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Bermuda's Public Holidays 2009

Their dates, how celebrated, with customs, fun, history, solemnity and traditions

By Keith Archibald Forbes (see About Us) exclusively for Bermuda Online

To refer by e-mail to this file use "bermuda-online.org/pubhols.htm" as your Subject

Notes for this year

• 2009. As Bermuda Day, 24th May  falls on a Sunday, by virtue of the Public Holidays Act 1947, Monday 25th May will be kept as a public holiday, according to the Schedule of the Act.

• 2009. As Boxing Day, 26th December falls on a Saturday, Government Offices will be closed on Monday 28th December by virtue of Section 7A of the Public Holidays Act, 1947.

Not published or open on public holidays

• All Government Offices - administrative or service, including Post Offices.
• Stores, shops, & businesses, except those with a holiday trading license, able and willing to pay their staff double overtime and thinking they might benefit from arriving cruise ships, etc. on that day. It is entirely up to each shop, store and business whether or not they open that day and if they do their staff may have the option of whether or not they wish to work on that day.
• Garbage removal services when Government provided nationally and in the City of Hamilton. 
• Local newspapers do not publish print versions on public holidays. 
• Most local restaurants (not at hotels) are closed.
• Buses and ferries are on a much-reduced Sunday schedule.
• Many taxis do not operate.
• Tour operators may not operate or may have reduced services.
• However, when pre-booked in advance by the cruise lines and prepaid by or pre-charged to passengers, cruise line excursions may operate. 

Many of these public holiday closures may not be convenient to visitors on cruise ships especially because of their short stays. Bermuda does not have USA-style public holidays where the shops, restaurants and essential services to visitors are closed only twice a year.

Holiday trading license

Traditionally holiday trading licence owners have been allowed to open between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. only. Section eight of Bermuda's Public Holiday Act prohibits selling, exposing or offering for sale to the public any goods or merchandise, the opening of any shop and the admittance of any customer into a shop on a public holiday without a holiday trading licence.

Unaffected by public holidays

Restaurants owned by hotels will be open. So will a few small convenience stores which are allowed to have more leeway than larger food stores.

New Year's Day

Many locals and visitors celebrate the night before - New Year's Eve - at one of the local hotels or restaurants. New Year's Day, the day chosen by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 when he established the 365 day calendar, marked the start of the year as the time when the Earth is closest to the Sun and established the Gregorian Calendar uses today - has festive events island wide. Her Majesty the Queen's local New Year's Honors are announced, earlier recommended by the Bermuda Government. Periodically, a Knighthood is awarded locally, or a Companion of the British Empire (CBE), or Order of the British Empire (OBE). These more prestigious awards go to serving or retired Bermuda Government legislators or civil servants.

Many churches have services. There are also New Year's Day motocross races at Coney Island from 12:30 pm.

Good Friday

A large version of the Bermuda kite

For most Bermudians, Good Friday means church, flying Bermuda made kites, and eating codfish cakes - see below - and English style hot cross buns - also shown below. Flying kites - although not on Good Friday - originated in Indonesia 3,000 years ago. There, fishermen used leaf kites to suspend fishing lines out to sea. Indonesian children still skillfully fly bits of waste paper on strings. Kite-flying drifted up through Asia and arrived in Europe early in the 16th century. Much later, it reached Bermuda. British Army troops used them to plan telegraph poles in Bermuda, the Caribbean and other colonial outposts and they were later used to good effect by the British Army to plan telegraph poles in South Africa for the Boer Wars. In Britain, the years 1880 to 1930 were considered the golden age of British kiting. In the 1880's they became even more useful for UK-wide military reconnaissance and meteorology. Huge flying frames carrying weighty cameras were a common sight over trenches in Europe in the First World War. In California, camera kites were used to photograph the devastation caused by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Insert: A uniquely made Bermuda kite. Elsewhere overseas, in India, the kite fighting season can be dangerous. Hundreds of thousands of people fly their fighting kites from roof tops. They coat their kite strings with glass and try to cut their opponents' kite strings. In Britain today, the High Force Kite Festival occurs in August. Kites require Civil Aviation Authority to fly at 1,500 feet or higher. Clearly then, they are not just toys for children. Some are massive, three-dimensional things.

