While the festive season's most famous workers are the elves of the North Pole and their sleigh-riding courier, there are many more that keep things running over the final weeks of the year.

For some living in Europe, the blessings come in the form of paid public holidays. Others might be graced with additional holidays throughout the year in return for fewer days off during the festive period. 

Of course, there are still those who need to keep the wheels turning, with important roles required across the region. 

These include emergency services, as well as hospitality and retail workers, many of which experience their most demanding times of the year.

Logistics workers are also needed to get Christmas cards and gifts to their destinations.

 

Who's putting their feet up over Christmas?

Europeans tend to have between two and five public holidays throughout this time of year, ranging from Christmas Eve on December 24 up until Epiphany on January 6.

Malta, for example, has 14 national holidays during the year, two of which are in the Christmas-New Year period.

Compare that to Cyprus, Slovakia and Romania, which have 15 national holidays, a third of which happen during this festive period. 

Without doubt it's the Lithuanians who have the most generous public holidays — 16 in total, including four between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day.

Of course, it's not always that simple

A study by the Hans Böckler Foundation in Germany found nearly 1 in 10 German workers will still be working their tools after 2:00pm on Christmas Eve, which is not a public holiday in Germany. 

There are also regional differences — eastern Germans were more likely to be called to duty during this period of the year, and often it's the same workers each year working beyond 2:00pm.

For states where doors are required to shut at 2:00pm on December 24, residents need to scramble to ensure they have all their supplies until December 27. 

A Christmas sweetener

Some workers will be opening their bank balances to find a "thirteenth month" of pay added to their bank balance.

Usually calculated relative to the number of hours an employee works, southern European countries like Portugal, Spain, Greece and Italy tend to receive a statutory bonus, depending on their industry and employer.

Other European nations may offer bonuses as a custom, rather than a legal requirement. 

While some nations offer these added sweeteners, others have recently considered scrooging the public. For Germansand the France, the time off at Christmas might become even more valuable, with their governments have recently flagged reductions in public holidays, in the hope that this will boost their flagging economies.

Edited by: Andreas Illmer