Public holidays in Bermuda

This is a list of named Holidays in Bermuda.[1] Every Sunday is also considered a holiday[2].

Name2015 Date2016 Date2017 Date 2018 Date 2019 Date 2020 Date 2021 DateRemarks
New Year's DayJanuary 1January 1January 1 January 1 January 1 nuary 1a January 1
Good FridayApril 3March 25April 14 March 30 April 19 April 10 April 2Notable for extensive Bermuda kite flying.
Bermuda DayMay 25May 24May 24 May 25 May 31 May 29 May 28Previously known as Victoria Day, Empire Day, and Commonwealth Day.
National Heroes DayJune 15June 20June 19 June 18 June 17 June 15 June 21This holiday began in 2008 and replaced the Queen's Official Birthday.[3]
Emancipation DayJuly 30July 28August 3 August 2 August 1 July 30 July 29First day of Cup Match; Known as Cup Match Day until 2000.
Somers' DayJuly 31July 29August 4 August 3 August 2 July 31 July 30Second day of Cup Match, after Sir George Somers.
Labour DaySeptember 7September 5September 4 September 3 September 2 September 7 September 6Established in 1982.[4][5] The symbolic end of summer.
Remembrance DayNovember 11November 11November 11 November 11 November 11 November 11 November 11A service is held at the cenotaph in Hamilton.
Christmas DayDecember 25December 25December 25 December 25 December 25 December 25 December 25
Boxing DayDecember 26December 26December 26 December 26 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. ↑ "Public Holidays Act 1947" (PDF). Bermuda Laws Online. The Government of Bermuda. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  3. ↑ http://www.royalgazette.com/rg/Article/article.jsp?sectionId=60&articleId=7d9a4b33003000d%5Bpermanent+dead+link%5D
  4. ↑ "" 2002 newspaper editorial on the subject
  5. ↑ "" 1982 military document noting first Bermuda Labor Day in 1982
  • Bermuda Online


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