There is said to be a special Bermuda civilian religious significance to kite flying. It started on Good Friday when a local teacher with a British Army connection had difficulty explaining Christ's Ascension to Heaven to his Sunday School class. So he launched a kite with a likeness of Christ. A traditional Bermuda made kite, from different colors of tissue paper, is still in the shape of a cross. Originally, kites were not flown until after 3 pm. Now, they stay up all day. Only if it rains do they come down. Bermuda kites have long cloth tails and are in different colors of paper tissue, wood, metal and string. Some are huge, in exquisite patterns, requiring several men to get aloft. Some are deliberately made to emit a humming or buzzing sound, with a hummer made from glued paper, which spoils their spiritual serenity. The hummer is always made with purple tissue paper because it is said to be louder. Another variation of the Bermuda kite is the traditional Somerset brown paper kite. It is made of cross sticks with a hummer behind the head stick. 

Good Friday Kite flying at Horseshoe Bay includes:

• A non denominational religious service.
• Live musical entertainment.
• Children's games.
• Kite competition and judging from 1:30 to 1:45 pm,
• Locals versus tourists tug of war from 1:45 to 2:00 pm.
• Live entertainment from 2:00 to 4:00 pm
• Warwick Gombey Dancers at 4:00 pm.

Legend of the Bermuda Passion Flower

Another legend associated with the Easter holiday - although Easter Sunday itself is not a public holiday - is that of the passion flower, of which there is a unique Bermuda species (note its special coloring, so different from many other varieties).  A climbing vine insisting on a sheltered southern location and a great deal of care, it has five sepals or five identical petals. Spanish missionaries who first discovered the flower in South America stated the petals represented the disciples without Peter and Judas.  The double row of colored filaments, known as the corona or crown, appear to show to some the halo around the head of Christ and to others the crown of thorns. The violet stamens and other parts of the flower show the wounds and nails Christ endured. The tendrils resemble the whips used to scourge Him and more areas of the flower recall the hands of the soldiers. Bermuda Passion flower photo by author Keith A. Forbes

Hot cross buns

British style, a direct import from the United Kingdom much favored in Bermuda. They are available from commercial bakeries or as home-made, sold or given away in batches by family matriarchs who love to make them from scratch. They are square-shaped sticky buns about 1.85 inches wide and 1.5 inches deep, with icing sugar applied to them in the shape of a cross. This signifies Christ's agony and death on the cross.  The religious aspect of this may not be well known beyond Britain and Ireland.

Bermuda Codfish Cakes

While these by themselves are not uniquely Bermudian, their development as a uniquely Bermudian dish, eaten with (preferably local) bananas is worthy of special note. The dish was once a Good Friday dish and Lenten dish. It was a major local factor in the former Christian (mostly Roman Catholic on Fridays but also Anglican on Good Friday) avoidance of meat. Lent has its moment of deepest anguish on Good Friday and ends with its happiest time on Easter Sunday, representing the Resurrection.  Nowadays, a Bermuda codfish breakfast is always a tradition on both Good Friday and Easter Sunday, but is not confined to those dates.

Some restaurants have the dish every week. In Bermuda, when made with care from imported salted codfish from Canada and given special local treatment, the dish is absolutely delicious! But there is a lot of work involved.

Bermuda Easter Lilies

Many Bermudians and others associate Easter lilies with Bermuda, and at one time the unique Bermuda variety were world famous. It is not generally known they did not come to Bermuda until the 1870s and then by accident instead of design.  A ship with a supply of bulbs limped in for emergency repairs and in the process, the bulbs got here too. The Bermuda grown variety usually open at Easter. But for the past year or two, many have blossomed as much as four weeks before Easter. This is the case again in the year 2002. Some are blooming already and the live flower lasts about 10 days. Some stems may have as many as 6 separate flowers. A local tradition is that a finest selection is always sent to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Bermuda Easter lily photo by author Keith A. Forbes

Easter Sunday Sunrise Service

Many Bermudians and other residents celebrate the latter first with this service - of which there are several - at various locations throughout Bermuda. But one of the most notable is at Horseshoe Bay at dawn. Those who don't feel like getting up so early but are church-goers will find that their traditional Easter Sunday church service is enhanced by special flower arrangements in the church and more festive than usual choir music. Then, to make a family day more complete, there are Easter Egg hunts for children and more kite flying.

