This is a list of holidays in Eswatini . [1] If a holiday falls on a Sunday, it may be celebrated on the following Monday.
Date | Name | Comments |
---|---|---|
1 January | New Year's Day [2] | |
Friday before Easter March or April | Good Friday | |
Monday after Easter March or April | Easter Monday | |
19 April | King's Birthday | His Majesty Mswati III was born on 19 April 1968 in Manzini. |
25 April | National Flag Day | |
1 May | Labour Day | |
40 days after Easter Thursday in May or June | Ascension Day | |
22 July | King Father's Birthday | Sobhuza II was Ngwenyama from 1899 to 1982. |
6 September | Independence Day | Named for Ngwane IV, Somhlolo, who reigned from 1815 to 1836 and created a kingdom comparable to the Zulu, the Maroti, or the Pedi. |
25 December | Christmas Day | |
26 December | Boxing Day | |
Last week of December to first week of January | Incwala Day | This is the most important event in Eswatini culture. Its main purpose is to celebrate kingship. [3] |
Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide. Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part of Christmas festivities, with many people choosing to shop for deals on Boxing Day. It originated in the United Kingdom and is celebrated in several Commonwealth nations. The attached bank holiday or public holiday may take place on 28 December if necessary to ensure it falls on a weekday. Boxing Day is also concurrent with the Christian festival Saint Stephen's Day.
Eswatini, officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and also known by its former official name Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its north, west, south, and southeast. At no more than 200 km (120 mi) north to south and 130 km (81 mi) east to west, Eswatini is one of the smallest countries in Africa; despite this, its climate and topography are diverse, ranging from a cool and mountainous highveld to a hot and dry lowveld.
The Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) is the military of the Southern African Kingdom of Eswatini (Swaziland). It is used primarily during domestic protests, with some border and customs duties; the force has never been involved in a foreign conflict. The army has struggled with high rates of HIV infection. Since measures were put in place the rate is dropping.
Eswatini is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the African Union, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, and the Southern African Development Community. Currently, the Kingdom of Eswatini maintains 11 embassies and High Commissions along with 15 consulates and other representations around the world, while there are five embassies and High Commissions in Eswatini as well as 14 consulates and other representations.
A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom and the Crown Dependencies, and in the Republic of Ireland. In the United Kingdom, the term refers to all public holidays, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation, or held by convention under common law.
A national day is a day on which celebrations mark the statehood or nationhood of a state or its people. It may be the date of independence, of becoming a republic, of becoming a federation, or a significant date for a patron saint or a ruler. The national day is often a public holiday. Many countries have more than one national day. Denmark and the United Kingdom are the only countries without a national day. Britain abandoned Empire Day, while Denmark has what is not a public holiday but an unofficial celebration called Constitution Day. National days emerged with the age of nationalism, with most appearing during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Mswati III is Ngwenyama (King) of Eswatini and head of the Swazi royal family.
In the United Kingdom, public holidays are days on which most businesses and non-essential services are closed. Many retail businesses do open on some of the public holidays. There are restrictions on trading on Sundays, Easter Day and Christmas Day in England and Wales and on New Year's Day and Christmas Day in Scotland. Public holidays defined by statute are called bank holidays, but this term can also be used to include common law holidays, which are held by convention. The term "public holidays" can refer exclusively to common law holidays.
iNgwenyama is the title of the male monarch of Eswatini. In English, the title is sometimes translated as King of Eswatini. The iNgwenyama reigns together with the Ndlovukazi, a spiritual leadership position held by the iNgwenyama's mother or another female royal of high status.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Eswatini:
Christianity is the predominant religion in Eswatini, with Protestantism being its largest denomination.
This is a list of holidays in Grenada.
The following lists events that happened during 2021 in Southern Africa. The countries are those described in the United Nations geoscheme for Southern Africa.
A series of protests in Eswatini against the absolute monarchy and for democratisation began in late June 2021. Starting as a peaceful protest on 20 June, they escalated after 25 June into violence and looting over the weekend when the government took a hardline stance against the demonstrations and prohibited the delivery of petitions. Lower-level unrest and protests continued until summer 2023.
Cleopas Sipho Dlamini is a Liswati business executive who served as the prime minister of Eswatini from 2021 to 2023.
This article documents the chronology of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2021, which originated in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Some developments may become known or fully understood only in retrospect. Reporting on this pandemic began in December 2019.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland. Despite its legality, no executions have been carried out since 1983. Therefore, Eswatini is classified as "abolitionist in practice."
The following lists events that happened during 2022 in Southern Africa. The countries are those described in the United Nations geoscheme for Southern Africa.