This is a list of regular named Holidays in Bermuda. Every Sunday is also considered a holiday.
Name 2015 Date 2016 Date 2017 Date 2018 Date 2019 Date 2020 Date 2021 Date 2022 Date 2023 Date2024 Date2025 Date2026 Date RemarksNew Year's Day 1 January 1 January 2 January 1 January 1 January 1 January 1 January 3 January2 January1 January1 January1 Januaryif on a weekend, will be moved to the next MondayGood Friday 3 April 25 March 14 April 30 March 19 April 10 April 2 April 15 April7 April29 March18 April3 April Notable for extensive Bermuda kite flying.Bermuda Day 25 May 24 May 24 May 25 May 24 May 29 May 28 May 27 May26 May24 May23 May22 May Previously known as Victoria Day, Empire Day, and Commonwealth Day.National Heroes Day 15 June 20 June 19 June 18 June 17 June 15 June 21 June 20 June19 June17 June16 June15 June This holiday began in 2008, first commemorated on 12 October 2008 and was moved to replace the Queen's Official Birthday in 2009.http://www.royalgazette.com/rg/Article/article.jsp?sectionId=60&articleId=7d9a4b33003000dEmancipation Day 30 July 28 July 3 August 2 August 1 August 30 July 29 July 28 July3 August1 August31 July30 July First day of Cup Match; formerly Cup Match Day until 2000. Mary Prince Day 31 July 29 July 4 August 3 August 2 August 31 July 30 July 29 July4 August2 August1 August31 July Second day of Cup Match. Named after Mary Prince, until 2020 was known as Somers' Day after Sir George Somers.Labour Day 7 September 5 September 4 September 3 September 2 September 7 September 6 September 5 September4 September2 September1 September7 September Established in 1982."" 2002 newspaper editorial on the subject"" 1982 military document noting first Bermuda Labor Day in 1982 The symbolic end of summer. Remembrance Day 11 November 11 November 13 November 12 November 11 November 11 November 11 November 11 November13 November11 November11 November11 NovemberA service is held at the cenotaph in Hamilton; if on a weekend, will be moved to the next Monday Christmas Day 25 December 27 December 25 December 25 December 25 December 25 December 27 December 26 December25 December25 December25 December25 Decembernormally the 25th, but the day off will be moved, if on a weekendBoxing Day 28 December 26 December 26 December 26 December 26 December 28 December 28 December 27 December26 December26 December26 December26 Decembernormally the 26th, but the day off will be moved, if on a weekend There are exceptional Holidays from time to time. E.g. 8 May 2023 was such a public holiday to commemorate the King's Coronation.
Nature of Public Holidays
The official list of Public Holidays was set out in 1947 in the Public Holidays Act. Since the Act has been amended a number of times including in 2009 to move the National Heroes Day from October to June to replace the Queen's Official Holiday and the replacement of Somers' Day with Mary Prince Day in 2020.
Emancipation Day and Mary Prince Day (formerly Cup Match Day and Somers' Day) which last two days, are know together be known as Cup Match, during which an intra-island cricket game is played between the Somerset Cricket Club in the east of the island and St. George's Cricket Club in the west. The Cup Match was created to celebrate and commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in Bermuda and has taken place since at least 1902.
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
External links Bermuda Online