Bermuda Easter Parade

Sadly, the lovely old tradition of the Bermuda Easter Parade - unique in its kind and once famous throughout the world - has long disappeared. The last such parade was in the 1970s. The Parade itself was glorious, with a large number of very artistically created floats all covered with local flowers, especially Bermuda Easter Lilies. The floats represented major local agricultural, civic, gardening and other organizations, the Corporations and municipalities of the City of Hamilton & Town of St. George's, Bermuda Chamber of Commerce, plus many individuals. The floats were on bicycles, horses, automobiles and trucks. Notable features of this hugely popular parade for both locals and visitors were the creativity and originality of the floats parading through the streets of the city. The Junior Chamber of Commerce added a special touch with the selection, from among its members, of the most handsome or otherwise eligible bachelors to provide a princely escort, on a special float, for the crowned Queen of the Easter Parade. She was always a delectable young lady picked from the previous year's crop of American College attendees during the once hugely popular "College Week in Bermuda" festivities over Easter, when all the hotels and guest houses were completely full.

Bermuda Day, May 24 (in 2009 celebrated on May 25)

Usually the day of the annual Bermuda Heritage Day Parade. This day began in Britain in 1902 as the celebration of the birthday of Queen Empress Victoria. The Earl of Meath inaugurated it as the day on which young people would be trained in their British Empire citizenship. He got the idea from a newspaper clipping in Hamilton, Ontario, which noted a patriotic parade for children organized by Mrs. Reginald Fessenden. Lord Meath was successful in Britain in establishing what became known as Empire Day on May 24. Then it became Commonwealth Day, but in Bermuda, what became known as Bermuda Day replaced it. It was when Bermuda was experiencing bloody civil unrest in the 1970s. Lord Pitt, a black member of the Greater London Council who was sent out to make recommendations after the riots, suggested it as a way to bring Bermudians of different races together in harmony.

It includes the Marathon Derby, in reality a half marathon - raced from Somerset to Hamilton, 13 miles by road, over hills and dales. Bermuda's racing legend "Sir" Stanley Burgess, who died in 1984, participated for over 50 years, beginning in 1921 when he was 20. He won it ten times. His marathon preparation began with a bath in port wine, honey, beet tops and rum. He rubbed his legs with tincture of myrrh, turtle oil, oil of wintergreen with hazel, and old rum. His final race was in 1983, when he was 84. He was awarded the Queen's Certificate and Badge of Honor in 1971. 

Participants include marching bands, dancers, Bermuda Gombeys, Bermuda Islanders pipe and drum band, politicians with speeches and restaurant stands offering tasty, hot and cold selections of specialty Bermudian dishes. It began in 1909, from the town of St. George to Somerset.

Photo: Bermuda Fitted Dinghy  

To reduce weight and keep afloat, they jump or get pushed off. With right conditions and a good helmsman, they achieve high speeds. But they often they sink or are dismasted before the finishing line. Always entertaining and sometimes hilarious.

 Queen's Birthday

No longer a Public Holiday in Bermuda, as it is not in the United  Kingdom either.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has her real birthday on April 21, but it is celebrated in June. The Queen's Birthday Parade is observed in Britain with a formal Trooping of the Color and in the British Commonwealth where the Queen is the symbolic Head of State by a full playing by the military bands of "God Save The Queen." In Bermuda, the formal military parade - in which only part of the British (and Bermuda) National Anthem is played - is held in the City of Hamilton, led by His Excellency the Governor and Bermuda Premier. The Bermuda Regiment marches down Front Street with cannons firing, performing a feu de joie routine with weapons pointed to the sky and Regimental Band playing. The Governor, in his ostrich plumed hat, accepts a General Salute. Other organized bands include the Bermuda Islanders Pipes & Drums Band. The best place to watch the parade is from as close as possible to the Flagpole - a canopied parade viewing area on Front Street opposite the junction with Burnaby Hill, from where local dignitaries watched, in seated comfort. 

