Public holidays in Bermuda


This is a list of regular named Holidays in Bermuda. Every Sunday is also considered a holiday.
Name2015 Date2016 Date2017 Date2018 Date2019 Date2020 Date2021 Date2022 Date2023 Date2024 Date2025 DateRemarks
New Year's Day1 January1 January2 January1 January1 January1 January1 January3 January2 January1 January1 Januaryif on a weekend, will be moved to the next Monday
Good Friday3 April25 March14 April30 March19 April10 April2 April15 April7 April29 March18 AprilNotable for extensive Bermuda kite flying.
Bermuda Day25 May24 May24 May25 May24 May29 May28 May27 May26 May24 May23 MayPreviously known as Victoria Day, Empire Day, and Commonwealth Day.
National Heroes Day15 June20 June19 June18 June17 June15 June21 June20 June19 June17 June16 JuneThis holiday began in 2008, first commemorated on 12 October 2008 and was moved to replace the Queen's Official Birthday in 2009.
Emancipation Day30 July28 July3 August2 August1 August30 July29 July28 July3 August1 August31 JulyFirst day of Cup Match; formerly Cup Match Day until 2000.
Mary Prince Day31 July29 July4 August3 August2 August31 July30 July29 July4 August2 August1 AugustSecond day of Cup Match. Named after Mary Prince, until 2020 was known as Somers' Day after Sir George Somers.
Labour Day7 September5 September4 September3 September2 September7 September6 September5 September4 September2 September1 SeptemberEstablished in 1982. The symbolic end of summer.
Remembrance Day11 November11 November13 November12 November11 November11 November11 November11 November13 November11 November11 NovemberA service is held at the cenotaph in Hamilton; if on a weekend, will be moved to the next Monday
Christmas Day25 December27 December25 December25 December25 December25 December27 December26 December25 December25 December25 Decembernormally the 25th, but the day off will be moved, if on a weekend
Boxing Day28 December26 December26 December26 December26 December28 December28 December27 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 which last two days, are know together be known as Cup Match, during which a 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 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.