Saints Peter and Paul in Chile

Legal status and date

Chile’s Law 18,432 declared June 29 a legal holiday each year. A later law, 19,668, moves the holiday to the Monday of the same week when June 29 falls on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, and to the following Monday when it falls on a Friday. It remains on June 29 when that date falls on a Monday, Saturday or Sunday.[1][2]

Under Chilean labor guidance, Sunday and legal holidays are rest days for workers on the standard schedule. Some workers in activities exempted by the Labor Code may work on holidays; their employer must provide a compensatory day of rest for the holiday worked.[3]

Meaning of the feast

The church feast remembers the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Simon Peter and Paul of Tarsus. Chile’s holiday law establishes the date as a national legal holiday.[1]

How communities observe it

Observances vary by place. In coastal communities, Chilean Catholic parishes have held Masses followed by processions carrying an image of Saint Peter to the shore and out by boat, with fishermen and their families taking part.[5]

Accounts from coastal parishes in the Biobío region describe religious dances and boat processions as part of the celebrations. These reports document local practices, rather than a single custom observed throughout Chile.[5]

Work, shops and planning

The holiday is not one of the mandatory and non-waivable rest days that Chile’s labor authority lists for commerce. Those days are May 1, September 18 and 19, December 25, and January 1. Shop opening hours on Saints Peter and Paul can therefore vary; check with individual businesses.[4]

Check opening hours with government offices and banks before you travel.[1][3]