# Public holidays in Trinidad and Tobago

The government of Trinidad and Tobago officially recognises a number of holidays and celebrations from most represented groups. The following holidays are those that are officially observed in Trinidad and Tobago:

## Public holidays

| Date | English Name | Remarks |
| 1 January | New Year's Day | The celebration of the first day of the Gregorian Calendar. |
| Variable | Good Friday | Christian day marking the death of Jesus Christ. |
| Variable | Easter Monday | 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 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. The first country in the world to recognise the end of slavery in the British colonies. |
| 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 Ram's return to his kingdom from 14 years exile. This festival also acknowledges Lakshmi, the goddess of 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.
| 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 |
| 2021 - No carnival due to COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2022 - No carnival due to COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2023 | February 20 | February 21 |

## Other holidays

* Muslim schools get a day off on Eid-al-Adha every year and some businesses close on this day.

### One-off holidays

* In 2006, the government declared 12 October 2006 (Chinese Bicentennial) a public holiday but only for that year.
* In 2017, the government declared 13 October 2017 (First Peoples' Day) a public holiday but only for that year.