See Bermuda's Links with Britain. Tourists often assume that the majority of Bermudians today relish their British nationality and support the Queen. Tourism promotes "British" Bermuda. But local columnists in all the local newspapers state that the majority of Bermudians in this tiny country of only 21 square miles (far smaller than the USVI or Puerto Rico, where natives have US citizenship) don't seem to want to know much about Britain, resent being British, want to be known simply as Bermudian and favor political independence from Britain - but will jump at any excuse to have a public holiday! 

The Queen's local Birthday Honors are announced earlier, recommended by the Bermuda Government. Periodically, a Knighthood is awarded, or a Companion of the British Empire, or Order of the British Empire. Like New Year's Honors, the prestigious awards proposed by the Bermuda Government always go to serving or retired Bermuda Government legislators or civil servants. Unlike in the United Kingdom, awards are not given to those who have served Bermuda in the private sector.

June 15. National Heroes' Day

October 13, 2008 was the first such public holiday under this name, for local heroes and heroines. 2008's honored Dame Lois Browne Evans who was the first female Opposition leader in the Commonwealth as well as Bermuda's first female barrister and first black women MP.  By popular request the holiday now occurs in June instead of October.

Emancipation Day & Somers Day (both Cup Match)

A British game that originated in England centuries ago, it is not unique to Bermuda. It is popular throughout the British Commonwealth of Nations. Its local season is from late April to late September. This sport was first brought to Bermuda in the 1840s by British Army soldiers stationed here. Long before cricket became the hugely popular sport it is today, a match played between the fleet team of the resident Royal Navy base and the British Army garrison regimental team was a major event in the social calendar of the Town of St. George. The Bermuda Cricket Club was founded in St. George's in 1845 and played its first game against the garrison. In 1872, British cricket arrived for local civilians via Captain J. Moresby of the Royal Navy. He began this 2 day sporting tradition. He introduced it at a carnival in Somerset "40 years since the unjust thralldom of slavery." (The bondage was declared officially over in Bermuda on August 1, 1834, by King William the Fourth of England, more than three decades after Britain itself deemed it first unofficially then officially inhumane). For many years until 1902, the unofficial festive game was between two fraternal lodges on opposite sides of Bermuda - in Somerset in the west end and St. George's on the east end.

But among the cricket-loving nations and territories of the world, only in Bermuda does the whole of Bermuda grind to a complete halt for two days every summer to turn its attention to a cricket game. Over 7,000 people attend one or both days. It is also broadcast live on local radio, with one local station putting it on the World Wide Web. The festive game began officially in July 1902 between the Somerset Cricket Club in the west end and the St. George's Cricket Club in the east end. Venues of the game change yearly between both clubs. The popularity of the annual game was such that it caused continued absences from employment. As a direct result, the 2-day public holiday was first introduced in 1947 and has been in effect ever since. Since 1999, a celebration of emancipation is now part of the ritual of the first day of Cup Match, formally renamed Emancipation Day. 

On Cup Match days, many Bermudians don't go physically to the game but instead listen to it on the radio. It is a very busy time for camping and picnicking at public (Government) parks or beaches or both. The designated campgrounds are Ferry Point, Coney Island and Chaplin Bay but all public parks and beaches are liable to be invaded by persons pitching tents from two days beforehand and until the Sunday evening after Cup Match. It can be very disconcerting for tourists who hope in vain for deserted public beaches and who are not used to seeing campers pitching tents so close to public beaches. They simply would not be allowed in their own countries. Nor would the trash so many locals leave near their tents.

Despite being referred to in history as the Father of Bermuda, Admiral Sir George Somers is nowadays almost completely ignored  on the second of the 2-day public holiday period, known in his honor as Somers Day.

Whichever team hosts the annual game accepts tenders for the gambling game of Crown and Anchor, one of the many "concessionary" events, open gambling, operators of which pay Government a hefty license fee. It is also an occasion for off-beat mid-summer peculiarities that include awarding a winning batsman with tax-free cash; the wearing of outlandish fashions, much socializing, bands and musical groups participating, a carnival atmosphere complete with calypso, reggae, soca, rap and other music. The most avid fans stake out a place in a stand on the cricket field long before the match starts at 10 am. They come well prepared with umbrellas for shade and picnic hampers stocked with a day's supply of food and  drink.

