Public holidays in Trinidad and Tobago

The Government of Trinidad and Tobago officially recognizes a number of holidays and celebrations from most represented groups. The following holidays are those that are officially observed in Trinidad and Tobago:[1]

Public Holidays
Date English Name Remarks
1 January New Year's Day The celebration of the first day of the Gregorian Calendar.
Variable Easter Good Friday and Easter Sunday (both Christian days marking the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ respectively) are both public holidays. When holidays fall on a Sunday, the Monday is given as a public holiday. Therefore, "Easter Monday", the Monday following Easter Sunday, is a public holiday.
30 March Spiritual Baptist/Shouter Liberation Day First country in the world to recognise the Spiritual Baptist faith with a national holiday
Variable Corpus Christi Christian feast in honour of the Holy Eucharist
30 May Indian Arrival Day The first country in the world to recognise East-Indian indentureship, though Indian laborers were indentured all over the world, including the Caribbean, Oceania, Indian Ocean, and Eastern Africa.
19 June Labour Day Marks the labour uprising on 19 June 1937 which is generally recognised as the start of the modern trade union movement in Trinidad and Tobago.
1 August Emancipation Day Recognizing emancipation from slavery.
31 August Independence Day The day Trinidad and Tobago declared independence from the British
24 September Republic Day Celebrating the day Trinidad and Tobago became a Republic.
Variable Eid al-Fitr End of Ramadan. Locally taken as an official recognition of Islam. It is one of the most important holidays on the Islamic calendar and is the most widely and publicly celebrated Muslim holiday in the country followed closely by Eid al-Adha (which is not an official holiday in the country).
Variable Divali The Hindu festival of lights. It celebrates Lord Rama's (a Hindu god) return to his kingdom from 14 years exile. This festival also acknowledges the Goddess Lakshmi (a Hindu goddess) who represents wealth and prosperity.
25 December Christmas Day The Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.
26 December Boxing Day A Commonwealth gift-giving traditional holiday.

Carnival Dates

The table shows a list of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival dates from 2009 to 2020.[2]

Calendar Year Carnival Monday Carnival Tuesday
2009 February 23 February 24
2010 February 15 February 16
2011 March 7 March 8
2012 February 20 February 21
2013 February 11 February 12
2014 March 3 March 4
2015 February 16 February 17
2016 February 8 February 9
2017 February 27 February 28
2018 February 12 February 13
2019 March 4 March 5
2020 February 24 February 25

Special Holidays
  • Muslim schools get a day off on Eid-al-Adha every year and some businesses close on this day.
  • On the 13th of October 2017, the government declared this day a public holiday (First Peoples' Day) but was only declared a public holiday for the year 2017 only.

References
  1. Official Public Holidays 2009-2011, Trinidad and Tobago Government Portal
  2. Trinidad Carnival Dates

See also
  • Trinidad and Tobago portal
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