This is a list of
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 ...
s in
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is a British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic and consisting of the island of Saint Helena, Ascension Island and the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha including Gough Island. Its name wa ...
, a
British overseas territory in the South Atlantic Ocean consisting of
Saint Helena,
Ascension Island and
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town in South Africa, from Saint Helena a ...
.
Local custom and variance
Saint Helena has a total of 9 public holidays, Ascension Island a total of 10 days, and Tristan da Cunha a total of 11 days.
St. Helena's
feast day is celebrated as the island of Saint Helena was discovered on the feast day and is named in her honour; it is a public holiday on St Helena only. Ascension Island was discovered on Ascension Day in 1503; it is celebrated on that island and also in Tristan da Cunha. In the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha, Anniversary Day celebrates the day on which the islands were formally annexed to the British Empire in 1816.
Ratting Day is a local observance on Tristan da Cunha island and its date is declared annually by the Chief Islander; it can be moved at short notice depending on weather conditions.
Ratting Day 2006
/ref>
Christian observance
The territory has a largely Christian population and two further dates are therefore locally notable in the calendar: Easter Sunday
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel P ...
and Whit Sunday
Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost. It is the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the Ho ...
(the Pentecost), both of which (along with their associated public holidays of Good Friday, Easter Monday, Ascension Day and Whit Monday) vary each year.
See also
*Public holidays in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, public holidays are days on which most businesses and non-essential services are closed. Many retail businesses (especially the larger ones) do open on some of the public holidays. There are restrictions on trading on Sund ...
* Bank holiday
External links
Saint Helena Public Holidays 2011
References
{{Africa topic, Public holidays in
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is a British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic and consisting of the island of Saint Helena, Ascension Island and the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha including Gough Island. Its name wa ...
Society of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is a British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic and consisting of the island of Saint Helena, Ascension Island and the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha including Gough Island. Its name wa ...