At other times in local cricket, teams play in the ICC Trophy against teams from Canada, Holland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Kenya and the United Arab Emirates. The Bermuda Cricket Board of Control is the organization. Cricket is also a major local sport for  youth. The Bermuda Cricket Annual is the complete local guide.

There are even four streets in Bermuda named in honor of cricket. One is Fielders Lane, in Smith's Parish. It is halfway up Flatt's Hill on the left, veering south from Middle Road. The track takes its name from the nearby playing field of Flatts Victoria Cricket Club. The other three are Bat 'n' Ball Lane, Cricket Lane, and Grandstand Lane, all in Sandys Parish. They diverge from Scott's Hill Road, near the Somerset Cricket Club.

Cricket teams in either the regular or Commercial League include Cleveland County; Devonshire Recreation Club; Devonshire Stars; Flatt's Victoria; Forties; Jamaican Association; North Village; PHC; Police; St. David's; St. George's Cricket Club; Somerset Bridge; Somerset Cricket Club; Warwick Workman's; Watford; West Indian Association;  Willow Cuts; and Young Men's Social Club.

In Sandys, the Western Counties Cricket Association is at telephone (441) 236-9000 ext. 4314. All cricket games are at the spacious White Hill Field. 

Labor Day

The Bermuda Industrial Union and other unions always have or sponsor speeches, festivities, road races and games on this day. It took on additional importance after the victory of the labor government in November 1998.

Remembrance Day

Christmas Day, December 25

Every church has Christmas Day services.

Weather statistics

Festivities

Although Bermuda is regarded as British in so many ways by the 95 percent of visitors who are from  the USA, Britons and Canadians regard it as more American than British and this is reflected in the way Christmas is spent in Bermuda. Santa Claus, not Father Christmas or Saint Nicholas (the patron saint of Russia), is the term used by nearly everyone locally. In cuisine, religions, customs, music and celebrations, Bermuda has Yuletide traditions from the United Kingdom, United States and Canada. Christmas Greetings come annually from the Governor, Premier, Leader of the Opposition,  Bishop of Bermuda, Bishop of Hamilton in Bermuda and other dignitaries. Many individuals and stores publish theirs. Local Christmas events and cable TV shows are common. Christmas music events are numerous. Churches offer special Nativity tidings. Most Christmas presents are from the USA. Christmas dinners for families, friends and extended families are often merry and extravagant. Local seasonal foods like cassava pie are made in quantity. They are usually served with (imported) turkey. Birds such as turkey - goose in England until the dawn of the 20th century - are no longer stuffed with "farce" as they were in the Middle Ages in England.

Bermuda Santa. 

There are ornaments, trees, festival of lights, pantomime and the famous The Royal Gazette short story writing from the island's only daily newspaper.

Also see and enjoy British locally made or mostly imported seasonal foods like:

• Bakewell tarts (in Britain eaten year-round).
• Brandy butter.  Home-made with ingredients including butter and brandy.
• Christmas puddings (originally a porridge called frumenty, a wheat dish filled with dried fruits, sometimes cuts of meat, occasionally spirits - alcohol - and banned by the Puritans. 
• Gingerbread, originally from Germany until 1812 when Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm published their two volumes of German folk tales and now popular world-wide including in rest of Europe, Britain and Bermuda, both seasonally and year-round.

Mince pies

• Mince pies - see above -  (shrid pies in Elizabethan times in England because they contained shredded meat suet and the three spices of cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg). The Elizabethans of England adored spiced fruit. British cookery writers of the 19th century made sure their audiences carried on the tradition. Mrs. Beeton's mincemeat recipe of 1861 was an instant runaway success and is still used today. Nowadays, mince pies involve three large lemons and apples, a pound each of raisins, currants and suet, two pounds of sugar, candied peel and a teacupful of brandy. Put the mincemeat in a stone jar with a closely fitting lid and in a fortnight in will be ready for use.
• Sherry trifle, with sherry added.
• Yuletide or Yule Logs (once a Scandinavian, then British, custom).  

