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Public holidays in Belize

14 days in 2026 · 14 in 2027

Back to BelizeCentral America

Next public holiday

Pan America Day

After it: Garifuna Settlement Day, Thursday 19 November

Monday, 12 October 2026

Fourteen days off are fixed for 2026, the same fourteen the Government Press Office notified for 2025 under the Holidays Act, Chapter 289 of the Laws of Belize. Four of them mark the country's own history: Emancipation Day on 1 August, Saint George's Caye Day on 10 September for the battle of 1798, Independence Day on 21 September for 1981, and Garifuna Settlement Day on 19 November. Two more are named after people, George Price Day on 15 January and National Heroes and Benefactors Day in March, which began as Baron Bliss Day.

September carries two of them eleven days apart, the core of the month-long September Celebrations. Easter is long: Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Monday are all days off, so the weekend runs from Friday 3 April to Monday 6 April in 2026.

The Act moves days in two ways. Most fixed holidays that fall on a Sunday are kept on the Monday after, and a smaller group of days, Heroes and Benefactors Day and Pan America Day among them, is shifted to a Monday before or after. That is why the 2027 calendar shows Heroes and Benefactors Day on Monday 8 March and Pan America Day on Monday 11 October.

Days off in 2026
14Nationwide public holidays
On a weekday
11Monday to Friday
On a weekend
3Saturday or Sunday
Long weekends
6and 4 with one day of leave

2026

Public holidays in Belize in 2026

  1. 1 January: New Year's Day1 January. It falls on a Thursday in 2026 and a Friday in 2027; in 2023, when it fell on a Sunday, the day off moved to 2 January.Thursday
  2. 15 January: George Price Day15 January, established in 2021 in memory of George Cadle Price, the colony's premier and the first prime minister of independent Belize. The Press Office kept it on its date in 2025, midweek, and it falls on a Thursday in 2026.Thursday
  3. 9 March: National Heroes and Benefactors DayOriginally Baron Bliss Day, for the British resident who left his fortune to the colony, and dated 9 March. It is moved to a Monday: 9 March is itself a Monday in 2026, and in 2027 the day off is Monday 8 March.MondayDate moves
  4. 3 April: Good FridayThe first day of a four-day Easter weekend, 3 April in 2026 and 26 March in 2027.FridayDate moves
  5. 4 April: Holy SaturdayThe Saturday before Easter, kept as a public holiday in Belize: 4 April in 2026 and 27 March in 2027.SaturdayDate moves
  6. 6 April: Easter MondayThe day after Easter Sunday, closing the Easter weekend: 6 April in 2026 and 29 March in 2027.MondayDate moves
  7. 1 May: Labour Day1 May, also called International Workers' Day. In 2022, when it fell on a Sunday, the day off moved to 2 May; in 2027 it falls on a Saturday.Friday
  8. 1 August: Emancipation Day1 August. It falls on a Saturday in 2026 and on a Sunday in 2027, when the day off moves to Monday 2 August.SaturdayDate moves
  9. 10 September: Saint George's Caye Day10 September, for the battle of 1798 in which British colonists, lumber cutters whom Wikipedia describes as freed slaves, and pirates drove off a Spanish attack. San Pedro Town holds an annual regatta.Thursday
  10. 21 September: Independence Day21 September, for independence from Britain in 1981, eight years after British Honduras was renamed Belize. In 2025 it fell on a Sunday and was kept on the following day, 22 September.Monday
  11. 12 October: Pan America Day12 October, formerly Columbus Day. The Press Office list for 2025 named it Indigenous People's Resistance Day and, because 12 October fell on a Sunday that year, kept it on 13 October; it falls on Monday 12 October in 2026 and is moved to Monday 11 October in 2027.MondayDate moves
  12. 19 November: Garifuna Settlement Day19 November, for the landing of Garifuna settlers in 1832, a holiday Wikipedia dates to 1941. In 2023, when it fell on a Sunday, it was kept on 20 November.Thursday
  13. 25 December: Christmas Day25 December. It falls on a Friday in 2026 and a Saturday in 2027.Friday
  14. 26 December: Boxing Day26 December. A Saturday in 2026, it becomes a Sunday in 2027 and the day off is Monday 27 December.SaturdayDate moves

Long weekends

Long weekends in Belize in 2026

Runs of three days or more off, with weekends counted, and the working days that join a holiday to a weekend when taken as leave.

