You are an extreme outlier. American workers have on average nearly half as many vacation days as are legally mandated in the EU,[1] while EU member states have more public holidays than the United States.
Europeans have more public holidays than americans (on average). Also, general work culture encourages better work-life balance, and people rarely expect you to do anything outside of your working hours.
It's dramatically better than what I receive as an American (I get the 6 major American holidays, any time off beyond that is unpaid). Europeans rightly view that as crazy.