On Monday, October 21st, the Government of Belize officially announced the public and bank holiday schedule for 2025. These holidays, as outlined in the First and Second Schedules of the Holidays Act (Chapter 289 of the Laws of Belize, Revised Edition 2011), will be observed on specific dates throughout the year 2025, in accordance with Section 3 of the Act.
The holidays for the upcoming year will begin on Wednesday, January 1st, in observance of New Year’s Day. The next holiday will be Wednesday, January 15th, celebrating George Price Day. Monday, March 10th, will be a holiday for National Heroes and Benefactors Day, which is observed instead of Sunday, March 9th. In April, public and bank holidays will be on Friday, April 18th, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, April 19th, and Easter Monday, April 21st.
Thursday, May 1st, will be a holiday in honor of Labor Day. Emancipation Day will be celebrated on Friday, August 1st. Publican and Bank holidays for September will be Wednesday, September 10th, with St. George’s Caye Day, followed by Independence Day, which will be observed on Monday, September 22nd, instead of Sunday, September 21st.
In October, the public holiday will be observed on Monday, October 13th, in celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Resistance Day, which falls on Sunday, October 12th. To conclude the year, the final two months will have holidays on Wednesday, November 19th, for Garifuna Settlement Day. This will be followed by Christmas Day on Thursday, December 25th, and Boxing Day on Friday, December 26th.
In Belize, thirteen public and bank holidays each year carry a special pay rate for employees working on those dates. Work performed on Christmas Day, Good Friday, and Easter Monday is compensated at double the regular rate. The pay is one and a half times the regular rate for all other public and bank holidays.
