Public holidays in the Bahamas

Last updated

The holidays in The Bahamas include the following: [1]

Contents

In the Bahamas, holidays that fall on a Saturday or Sunday are typically celebrated on the following Monday. Events that fall on a Tuesday typically are celebrated on the previous Monday. Holidays that fall on Wednesdays or Thursdays (with the exception of Independence Day, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day) are celebrated the following Friday. [1]

Public holidays

DateEnglish nameRemarks
January 1 New Year's Day First day of the Gregorian calendar, celebrated with Junkanoo parades in most islands. [2] New Year's Eve sees many beach parties throughout the Bahamas. [3]
January 10 Majority Rule DayCommemorates the day the Bahamian government gained majority rule for the first time, on this day in 1967. It is usually listed with the emancipation of slavery in 1836 and independence from Great Britain in 1973 as the most important events in the history of the Bahamas. [4]

Became an official public holiday in 2014. Celebrated with dancing in streets and feasts of traditional Bahamian cuisine. [5]
Friday before Easter Sunday Good Friday Marks the end of the Lenten season and the beginning of a 4-day holiday weekend. Most Bahamians attend church services and serve fish as the main meal for the day. [6]
Monday after Easter Sunday Easter Monday The last day of the long Easter holiday weekend. Marks the beginning of the beach picnicking season. Cookouts and regattas are also common. [7]
Seventh Monday after Easter Whit Monday Marks the end of the Easter cycle, 50 days after Easter Sunday. It is the day after the Feast of Pentecost. [8]
First Friday in June Randol Fawkes — Labour Day Established by Fawkes in 1961. The day's festivities start with a large parade in downtown Nassau, commencing around 10:00 a.m. The parade is led by bands and Junkanooers, who provide music for the spectators and marchers. The majority of marchers come from labour unions and political parties. The parade ends at the Southern Recreation Grounds, where leaders of the unions and political parties give speeches. [9] [10]
July 10 Independence Day Marks the day Bahamas became a fully independent nation, officially splitting from Great Britain in 1973. [11] A week-long celebration is held leading up to the day of, when a mix of carnival and Junkanoo parades, fireworks, and speeches of freedom and independence are commonplace throughout the islands. [12]
First Monday in August Emancipation Day/August MondayCelebrates the emancipation of slaves in 1834. Junkanoo, beaching, sailing, and regattas take place throughout the country. Old slave villages such as Gambier and Fox Hill hold their own celebrations. [13] [14]
Second Monday in October National Heroes' Day (formerly Discovery Day or Columbus Day [15] )Became National Heroes' Day in 2013 and is dedicated to honoring national heroes of the Bahamas. A ceremony is held with a speech from the Prime Minister, and national heroes are celebrated with a week full of activities. Many people take this day to have family gatherings and picnics. [16]
December 25 Christmas Day Christmas season in the Bahamas sees many carnivals and festivals throughout the country. Customs have been adopted from other countries, as well, such as gift-giving, feasting, and sending Christmas cards. The holiday season starts with a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Nassau's Pompey Square. [3]
December 26 Boxing Day The name comes from the pre-emancipation practice of plantation owners sending boxes to slaves. Usually the wooden boxes were high-quality shipped from England. The day is marked with Junkanoo festivals throughout the nation, including the Christmas Junkanoo Festival in Nassau. [17]

Variable dates

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Labour Day</span> Annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers

Labour Day is an annual day of celebration of the achievements of workers. It has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest.

Public holidays in Australia refer to the holidays recognised in law in Australia. Although they are declared on a state and territory basis, they comprise a mixture of nationally celebrated days and holidays exclusive to the individual jurisdictions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junkanoo</span> Festive season which occurs on Boxing Day and New Years Day

Junkanoo is a festival that was originated during the period of African chattel slavery in British American colonies. It is practiced most notably in The Bahamas, Jamaica and Belize, and historically in North Carolina and Miami, where there are significant settlements of West Indian people during the post-emancipation era. In the present day, there are considerable variations in performance and spelling, but there are the shared elements of masquerade, drumming, dance, and parading.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public holidays in the United States</span> Holidays in the United States of America

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public holidays in Italy</span>

Public holidays in Italy are established by the Italian parliament and, with the exception of city or community patronal days, apply nationwide. These include a mix of national, religious and local observances. As for Whit Monday, there is an exception for South Tyrol. In Italy there are also State commemoration days, which are not public holidays.

The following is a list of Public holidays in Jamaica, which includes Christian holidays and secular holidays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emancipation Day</span> Holiday to celebrate emancipation of enslaved people

Emancipation Day is observed in many former European colonies in the Caribbean and areas of the United States on various dates to commemorate the emancipation of slaves of African descent.

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 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.

Lists of holidays by various categorizations.

Public holidays in Antigua and Barbuda have both fixed and variable dates.

There are approximately thirteen nationally recognized public holidays celebrated in the Republic of Zambia, a country in Southern Africa.

This is a list of holidays in Grenada.

(2016 dates)

The following lists events that happened during 2021 in the Caribbean.

The following lists events that happened during 2022 in the Caribbean.

This article lists events from the year 2024 in The Bahamas.

Events from the year 2024 in Saint Kitts and Nevis

The following lists events that happened during 2023 in the Caribbean.

References

  1. 1 2 "Our Holidays". The Bahamas . Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  2. ↑ Wheatley, Nick. "Guide to Junkanoo: How the Bahamas Celebrates Christmas & New Years". Wandering Wheatleys. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  3. 1 2 McLeod, Sheri-kae. "A Guide to Celebrating Christmas in the Bahamas". Culture Trip. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  4. ↑ Sebastian Campbell, Rev. Canon S. (January 16, 2014). "Majority Rule, Let's Celebrate". The Tribune. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  5. ↑ "Commemorate Majority Rule Day in The Bahamas With Air Unlimited!". Air Unlimited. January 10, 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  6. ↑ "Good Friday Holiday". The Bahamas . Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  7. ↑ "Easter Monday Holiday". The Bahamas . Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  8. ↑ "Whit Monday Holiday". The Bahamas . Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  9. ↑ "Randal Fawkes Labour Day Holiday". The Bahamas . Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  10. ↑ "Randol Fawkes Labour Day Parade Photos". The Bahamas Weekly. June 9, 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  11. ↑ "1973: Bahamas' sun sets on British Empire". British Broadcasting Corporation . July 9, 1973. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  12. ↑ "Bahamian Independence Day". Chiff. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  13. ↑ "Emancipation Day/August Monday Holiday". The Bahamas . Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  14. ↑ "Blacks Celebrate Freedom Whites Celebrate Enlightenment – Emancipation Day 1937". Bahamianology. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  15. ↑ Longley, Ginelle (October 6, 2018). "38 national heroes to be awarded". Eyewitness News. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  16. ↑ "National Heroes Day Holiday". The Bahamas . Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  17. ↑ "Bahamas Junkanoo Festival: Your Guide To Attending Boxing Day & New Year's Day Parades (2019-2020)". Tru Bahamian Food Tours. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Methodology, US Census Bureau-Center for Statistical Research and. "Dates of Easter from 1600 to 2099 - X-13ARIMA-SEATS Seasonal Adjustment Program - US Census Bureau". www.census.gov. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 "Whit Monday in The Bahamas". www.timeanddate.com. Retrieved September 13, 2020.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.