Repentance Day, on 26 August, is a

public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history, ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. It is celebrated by "prayer ceremonies" across the country."Day of Repentance puzzles Papua New Guinea"
Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 26 August 2011 It was established on 15 August 2011 by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Peter O'Neill Peter Charles Paire O'Neill (born 13 February 1965) is a Papua New Guinean politician who served as the seventh Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea from 2011 to 2019. From 2002 until the present he served as Member of Parliament for Ialibu-Pan ...

, who had come to power less than two weeks earlier. The announcement came only eleven days before the first Repentance Day was to be celebrated. It was made a public holiday at the request of "a group of churches", which had initially submitted the request to O'Neill's predecessor

Sam Abal Samuel Tei Abal (born 26 June 1958) is a Papua New Guinean politician. Abal, who previously served as Foreign Minister from August 2007 to December 2010, became the Deputy Prime Minister of the country in a cabinet reshuffle by Michael Somare o ...

, before the latter was ousted in a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

. Virtually no explanation of the day's purpose was provided by the government, reportedly creating some confusion among Papua New Guineans as 26 August arrived. Pastor Jack Edward of the Shema Evangelism Ministry was made Repentance Day coordinator, and said the purpose was for people to "come together and pray and ask the Lord to forgive us for the wrongs that are happening in our nation". It was intended as a day of

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

prayer, in a predominantly Christian nation.

Imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

Mikail Abdul Aziz, described by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

as the "spiritual leader" of Papua New Guinea's "4,000 practising

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

", said he did not oppose the idea, but it might send a "wrong message", as

repentance Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better. In modern times, it is generally seen as involving a co ...

should occur every time a wrong is committed, rather than once a year. As the day was little publicised, many businesses were initially uncertain whether it was indeed supposed to be a public holiday, requiring them to give their employees the day off or pay them double. The

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

Chamber of Commerce obtained a copy of the Government Gazette to convince its members that it was indeed a public holiday. On 26 August 2011, prayer ceremonies were held in churches throughout the country. In

, the capital, a ceremony at the Rev Sioni Kami Memorial church was attended by "representatives of 20 provinces" and various "national leaders" and "church leaders", for "special prayer and Bible readings" and "thanksgiving prayers". Participants asked God to lead the nation. A parish priest in

Boroko Boroko is a suburb of Port Moresby, the capital city of Papua New Guinea. It includes a residential area and a sports and recreation precinct, and was once a significant commercial centre but the business area is now in decline. History The town ...

was reported by '' The National'' as saying that religious values were "essential to our identity and

our culture Our or OUR may refer to: * The possessive form of " we" * Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany * Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium * Our, Jura, a commune in France * Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a government utility regulato ...

", and people's

church attendance Church attendance is a central religious practice for many Christians; some Christian denominations, such as the Catholic Church require church attendance on the Lord's Day (Sunday); the Westminster Confession of Faith is held by the Reformed ...

on such a public holiday revealed a difference between Papua New Guinean identity and that of many other countries. On Karanget Island in

Madang Madang (old German name: ''Friedrich-Wilhelmshafen'') is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 (in 2005) on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was first settled by the Germans in the 19th century. Histor ...

, the day was celebrated through children depositing the

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but usually can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours ...

on a church altar, symbolically "deliver ngthe nation to God"."Bringing PNG to God"
''Post Courier'', 30 August 2011

References

{{reflist Public holidays in Papua New Guinea August observances Christian festivals and holy days