Public holidays in Bermuda


This is a list of named Holidays in Bermuda. Every Sunday is also considered a holiday.
Name2015 Date2016 Date2017 Date2018 Date2019 Date2020 Date2021 DateRemarks
New Year's DayJanuary 1January 1January 1January 1January 1January 1January 1
Good FridayApril 3March 25April 14March 30April 19April 10April 2Notable for extensive Bermuda kite flying.
Bermuda DayMay 25May 24May 24May 25May 24May 29May 28Previously known as Victoria Day, Empire Day, and Commonwealth Day.
National Heroes DayJune 15June 20June 19June 18June 17June 15June 21This holiday began in 2008 and replaced the Queen's Official Birthday.
Emancipation DayJuly 30July 28August 3August 2August 1July 30July 29First day of Cup Match; Known as Cup Match Day until 2000.
Somers' DayJuly 31July 29August 4August 3August 2July 31July 30Second day of Cup Match, after Sir George Somers.
Labour DaySeptember 7September 5September 4September 3September 2September 7September 6Established in 1982. The symbolic end of summer.
Remembrance DayNovember 11November 11November 11November 11November 11November 11November 11A service is held at the cenotaph in Hamilton.
Christmas DayDecember 25December 25December 25December 25December 25December 25December 25
Boxing DayDecember 26December 26December 26December 26December 26December 26December 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 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.