a public holiday. The eves are not listed, but many businesses still keep different hours on them. We have worked out the weekdays below.

DaySwedish nameDateWeekdayPublic holiday?
All Saints’ EveAllhelgonaafton30 October 2026FridayNo
All Saints’ DayAlla helgons dag31 October 2026SaturdayYes
Christmas EveJulafton24 December 2026ThursdayNo
Christmas DayJuldagen25 December 2026FridayYes
Boxing DayAnnandag jul26 December 2026SaturdayYes
New Year’s EveNyårsafton31 December 2026ThursdayNo
New Year’s DayNyårsdagen1 January 2027FridayYes
EpiphanyTrettondedag jul6 January 2027WednesdayYes
Good FridayLångfredagen26 March 2027FridayYes
Easter SaturdayPåskafton27 March 2027SaturdayNo
Easter SundayPåskdagen28 March 2027SundayYes
Easter MondayAnnandag påsk29 March 2027MondayYes
Walpurgis NightValborgsmässoafton30 April 2027FridayNo
May DayFörsta maj1 May 2027SaturdayYes
Ascension DayKristi himmelsfärdsdag6 May 2027ThursdayYes
Whit SundayPingstdagen16 May 2027SundayYes
National DayNationaldagen6 June 2027SundayYes
Midsummer EveMidsommarafton25 June 2027FridayNo
Midsummer DayMidsommardagen26 June 2027SaturdayYes
All Saints’ EveAllhelgonaafton5 November 2027FridayNo
All Saints’ DayAlla helgons dag6 November 2027SaturdayYes
Christmas EveJulafton24 December 2027FridayNo
Christmas DayJuldagen25 December 2027SaturdayYes
Boxing DayAnnandag jul26 December 2027SundayYes
New Year’s EveNyårsafton31 December 2027FridayNo
New Year’s DayNyårsdagen1 January 2028SaturdayYes

A few things that affect opening hours:

  • Midsummer Day and All Saints’ Day always fall on a Saturday under the act: Midsummer Day on the Saturday between 20 and 26 June, and All Saints’ Day on the Saturday between 31 October and 6 November.
  • Whit Monday is not listed in the act, so it is not a public holiday in Sweden.
  • Friday 7 May 2027 falls between Ascension Day and the weekend, what Swedes call a klämdag. It is not a public holiday, but think about whether your hours differ that day.
  • Christmas 2027 falls almost entirely on a weekend: Christmas Eve on the Friday, Christmas Day on the Saturday and Boxing Day on the Sunday.

Add the eves to your Google profile if your hours differ on them. We have not seen Google state which days count as official holidays in Sweden, so do not count on the profile suggesting the eves.

For Christmas and New Year 2026, Julens öppettider 2026 (Christmas opening hours 2026, in Swedish) builds a ready list. You enter your usual hours and choose what applies on each day, and you get a text for your website and a list of the dates to add in Google. The rest of the Christmas planning is covered in Christmas strategy for local businesses 2026.

Can you put “open late for Christmas” or offers in the profile?

Not in the name and not in the description. Add the hours as special hours and put the offer in a post. This is what Google’s rules say:

  • The name must not contain opening hours or other unnecessary information. The guidelines give a name with “(closed)” as an example of something that is not acceptable.
  • The description must not focus on special offers, prices and sales.
  • The profile itself must not contain promotional or commercial content with time-bound promotions, pricing or direct calls to action.
  • Posts may contain offers and updates. An offer needs a title, dates and times, and an event a title and start and end dates. Posts can be scheduled, and posts older than six months are archived unless you set a date range.
  • Phone numbers in posts can lead to the post being removed if the number is not verified. Attach a Call now button instead, which uses your profile’s verified number.

So if you open late every Sunday in Advent, add each Sunday as a special date and mention it in a post. How to set up an offer that follows the rules, including for price reductions in Sweden, is covered in Black Friday 2026 in Sweden: a checklist for local businesses.

