There are approximately thirteen nationally recognized public holidays in Ghana, a sub-Saharan country in Africa. The primary National holiday is Independence Day, which is on 6 March. It is a National Day and is set to honor the memory of Ghana's independence from the United Kingdom in 1957. [1]
This is a list of public holidays in Ghana .
Date | English name | Description |
---|---|---|
1 January | New Year's Day | |
7 January | Constitution Day | Constitution of 1992 and Fourth Republic 1993. [2] |
6 March | Independence Day | Dominion of Ghana established within the Commonwealth of Nations in 1957. |
Friday before Easter | Good Friday | Crucifixion of Jesus |
Monday after Easter | Easter Monday | |
1 May | May Day | Worker's Day |
1 Shawwal | Eid al-Fitr | Festival of Breaking the Fast |
10 Dhu al-Hijjah | Eid al-Adha | Feast of the Sacrifice |
4 August | Founders' Day | Honors The Big Six who worked for Ghana's independence. [3] |
21 September | Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day | Birthday of Nkrumah, first prime minister (1957-1960) and first president (1960-1966) of Ghana |
First Friday in December | Farmers' Day | Recognizes farmers and fishermen. [4] |
25 December | Christmas Day | Birth of Jesus |
26 December | Boxing Day |
It is not mandatory that all Ghanaian institutions/organizations recognize public holidays. Institutions/organizations that are exempt include The Ghana National Fire Service, food vendors, some category of hotels, health service providers such as hospitals, dealers in pharmaceutical products etc.
Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It lies adjacent to the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing a border with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Togo in the east. Ghana covers an area of 239,567 km2 (92,497 sq mi), spanning diverse ecologies, from coastal savannas to tropical rainforests. With nearly 35 million inhabitants, Ghana is the second-most populous country in West Africa. The capital and largest city is Accra; other significant cities include Kumasi, Tamale, and Sekondi-Takoradi. In 1957 Ghana became the first colony in Sub-Saharan Africa to achieve sovereignty, under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah.
Francis Kwame Nkrumah was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained independence from Britain. He was then the first Prime Minister and then the President of Ghana, from 1957 until 1966. An influential advocate of Pan-Africanism, Nkrumah was a founding member of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and winner of the Lenin Peace Prize from the Soviet Union in 1962.
Juneteenth, officially Juneteenth National Independence Day, is a federal holiday in the United States. It is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States. The holiday's name is a portmanteau of the words "June" and "nineteenth", as it was on June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War. In the Civil War period, slavery came to an end in various areas of the United States at different times. Many enslaved Southerners escaped, demanded wages, stopped work, or took up arms against the Confederacy of slave states. In January 1865, Congress finally proposed the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution for national abolition of slavery. By June 1865, almost all enslaved were freed by the victorious Union Army, or abolition laws in some of the remaining U.S. states. When the national abolition amendment was ratified in December, the remaining enslaved in Delaware and in Kentucky were freed.
Federal holidays in the United States are 11 calendar dates designated by the U.S. federal government as holidays. On these days non-essential U.S. federal government offices are closed and federal employees are paid for the day off.
In the United States, public holidays are set by federal, state, and local governments and are often observed by closing government offices or giving government employees paid time off. The federal government does not require private businesses to close or offer paid time off, as is the case for most state and local governments, so employers determine which holidays to observe.
African socialism or Afrosocialism is a belief in sharing economic resources in a traditional African way, as distinct from classical socialism. Many African politicians of the 1950s and 1960s professed their support for African socialism, although definitions and interpretations of this term varied considerably. These politicians include Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, and Modibo Keita of Mali, among others.
The national flag of Ghana consists of a horizontal triband of red, yellow, and green. It was designed in replacement of the British Gold Coast's Blue Ensign.
The Accra riots started on 28 February 1948 in Accra, the capital of the then British colony of the Gold Coast. A protest march by unarmed ex-servicemen who were agitating for their benefits as veterans of World War II, who had fought with the Gold Coast Regiment of the Royal West African Frontier Force, was broken up by police, leaving three leaders of the group dead. They were Sergeant Nii Adjetey, Corporal Patrick Attipoe and Private Odartey Lamptey, who have since been memorialized in Accra.
