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Public holidays inFiji reflect the country'scultural diversity. Each major religion in Fiji has a public holiday dedicated to it. 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, such as the Sugar Festival inLautoka, as Lautoka's largest and most historically important industry is sugar production.
Public Holidays that fall on theweekend 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.
| Date | Festival | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| January 1 | New Year's Day | 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 take place in the heart ofSuva, the nation's capital, to welcome the new year. This represents one of the largest new-year celebrations in the South Pacific.[citation needed] |
| February/March | Maha Shivaratri | Hindu celebration ofShiva (not a public holiday). |
| February/March | Holi | Hindu "Festival of Colors" (not a public holiday). |
| March/April | Ram Naumi | Hindu celebration of the birth ofRama (not a public holiday). |
| March/April | Hanuman Jayanti | Hindu celebration of the birth ofHanuman (not a public holiday). |
| March/April | Easter | MajorChristian festival; the Friday (Good Friday) and the Sunday (Easter Sunday) are both official public holidays. There is also a Public Holiday onEaster Monday, the Monday following Easter Sunday. |
| March/April | Palm Sunday | Also celebrated asChildren's Sunday by Fiji'sMethodists (not a public holiday). |
| May | Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna Day | The celebrations in honor ofFiji's first modern statesman actually begin a week early. It is almost always celebrated on a Friday. This was formerly a public holiday, but themilitary-backed interim government abolished it following the military coup of 2006. |
| May 4 | National Youth Day | Public holiday celebrating the Youth of Fiji. |
| May 14 | Girmit Day | Public holiday commemorating the arrival of the firstIndians to Fiji.[1] |
| June 11 | Queen's Birthday | Official birthday ofQueen Elizabeth II,former Queen of Fiji, still recognized by the chiefs as theTui Viti, or Paramount Chief of Fiji. |
| Sometime in the first half of the year, and based on the Islamic and lunar calendars | Eid al-Fitr | Muslim festival celebrating afterRamadhan. The public holiday is not on the actual day of celebration due to the unpredictability of the moon's appearance that signals the day. |
| August | Bula Festival | Celebrated inNadi. |
| August | Hisbiscus Carnival/ Festival | Celebrated inSuva. |
| August | Friendly North Festival | Celebrated inLabasa. |
| August/September | Krishna Janmashtami | Hindu celebration of the birth ofKrishna (not a public holiday). |
| September | Sugar Festival | Celebrated inLautoka. |
| September | Coral Coast Festival | Celebrated inSigatoka. |
| September/October | Navaratri | Hindu festival ofMahadevi (not a public holiday). |
| October 10 | Fiji Day | The anniversary of both Fiji's cession to theUnited Kingdom in 1874 and attainment of independence in 1970. The week leading up to Fiji Day,Fiji Week, features seven days of religious and cultural ceremonies celebrating the country's diversity. |
| October/November | Diwali | Hindu "Festival of Lights", honoursLakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity. The public holiday is a day of colour and celebration amongst all of Fiji's races and creeds - not in its religious sense but for its festive and cultural aspects. Hindus in Fiji usually open their homes to other families to share in the traditional Indian sweets and foods of Diwali in Fiji. |
| November 6 | Music | BlueSky Fiji "Music Festival" charters a tropical island for an international music festival.[2] |
| December 26 | Boxing Day | The day after Christmas. |