Public holidays in Bermuda

This is a list of named Holidays in Bermuda.[1] Every Sunday is also considered a holiday.[2]

Name2015 Date2016 Date2017 Date 2018 Date 2019 Date 2020 Date 2021 Date 2022 Date 2023 DateRemarks
New Year's Day1 January1 January1 January 1 January 1 January 1 January 1 January 1 January 1 January
Good Friday3 April25 March14 April 30 March 19 April 10 April 2 April 15 April 7 AprilNotable for extensive Bermuda kite flying.
Bermuda Day25 May24 May24 May 25 May 24 May 29 May 28 May 27 May 26 MayPreviously known as Victoria Day, Empire Day, and Commonwealth Day.
National Heroes Day15 June20 June19 June 18 June 17 June 15 June 21 June 20 June 19 JuneThis holiday began in 2008 and replaced the Queen's Official Birthday.[3]
Emancipation Day30 July28 July3 August 2 August 1 August 30 July 29 July 28 July 3 AugustFirst day of Cup Match; Known as Cup Match Day until 2000.
Somers' Day31 July29 July4 August 3 August 2 August 31 July 30 July 29 July 4 AugustSecond day of Cup Match, after Sir George Somers.
Labour Day7 September5 September4 September 3 September 2 September 7 September 6 September 5 September 4 SeptemberEstablished in 1982.[4][5] The symbolic end of summer.
Remembrance Day11 November11 November11 November 11 November 11 November 11 November 11 November 11 November 11 NovemberA service is held at the cenotaph in Hamilton.
Christmas Day25 December25 December25 December 25 December 25 December 25 December 25 December 25 December 25 December
Boxing Day26 December26 December26 December 26 December 26 December 26 December 26 December 26 December 26 December

Nature of Public Holidays

The official list of Public Holidays was set out in 1947 in the Public Holidays Act. Since then, the only change to the actual list has been the change of name of Cup Match Day to Emancipation Day at the end of 1999.

Public holidays featured nearly a complete shut-down of Bermuda, with all public offices and stores closed. Not only was the sale of goods on public holidays made illegal, but offering items for sale and even allowing customers into a store constituted an offense. Hotel restaurants, pharmacies and stores that had been granted special licenses by the government were exempted from this.

In March 2005, the Bermuda government passed a major amendment to the Act that allowed stores to finally open. It required that employers give their staff at least seven days (written) notice of a need for their service; it also required that employers inform those employees of their right to refuse, and prohibited any sort of disciplinary action or dismissal for employees who did refuse.

References
  1. "" Official list of public holidays in Bermuda.
  2. "Public Holidays Act 1947" (PDF). Bermuda Laws Online. The Government of Bermuda. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  3. http://www.royalgazette.com/rg/Article/article.jsp?sectionId=60&articleId=7d9a4b33003000d%5B%5D
  4. "" 2002 newspaper editorial on the subject
  5. "" 1982 military document noting first Bermuda Labor Day in 1982
  • Bermuda Online
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.