As humans generally, we are always excited about holidays no matter the celebration. It’s always a time to relax, spend some quality time with family and friends. Holiday(s) is usually a specific day(s) set aside by either law or custom. On this day(s), regular activities such as school, business, and work are usually suspended.
There are generally holidays celebrated all over the world such as December 25th (Christmas Day). While some holidays are just within a specific country and not observed by the rest of the world. Nigeria will be used as a case study for this article. We’ll be looking at National and public holidays in Nigeria.
In Nigeria, we have five types of holidays; public, national, religious, observance and seasonal holidays. All of these holidays will be discussed in this article.
National and Public Holidays in Nigeria
New Year’s Day
This is a public holiday that is observed on the 1st of January on the Gregorian calendar. It is usually observed in every part of the world.
Women’s Day
This is an observance holiday that is organized to honour women for social and economic accomplishments. The holiday takes place on the 8th of March.
Good Friday
This is a public/religious holiday that is observed by Christians all over the world. It is a day that commemorates the crucifixion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no exact date for it as it varies due to some factors. Good Friday for 2019 occurred on the 19th of April.
Holy Saturday
Also known as Good Saturday or Easter Saturday, this is an observance holiday among the Christians. It is observed the Saturday after the Good Friday.
Easter Day
Also known as Easter Sunday, it is observed by Christians. It commemorates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Tomb. There is no specific date for Easter Day. It was last celebrated on the 21st of April, 2019.
Easter Monday
As the name implies, this usually takes place on the Monday after Easter Sunday. It is observed by Christians and there is no specific date for it.
Workers’ Day
This is a public holiday dedicated to workers. It takes place on the 1st of May.
Children’s Day
This is a holiday set aside to promote and honour the world’s children. It’s an observance holiday where only schools are suspended and usually takes place on the 27th of May.
Democracy Day
This holiday is used to celebrate Nigeria’s Democracy. It usually takes place on the 29th of May.
Id el Fitr
This is a Muslim public holiday. The holiday marks the end of Ramadan and takes place on the first day of Shawwal. There is no specific date for this holiday.
Id el Kabir
This is a public holiday observed by Muslims. Just like the Id el Fitr, there is no specific date for this holiday.
National Day
Also known as Independence Day. This holiday celebrates Nigeria’s independence, which is on the 1st of October.
Christmas Day
This is a very special holiday for every Christians all around the world. It’s a day set aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ which is on the 25th of December.
Boxing Day
It is celebrated the day after Christmas day. The holiday has now grown quite popular and is one of the busiest shopping days in countries where it is observed.