This is a list of public holidays in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic Ocean consisting of Saint Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha.
| Date | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| January 1 | New Year's Day | Public holiday is on 2 January if 1 January is a Sunday; public holiday is on 3 January if 1 January is a Saturday |
| March or April | Good Friday | |
| March or April | Easter Monday | |
| 3rd Monday in April | Queen's Birthday | (Elizabeth II's actual birthday is April 21) |
| May 21 | Saint Helena Day [1] | Saint Helena |
| May or June | Ascension Day | Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha only |
| May or June | Whit Monday | |
| May or June | Ratting Day | Tristan da Cunha only (date varies each year) |
| August 14 | Anniversary Day | Tristan da Cunha only |
| Last Monday in August | August Bank Holiday | not observed in Tristan da Cunha |
| December 25 | Christmas Day | The public holiday may be on a different day — see Boxing Day#Date |
| December 26 | Boxing Day | If the 26 December is a Sunday, then Boxing Day is held on 27 December; the public holiday may be on a different day — see Boxing Day#Date |
Saint Helena has a total of 9 public holidays, Ascension Island a total of 10 days, and Tristan da Cunha a total of 11 days.
St. Helena's feast day is celebrated as the island of Saint Helena was discovered on the feast day and is named in her honour; it is a public holiday on St Helena only. Ascension Island was discovered on Ascension Day in 1503; it is celebrated on that island and also in Tristan da Cunha. In the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha, Anniversary Day celebrates the day on which the islands were formally annexed to the British Empire in 1816.
Ratting Day is a local observance on Tristan da Cunha island and its date is declared annually by the Chief Islander; it can be moved at short notice depending on weather conditions. [2]
The territory has a largely Christian population and two further dates are therefore locally notable in the calendar: Easter Sunday and Whit Sunday (the Pentecost), both of which (along with their associated public holidays of Good Friday, Easter Monday, Ascension Day and Whit Monday) vary each year.
Saint Helena is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean, about midway between South America and Africa. St Helena has a land area of 122 square kilometres and is part of the territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which includes Ascension Island and the island group of Tristan da Cunha.
This article is about the demographics of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a British overseas territory in the south Atlantic Ocean.
This article deals with traffic in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, that is all forms of traffic in the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
Tristan da Cunha, colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately 2,787 kilometres (1,732 mi) from Cape Town in South Africa, 2,437 kilometres (1,514 mi) from Saint Helena and 4,002 kilometres (2,487 mi) from the Falkland Islands.
In the Catholic Church, holy days of obligation are days on which the faithful are expected to attend Mass, and engage in rest from work and recreation, according to the third Commandment.
The flag of Saint Helena consists of a Blue Ensign defaced with the shield from the British overseas territory's coat of arms. Adopted in 1984 shortly after the island was granted a new coat of arms, it has been the flag since. Saint Helena's flag is similar to the flags of eight other British Overseas Territories, which are also Blue Ensigns with their respective coats of arms.
Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday, also known as Monday of the Holy Spirit, is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a moveable feast in the Christian liturgical calendar. It is moveable because it is determined by the date of Easter. In the Catholic Church, it is the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, marking the resumption of Ordinary Time.
The pound is the currency of the Atlantic islands of Saint Helena and Ascension, which are constituent parts of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. It is fixed at parity with sterling, and so both currencies are commonly accepted and circulated within Saint Helena. It is subdivided into 100 pence.
The Governor of Saint Helena is the representative of the British monarch in the United Kingdom's overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The Governor is appointed by the monarch on the official advice of His Majesty's Government (HMG).
Ascension Island is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean, part of the wider British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Like other British Overseas Territories, it issues its own postage stamps, which provide a source of income for the island from sales to overseas collectors, as well as being used for domestic and international postage.
Saint Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha, as well the other uninhabited islands nearby, are a haven for wildlife in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The islands are or were home to much endemic flora and fauna, especially invertebrates, and many endemic fish species found in the reef ecosystems off the islands. The islands have been identified by BirdLife International as Important Bird Areas for both their endemic landbirds and breeding seabirds.
The Administrator of Ascension is the head of government and representative of the Governor of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha in Ascension Island. The role of the Administrator includes that of chairing the territory's Island Council which consists of five or seven elected members. The Administrator of Ascension is formally referred to as "His Honour" or "Her Honour."
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Ascension Island:
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Saint Helena:
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Tristan da Cunha:
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha have gradually evolved over the years. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is banned in the entire territory through the Constitution Order 2009 and same-sex marriage has been legal on the islands since 2017.
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is a British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic and consisting of the island of Saint Helena, Ascension Island and the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha including Gough Island. Its name was Saint Helena and Dependencies until 1 September 2009, when a new constitution came into force giving the three islands equal status as three territories, with a grouping under the Crown.
The politics of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha operate under the jurisdiction of the government of the United Kingdom. The three parts of the territory—Saint Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha—effectively form an asymmetric federacy and collectively constitute one of United Kingdom's fourteen overseas territories.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha since 2017. An ordinance to open marriage to same-sex couples in Saint Helena was passed by the Legislative Council in a 9–2 vote on 19 December 2017. It went into force the following day, and the first same-sex marriage was performed on 31 December 2018. Same-sex couples have also been able to marry on Ascension Island since 1 January 2017 and in Tristan da Cunha since 4 August 2017.