  • 4daysThu 1 Jan to Sun 4 JanWith Fri 2 Jan taken as leave · New Year's Day
  • 4daysThu 15 Jan to Sun 18 JanWith Fri 16 Jan taken as leave · George Price Day
  • 3daysSat 7 Mar to Mon 9 MarNational Heroes and Benefactors Day
  • 4daysFri 3 Apr to Mon 6 AprGood Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Monday
  • 3daysFri 1 May to Sun 3 MayLabour Day
  • 4daysThu 10 Sept to Sun 13 SeptWith Fri 11 Sept taken as leave · Saint George's Caye Day
  • 3daysSat 19 Sept to Mon 21 SeptIndependence Day
  • 3daysSat 10 Oct to Mon 12 OctPan America Day
  • 4daysThu 19 Nov to Sun 22 NovWith Fri 20 Nov taken as leave · Garifuna Settlement Day
  • 3daysFri 25 Dec to Sun 27 DecChristmas Day, Boxing Day

2027

Public holidays in Belize in 2027

  1. 1 January: New Year's DayFriday
  2. 15 January: George Price DayFriday
  3. 8 March: National Heroes and Benefactors DayMondayDate moves
  4. 26 March: Good FridayFridayDate moves
  5. 27 March: Holy SaturdaySaturdayDate moves
  6. 29 March: Easter MondayMondayDate moves
  7. 1 May: Labour DaySaturday
  8. 2 August: Emancipation DayMondayDate moves
  9. 10 September: Saint George's Caye DayFriday
  10. 21 September: Independence DayTuesday
  11. 11 October: Pan America DayMondayDate moves
  12. 19 November: Garifuna Settlement DayFriday
  13. 25 December: Christmas DaySaturday
  14. 27 December: Boxing DayMondayDate moves

The two Monday rules come from Chapter 289 as Wikipedia summarises it. For most days, a holiday on a Sunday is kept on the following Monday. For the second group, a day on a Sunday or a Friday moves to the following Monday, and a day on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday moves to the Monday before. Wikipedia places George Price Day in that second group, but the Press Office list for 2025 kept it on 15 January, a Wednesday that year, and the calendar here shows it on its date in 2026 and 2027.

The provider this calendar is built from listed Pan America Day as optional and Easter Sunday as a day off. Both have been corrected against the Press Office list for 2025 and the timeanddate calendar for 2026, which list Pan America Day as a public holiday and do not list Easter Sunday. No official list for 2026 or 2027 was on file when this page was written, so the dates shown for 2027 follow the Act's rules and may differ from the notice the government publishes.

Earlier calendars carried a day that the current one does not. Wikipedia's lists for 2020 to 2023 include Commonwealth Day, later Sovereign's Day, on a Monday in late May; it appears on neither the 2025 Press Office list nor the calendars for 2026 and 2027.

Common questions

Questions about public holidays in Belize

How many public holidays does Belize have in 2026?

Fourteen: New Year's Day, George Price Day, National Heroes and Benefactors Day, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Monday, Labour Day, Emancipation Day, Saint George's Caye Day, Independence Day, Pan America Day, Garifuna Settlement Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Three of them, Holy Saturday, Emancipation Day and Boxing Day, fall on a Saturday in 2026.

What are the September Celebrations?

The month in which Belize keeps Saint George's Caye Day on 10 September and Independence Day on 21 September, with Carnival and other events in between. The first recalls the defeat of a Spanish attack on the settlement in 1798; the second marks independence from Britain on 21 September 1981. In 2026 they fall on a Thursday and a Monday.

Which event does Garifuna Settlement Day commemorate?

The public holiday on 19 November that marks the landing of Garifuna settlers in 1832, a date officially recognised in Dangriga. The Garifuna descend from Island Caribs and Africans deported from Saint Vincent by the British, and the holiday, dated by Wikipedia to 1941, honours them. It falls on a Thursday in 2026 and a Friday in 2027.

Who was Baron Bliss?

A British resident who died while on holiday in Belize and left his fortune to the colony, which paid for libraries, schools and the Baron Bliss Institute. His day, 9 March, became National Heroes and Benefactors Day. It is kept on a Monday, which in 2026 is 9 March itself.

Which day off replaces a holiday falling on a Sunday?

The Monday after becomes the day off. The Press Office list for 2025 applied that rule to Independence Day, which fell on a Sunday, and kept it on 22 September, and in 2027 Emancipation Day moves to Monday 2 August and Boxing Day to Monday 27 December. A holiday on a Saturday is not moved.

Is Holy Saturday a public holiday in Belize?

Yes. Belize keeps Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Monday as public holidays, which with Easter Sunday makes a four-day weekend: 3 to 6 April in 2026 and 26 to 29 March in 2027. Easter Sunday itself does not appear on the Press Office list, which names only the three days around it.

Why does Belize have a George Price Day?

A holiday on 15 January created in 2021 for George Cadle Price, who led the People's United Party, served as premier of British Honduras and was prime minister when Belize became independent in 1981. The date is a Thursday in 2026 and a Friday in 2027.

Why is 12 October called Pan America Day?

The day formerly called Columbus Day was renamed Pan America Day, and the Government Press Office list for 2025 gave it as Indigenous People's Resistance Day, kept on 13 October in lieu of the Sunday. The 2026 date is itself a Monday, 12 October, and in 2027 the day off is Monday 11 October.

Dates from Nager.Date, read 2026-09-30. The page counts from Thursday, 1 October 2026, the day it was built.