The Convention People's Party (CPP) is a socialist political party in Ghana based on the ideas of the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah. The CPP was formed in June 1949 after Nkrumah broke away from the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC).
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), commonly known as UST, Tech or Kwame Tech, is a public university located in Kumasi, Ashanti region, Ghana. The university focuses on science and technology. It is the second public university established in the country, as well as the largest university in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.
Africa Day is the annual commemoration of the foundation of the Organization of African Unity on 25 May 1963. It is celebrated in various countries on the African continent as well as around the world. The organization was replaced by the African Union on 9 July 2002, but the holiday continues to be celebrated on 25 May.
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was the first Prime Minister and first President of Ghana. Nkrumah had run governments under the supervision of the British government through Charles Arden-Clarke, the Governor-General. His first government under colonial rule started from 21 March 1952 until independence. His first independent government took office on 6 March 1957. From 1 July 1960, Ghana became a republic and Nkrumah became the first president of Ghana.
The Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and Mausoleum is located in downtown Accra, the capital of Ghana. Over the years, the park has attracted visitors from around the world, with an annual count of approximately 98,000 individuals who visit to pay homage to Ghana's first President, and learn about his life and legacy. As one of the top 10 most visited sites in the country, the park holds immense cultural and historical significance.
Honourable Samia Yaba Christina Nkrumah is a Ghanaian politician and former chairperson of the Convention People's Party (CPP) making her the first woman to ever head a major political party in Ghana. In the 2008 parliamentary election, she won the Jomoro constituency seat on her first attempt. She is the daughter of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana.
Black Star Square, also known as Independence Square, is a public square in Accra, Ghana, bordered by the Accra Sports Stadium and the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park. The square often hosts the annual independence celebrations as well as other national events, and is the site for all civic and military parades and other national gatherings. It was completed in 1961, in time for the state visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Ghana.
Founders' Day is a national public holiday observed to commemorate the contributions of all the people, notably the "Big Six" who led the struggle for Ghana's independence. The Founder's Day was formerly called "Founder's Day" with the letter "S" appearing after an apostrophe and it was celebrated to earmark the achievements of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
The Independence Day of Ghana is a national holiday celebrated yearly. This day is an official state holiday for the citizens of Ghana both within and in the diaspora to honour and celebrate the Heroes of Ghana who led the country to attain its independence. The Independence Day is celebrated on March 6 every year. Independence Day is also remembrance of the day that marks the declaration of Ghanaian independence from the British colonial rule. The first Prime Minister of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, became the Head of Government from 1957 to 1960. On Wednesday, 6 March 1957 Kwame Nkrumah declared to the people of Ghana about their freedom, he added that, "the African People are capable of managing their own affairs and Ghana our beloved country is free forever." Ghana was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve its independence from European colonial rule. Many Ghanaians who have had the opportunity to serve as president have remembered the occasion and made Ghana Independence Day a public holiday to celebrate. Granting the day as a national holiday is well recognized such that, if 6 March of a year fell on a weekend of the Independence Day celebration, the working day that follows which is a Monday will be granted and observed as a holiday by the whole nation. Many Presidents from other African countries and Europe have been invited to Ghana to join in the celebration either as Guest Speakers or Invited Guests since the reign of former President Kwame Nkrumah till now.
Farmers' Day is an annual observance in various countries to celebrate the national contributions of farmers and agricultures. It is observed on different dates around the world.
This is a list of events in 2021 in West Africa.
The Political history of Ghana recounts the history of varying political systems that existed in Ghana during pre-colonial times, the colonial era and after independence. Pre-colonial Ghana was made up of several states and ethnic groups whose political system was categorized by 3 main administrative models; Centralized, Non-centralized and Theocratic states. In the colonial era, the British Empire employed different forms of government among its four territorial possessions in the Gold Coast. Indirect rule was implemented in the late 19th century after its success in Northern Nigeria. From the 1940s, native Ghanaians yearned for more autonomy. This resulted in the several constitutional reforms as well as the creation of the office of the Prime Minister in 1952.