St. John USVI Culture: Offical Holidays of the Virgin Islands
All Sundays are official holidays
January
January 1 - New Year's Day
January 6 - Three King's Day
Three King's Day commemorates the Three Wise Men, Melchior,
Gaspar and Baltazar, who followed the star to Bethlehem,
bringing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Third Monday - Martin Luther King's Birthday
The Legislature of the Virgin Islands, by enacting Act
No. 4239 on February 16, 1970, was the first jurisdiction
under the United States flag to establish the birthday
of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. as legal
holiday
February
Third Monday - Presidents' Day
March
Last Monday - Transfer Day
On March 31, 1917, the United States purchased the Virgin
Islands from Denmark for $25 million.
April
Holy Thursday
Good Friday
Easter Sunday
Easter Monday
"Easter is the Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon. The Paschal Full Moon
may occur from March 21 through April 18, inclusive. Thus the date of Easter
is from March 22 through April 25, inclusive. The date of the Paschal full
moon is determined from tables, and it may differ from the date of the the
actual full moon by up to two days." Taken from a web page written by
Marcos J. Montes.
May
Last Monday - Memorial Day
June
Third Monday - Organic Act Day
Virgin Islands constitution was created by the U.S. Congress
July
July 3 - Virgin Islands Emancipation Day
July 4 - U.S. Independence Day
Fourth Monday - Hurricane Supplication Day
Prayers are said to ask for protection from storms and
a safe passage through the hurricane season.
September
First Monday - Labor Day
October
Second Monday - Columbus Day and Virgin Island, - Puerto
Rico Friendship Day
Third Monday - Hurricane Thanksgiving Day
On this day we give thanks for the end of the hurricane
season.
November
November 1 - Liberty Day - D. Hamilton Jackson -Bull and
Bread Day -celebrated in honor of David Hamilton Jackson,
born on St. Croix on September 28, 1884. Jackson established
the first labor union in the Virgin Islands. He also
founded the first newspaper in the Virgin Islands that
was not published under the control of the government,
which at the time was Danish. The first issue of The
Herald hit the streets on November 1, 1915. The holiday
is also called "Bull and Bread Day," celebrating
a concession granted to the workers through collective
bargaining: a day of free beef was given to the people
by the planters, which was accompanied by bread baked
by the laborers.
November 11 - Veterans Day
Fourth Thursday - Thanksgiving Day
December
December 25 - Christmas Day
December 26 - Boxing Day
Celebrates opening the alms boxes placed in churches over
the Christmas season, the contents of which were distributed
amongst the poor.