The same hours on your website, Apple Maps, Facebook and in your booking system

Customers can find you in several places, and the hours should be the same everywhere. Make all the changes on the same day.

  • Your website. Publish the same list as in your Google profile, where customers look for opening hours.
  • Apple Maps. Since 14 April 2026, the place card on Apple Maps has been managed in Apple Business, which replaced Apple Business Connect. Among other things, you can set your opening hours there. We have not checked how exceptions are entered, so look for that feature when you log in.
  • Facebook and Instagram. Update the opening hours on your Facebook Page and publish the list as a post pinned to the top. That is our assessment.
  • Your booking system. Close the days you are closed and shorten the days with shorter hours, so nobody can book an appointment that does not exist.

Different details in different places make it harder for customers to trust you, and AI services such as ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews build their answers on what they find. That is our assessment, and how it works is explained in How your business shows up in ChatGPT.

Seasonal hours, holiday closures and restaurants

Google’s guidelines have specific rules for seasonal businesses:

  • During the season you set your regular hours and add special hours for holidays and short closures.
  • In the description you may say that the business is only open during a particular season.
  • During the off-season you can mark the business as temporarily closed, and when you reopen you set your regular hours.

The same logic applies to the summer holiday, which in Sweden is often taken in July. Three or four weeks’ closure is more than six days, so Google recommends temporarily closed.

For restaurants, the guidelines say the regular hours are the hours when diners can sit down and eat, and otherwise the takeaway hours. If you have different hours for, say, takeaway, you can add them as More hours, which should generally fall within your regular hours.

A routine that takes a few minutes a month

This is our routine, not a Google requirement:

  1. The first Monday of every month: go through the next two months and add all exceptions.
  2. Before each quarter: add the public holidays for the whole quarter. Easter 2027 falls on 26–29 March, so add it by February.
  3. At least a week before a day with different hours: check that it has been added, so you have time to correct any mistakes.
  4. Twice a week: check whether Google or anyone else has suggested changes.
  5. After a longer closure: mark the business as reopened.

How the rest of the profile works, from categories to posts and reviews, is covered in Google Business for local businesses.

The opening hours check

Frequently asked questions

How do you add public holidays to your Google profile?

Go to your Business Profile, select Edit profile and Hours, and edit Special hours. Choose the date, tick Closed or enter the hours, and select Save. If Google already suggests the date, select Review. Add each day separately.

How long can special hours last in Google?

Special hours cover changed hours and closures of up to six days in a row. If the business is closed for seven days in a row or more, or for an unknown period, Google recommends marking it as temporarily closed.

Is Christmas Eve a public holiday in Sweden?

No. Christmas Eve is not a public holiday under the Swedish Public Holidays Act (1989:253), and neither are New Year’s Eve, Midsummer Eve, Easter Saturday or Walpurgis Night. Christmas Day and Boxing Day are public holidays. Many businesses still keep different hours on Christmas Eve, so add it to your Google profile.

Why are my special hours not showing on Google?

Check that the profile is set to open with main hours. Otherwise the special hours will not show, according to Google’s help centre. A set of hours also cannot exceed 24 hours, so hours that run past midnight are split in two.

Which days are public holidays in Sweden in 2027?

New Year’s Day Friday 1 January, Epiphany Wednesday 6 January, Good Friday 26 March, Easter Sunday 28 March, Easter Monday 29 March, May Day Saturday 1 May, Ascension Day Thursday 6 May, Whit Sunday 16 May, National Day Sunday 6 June, Midsummer Day Saturday 26 June, All Saints’ Day Saturday 6 November, Christmas Day Saturday 25 December and Boxing Day Sunday 26 December. Every Sunday is also a public holiday.

Can you put Christmas opening hours in your business name on Google?

No. Under Google’s guidelines the name must not contain opening hours or other unnecessary information, and the profile itself must not contain time-bound promotions. Add the hours as special hours and mention them in a post.

Sources

All web pages read on 20 October 2026. Google’s help pages are undated and may change.