Public holidays in Bermuda

This is a list of named Holidays in Bermuda.[1] Every Sunday is also considered a holiday.

Name 2015 Date 2016 Date 2017 Date Remarks
New Year's Day January 1 January 1 January 1
Good Friday April 3 March 25 April 14 Notable for extensive Bermuda kite flying.
Bermuda Day May 25 May 24 May 24 Previously known as Victoria Day, Empire Day, and Commonwealth Day.
National Heroes Day June 15 June 20 June 19 This holiday began in 2008 and replaced the Queen's Official Birthday.[2]
Emancipation Day July 30 July 28 August 3 First day of Cup Match; Known as Cup Match Day until 2000.
Somers' Day July 31 July 29 August 4 Second day of Cup Match, after Sir George Somers.
Labour Day September 7 September 5 September 4 Established in 1982.[3][4] The symbolic end of summer.
Remembrance Day November 11 November 11 November 11 A service is held at the cenotaph in Hamilton.
Christmas Day December 25 December 25 December 25
Boxing Day December 26 December 26 December 26

Nature of Public Holidays

The official list of Public Holidays was set out in 1947 in the Public Holidays Act. Since then, the only change to the actual list has been the change of name of Cup Match Day to Emancipation Day at the end of 1999.

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

  1. ↑ "" Official list of public holidays in Bermuda.
  2. ↑ http://www.royalgazette.com/rg/Article/article.jsp?sectionId=60&articleId=7d9a4b33003000d
  3. ↑ "" 2002 newspaper editorial on the subject
  4. ↑ "" 1982 military document noting first Bermuda Labor Day in 1982


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