Public holidays in Fiji

Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

 reflect the country's cultural

Culture of Fiji

Fiji's culture is a tapestry of indigenous Fijian, Indian, European, Chinese, and other nationalities. Culture polity, traditions, language, food, costume, belief system, architecture, arts, craft, music, dance and sports which will be discussed in this article to give you an indication of Fiji's...

 diversity. Each major religion in Fiji has a Public Holiday dedicated to it and is usually enjoyed by the nation as a whole as these days are usually those of sharing, giving and fun.

Also Fiji's major cities and towns hold annual carnivals, commonly called festivals which are usually named for something relevant to the city or town it is being held, such as the Sugar Festival in Lautoka

Lautoka

Lautoka is the second largest city of Fiji and the second largest in the South Pacific. It is in the west of the island of Viti Levu, 24 kilometres north of Nadi, and is the second port of entry in Fiji, after Suva. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane growing region, it is known as the Sugar...

, as Lautoka's largest and historical industry is sugar production.

Public Holidays that fall on the Weekend are usually moved to either the Friday of the preceding week or the Monday of the following week. This includes religious holidays as well, though in essence they are celebrated on the actual day.

List of important festivals and days in Fiji

Date	Festival	Notes
January 1	New Year's Day New Year's Day New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...	Celebrations can continue for a week, or even a month, in some areas. It is common practice in Fiji to beat drums and shower one another with water. Fireworks and an annual Street Party is held in the heart of Suva Suva Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,... , the nations capital to welcome the new year and is one of the largest new year celebrations in the South Pacific.
February/March	Holi Holi Holi , is a religious spring festival celebrated by Hindus. Holi is also known as festival of Colours. It is primarily observed in India, Nepal, Pakistan, and countries with large Indic diaspora populations following Hinduism, such as Suriname, Malaysia, Guyana, South Africa, Trinidad, United...	Hindu Hinduism Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...  "Festival of Colors" This however is not a public holiday.
March/April	Ram Naumi	Hindu celebration of the birth of Lord Rama. This is also not a public holiday.
March/April	Easter Easter Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...	Major Christian Christianity Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...  festival; the Friday (Good Friday Good Friday Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of... ) and the Sunday (Easter Sunday) are both official public holidays. There is also a Public Holiday on Easter Monday Easter Monday Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday and is celebrated as a holiday in some largely Christian cultures, especially Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox cultures... , the Monday soon after Easter Sunday.
March/April	Palm Sunday Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in all four Canonical Gospels. ....	Also celebrated as Children's Sunday by Fiji's Methodists,it is not a public Holiday.
May	Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna Day Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna Day Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna Day was a national public holiday in Fiji until the year 2010, when the Prime Minister, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, declared both Ratu Sir Lala Sakuna Day and National Youth Day to no longer be public holidays...	The celebrations in honor of Fiji's first modern statesman Lala Sukuna Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna, KCMG, KBE was a Fijian chief, scholar, soldier, and statesman. He is regarded as the forerunner of the post-independence leadership of Fiji...  actually begin a week early. It is almost always celebrated on a Friday.
May 4	National Youth Day Youth Day Youth Day is a holiday dedicated to the youths of a country.-International Youth Day:International Youth Day is an international observance on August 12 officially recognized by the United Nations.-Angola:On 14 April Angola celebrates Youth Day...	Public Holiday celebrating the Youth of Fiji, which comprise a large part of the population and their contributions.
June 15	Queen's Birthday Queen's Official Birthday The Queen's Official Birthday is the selected day on which the birthday of the monarch of Commonwealth realms is officially celebrated in Commonwealth countries and in Fiji, which is now a republic. It is an invention of the early 20th century...	Official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, former and traditional Queen of Fiji Monarchy of Fiji The monarchy of Fiji arose in the mid-nineteenth century when native ruler Seru Epenisa Cakobau consolidated control of the Fijian Islands and declared himself King or paramount chief of Fiji . In 1874, he voluntarily ceded sovereignty of the islands to Britain, which made Fiji a Crown colony...
Sometime in the first half of the year and based on the islamic and lunar claendars.	Prophet Muhammad's Birthday Mawlid Mawlid or sometimes ميلاد , mīlād is a term used to refer to the observance of the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad which occurs in Rabi' al-awwal,...	Muslim Muslim A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...  festival celebrating the birth of Muhammad Muhammad Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts... . Public Holiday is not on the actual day of celebration due to the unpredictability of the moons appearance that signals the day.
August	Bula Festival	Celebrated in Nadi Nadi Nadi is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. Nadi is multiracial with many of its inhabitants Indian or Fijian, along with a large transient population of foreign...
August	Hisbiscus Carnival/ Festival	Celebrated in Suva Suva Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,...
September	Sugar Festival	Celebrated in Lautoka Lautoka Lautoka is the second largest city of Fiji and the second largest in the South Pacific. It is in the west of the island of Viti Levu, 24 kilometres north of Nadi, and is the second port of entry in Fiji, after Suva. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane growing region, it is known as the Sugar...
September	Friendly North Festival	Celebrated in Labasa Labasa Labasa is a town in Fiji with a population of 27,949 at the most recent census held in 2007.Labasa is located in Macuata Province, in the north-eastern part of the island of Vanua Levu, and is the largest town on the island. The town itself is located on a delta formed by three rivers - the...
September	Coral Coast Festival	Celebrated in Sigatoka Sigatoka For the banana disease, see Black sigatoka.Sigatoka is a town in Fiji. It is found on the island of Viti Levu and is situated at the mouth of the Sigatoka River, after which it is named, some 69 kilometers from Nadi. In Fiji's last census the population of Sigatoka was at 9622...
October 10	Fiji Day	The anniversary of both Fiji's cession to the United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...  in 1874 and attainment of independence in 1970. The week leading up to Fiji Day is called Fiji Week Fiji Week Fiji Week is a week of festivities culminating in Fiji Day on 10 October annually... , a week of religious and cultural ceremonies celebrating the country's diversity.
October/November	Diwali Diwali Diwali or DeepavaliThe name of the festival in various regional languages include:, , , , , , , , , , , , , popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December for different reasons...	Hindu "Festival of Lights," in honor of Lakshmi Lakshmi Lakshmi or Lakumi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity , light, wisdom, fortune, fertility, generosity and courage; and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm. Representations of Lakshmi are also found in Jain monuments... , the goddess of wealth and prosperity. The Public Holdiay is a day of colour and celebration amongst all of Fiji's races and creeds not in its religious aspect but for its festive and cultural one. Hindus in Fiji usually open there homes to other families to share in the traditional sweets and foods of Diwali in Fiji.
December 25	Christmas Christmas Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...	Christian festival, though celebrated by the country as a whole.
December 26	Boxing Day Boxing Day Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...	The day after Christmas.