Note  those wonderful, festive, typically British table side ornaments called Christmas Crackers, also seen in Canada but hardly at all in the USA.  All are imported to Bermuda. They pop with a snap when opened by two people and have some small enclosure, plus a festive, colored paper hat. They were invented in the mid 1840s by London pastry cook Tom Smith after seeing the French custom of wrapping sweets (candies) in twists of colored paper. They became popular when Smith put a snapper inside which made them go bang when pulled. There is still a Tom Smith brand of Christmas crackers. There are other manufacturers too, at various prices. 

In Britain, from where most of Bermuda's Christmas Tree customs originate, the usual Christmas tree is the Norway Spruce. Other favorites are the Scots Pine; Lodgepole Pine (long needles); Noble and Nordmann (or Caucasian) Fir; Douglas Fir; Blue Spruce and Serbian Spruce. Firs and Pines hold their needles better than spruce.

Also in Bermuda, there is an annual (except in 2008, due to the economic downturn) Festival of Lights, always in December, with Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year very much in mind, with winners announced. There's a British style Christmas pantomime, very much a part of the Christmas tradition. It is always a sell-out. Based on the UK pantomime tradition, it has a plot, jokes, political asides, costumes galore and fun. As British as roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, the annual slapstick and interactive pantomime production has become a longstanding tradition in Bermuda as well. The 2008 show is Snow White and the Seven Sisters in the Land of Snow and Ice, at City Hall Theatre in Hamilton. It melds two stories, The Ice Queen and Snow White.

For 50 years, Bermuda's national daily newspaper The Royal Gazette has an annual, very popular, Christmas Short Story with a Christmas and Bermuda traditions theme. It is an annual writing competition - deadline as announced  - open to all residents, adults and those under 18. Cash prizes are presented in three categories, under -13s, under-18s and adults. There is a Bermuda $400 first prize for winners, $250 for runners up, $125 to those with exceptional promise regardless of category and certificates for honorable mentions. Entries from adults and youngsters are published in the Christmas Eve edition. Hundreds of stories were judged, from adults and children. Each year the judges look for vivid local Christmas themes and local references, content, correct spelling, correct grammar and punctuation. Entries must be typed and should not exceed 1,500 words. Manuscripts must be submitted to The Royal Gazette clearly marked, “Christmas Short Story Contest”, and indicating the category entered. Whether it is an adult entry or an under 18 entry must also be indicated. Stories may be fiction or non-fiction. Manuscripts may be submitted by hand in the drop-off box in the lobby of The Royal Gazette, by mail to "Christmas Short Story Contest", The Royal Gazette, PO Box HM1025, Hamilton HM DX, or by e-mail to the specific email address given. The full name, address and telephone number of the author must be given. Pen names will not be accepted. Stories received after the deadline will not be considered. A panel of judges decide the winning entries which will be published in The Royal Gazette's Christmas Greetings Supplement on Christmas Eve. The Royal Gazette reserves the right to publish any or all of the stories submitted.

Boxing Day, December 26

It is a public holiday in Bermuda, as in Britain. It originates from the old days in England when, to compensate their servants for working extra hard in the preparation of extravagant, all day Christmas Day feasts, members of the aristocracy and gentry were inclined to reward the former with "boxes" of game from their estates, or goodies, as well as the day off. In more recent times, it became the day for small gifts for those who deliver the mail and newspapers

Locally, Boxing Day is an occasion for giving to the less fortunate and finishing off the local cassava pie, turkey and other Christmas eats, family gatherings, social drinking and relaxing. Also, the Gombeys dance. They have been part of Bermudian life since the eighteenth century. The word Gombey comes from the African Bantu language and means both rhythm and drum. Noteworthy  and quoteworthy are the books "The Bermuda Gombey; Bermuda's Unique Dance Heritage" by Louise A. Jackson and "Bermuda: Traditions and Tastes" by Judith Watson.

There are also Boxing Day motocross races at Coney Island from 12:30 pm and Boxing Day Stakes pony races at the National Equestrian Centre track.