Public holidays in Hong Kong
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Public holidays in Hong Kong are holidays designated by the Government of Hong Kong. They allow workers get rest from work, usually in conjunction with special occasions.
The 17 public holidays (Chinese: 公眾假期), also called Bank Holidays (Chinese: 銀行假期), are set by the General Holidays Ordinance.
| Date | English name | Local name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Every Sunday | Sunday | 星期日 | |
| January 1 | First day of January (New Year's Day) | 一月一日 (元旦新年) | |
| First day of the first moon (Chinese calendar) | Chinese New Year's Day | 農曆年初一 | Usually occurs in late January or early February; the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays |
| Second day of the first moon (Chinese calendar) | Second day of Chinese New Year | 農曆年初二 | |
| Third day of the first moon (Chinese calendar) | Third day of Chinese New Year | 農曆年初三 | |
| April 5 (April 4 in leap years) | Ching Ming Festival | 清明節 | Occurs about 15 days after the Vernal Equinox; day for paying respect to one's ancestors |
| Good Friday | 耶穌受難節 | ||
| Day following Good Friday | 耶穌受難節翌日 | ||
| Easter Monday | 復活節星期一 | ||
| May 1 | Labour Day | 勞動節 | |
| Eighth day of the fourth moon (Chinese calendar) | Buddha's Birthday | 佛誕 | Usually occurs in May; new holiday established in 1998 (general not statutory) |
| Fifth day of the fifth moon (Chinese calendar) | Dragon Boat Festival (Tuen Ng Festival) | 端午節 | Usually occurs in June; day for patriotic remembrance, eating cakes and dragon boat races |
| July 1 | Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day | 香港特別行政區成立紀念日 | |
| Sixteenth day of the eighth moon (Chinese calendar) | Day following the Mid-Autumn Festival | 中秋節翌日 | Usually occurs in September; important autumn celebration of harvest and togetherness, with the lighting of lanterns, eating of mooncakes and observation of the moon |
| October 1 | National Day of the People's Republic of China | 中華人民共和國國慶日 | Usually held for two days from October 1 to October 2 |
| Ninth day of the ninth moon (Chinese calendar) | Chung Yeung Festival | 重陽節 | Usually occurs in October; day for honouring the elderly and the deceased, and for mountain climbing |
| December 25 | Christmas Day | 聖誕節 | |
| December 26 | Day following Christmas (Boxing Day) | 聖誕節翌日 |
Under the administration of the United Kingdom prior to 1997, the Queen's Birthday was a public holiday observed in the second Monday of June. It was replaced by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day after the transfer of sovereignty to the People's Republic of China. Similarly, Commonwealth Day was a school holiday prior to the transfer of sovereignty, as is the birthday anniversary of Dr. Sun Yat Sen. The anniversary of the liberation of Hong Kong (Chinese: 重光紀念日) was observed on the last Monday in August, and the preceding day was also observed as anniversary of the victory in the Sino-Japanese War. After the transfer of sovereignty, the two public holidays were replaced with Labour Day and the National Day of the People's Republic of China.
According to Hong Kong laws, when a designated public holiday falls on a Sunday or on the same day of another holiday, the immediate following weekday would be a public holiday. However, there are exceptions; for example, as Lunar New Year 2007 falls on a Sunday (February 18th), the government have designated the Saturday directly before (February 17th) as a public holiday. [1]
[edit] Statutory holidays
According to the Employee Ordinance of the Labour Legislation, 12 of the 17 public holidays are compulsory for employers to give to the employees. These 12 holidays are known as statuatory holidays (Chinese: 法定假期), labour holidays (Chinese: 勞工假期), or factory holidays (Chinese: 工廠假期).
| Date | English name | Local name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Every Sunday | Sunday | 星期日 | |
| January 1 | First day of January (New Year's Day) | 一月一日 (元旦新年) | |
| First day of the first moon (Chinese calendar) | Chinese New Year's Day | 農曆年初一 | Usually occurs in late January or early February; the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays |
| Second day of the first moon (Chinese calendar) | Second day of Chinese New Year | 農曆年初二 | |
| Third day of the first moon (Chinese calendar) | Third day of Chinese New Year | 農曆年初三 | |
| April 5 (April 4 in leap years) | Ching Ming Festival | 清明節 | Occurs about 15 days after the Vernal Equinox; day for paying respect to one's ancestors |
| May 1 | Labour Day | 勞動節 | |
| Fifth day of the fifth moon (Chinese calendar) | Dragon Boat Festival (Tuen Ng Festival) | 端午節 | Usually occurs in June; day for patriotic remembrance, eating cakes and dragon boat races |
| July 1 | Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day | 香港特別行政區成立紀念日 | |
| Sixteenth day of the eighth moon (Chinese calendar) | Day following the Mid-Autumn Festival | 中秋節翌日 | Usually occurs in September; important autumn celebration of harvest and togetherness, with the lighting of lanterns, eating of mooncakes and observation of the moon |
| October 1 | National Day of the People's Republic of China | 中華人民共和國國慶日 | Usually held for two days from October 1 to October 2 |
| Ninth day of the ninth moon (Chinese calendar) | Chung Yeung Festival | 重陽節 | Usually occurs in October; day for honouring the elderly and the deceased, and for mountain climbing |
| around December 21 or 22 OR December 25 | Winter Solstice OR Christmas Day | 冬至或聖誕節 | either day can be chosen by employers. |
If an employer states in the employment contract that its employees are only allowed to take statutory holidays, it is legal to require the employees to work on public holidays that are not statutory holidays (i.e. Good Friday, the day following Good Friday, Easter Monday, Buddha's Birthday and the day following Christmas) without salary or leave compensations.
Traditionally, statutory holidays are an entitlement associated with blue-collar jobs in fields such as manufacturing, construction, textiles and clothing, repairing, mass media, security, cleaning, transportation, logistics, distribution, retailing, catering, laborer, hotel and customer service. But in recent years, certain white-collar jobs and government contract staff are also entitled to statutory holidays only.
