Boxing Day in Curaçao
Boxing Day is the English name commonly used for December 26, which Curaçao’s official holiday listing identifies as the second day of Christmas. It is a statutory public holiday, with rules affecting workers, students and shop opening hours.[1][2][3]
A fixed date in Curaçao’s holiday calendar
Curaçao’s government lists Christmas as two official days, December 25 and 26. The Arbeidsregeling 2000 likewise includes the first and second days of Christmas among its public holidays. The date is fixed at December 26, so the weekday changes from year to year.[1][2]
The law does not set a general substitute weekday for the second day of Christmas when December 26 falls on a weekend. Its specific provisions for moving a holiday to another date concern other holidays.[2]
Who gets the day off
The government’s holiday guidance says employees have the day off and schoolchildren do not attend school on official holidays. It makes an exception for rostered shift workers, including police, firefighters and nursing staff, who may be scheduled to work.[1]
The Arbeidsregeling provides that employees retain at least their normal pay for a public holiday. Employees actually working a shift on a holiday are entitled to at least twice the pay they would have earned for their normal working hours. The law also allows an employee’s entitlement to be lost if they are required to work and fail to do so without a lawful reason.[2]
Shop hours and practical plans
The shop-closing law does not require every shop to close all day on a public holiday. Instead, it bars public opening before 8 a.m. and after 8 p.m. on Sundays and public holidays, including the second day of Christmas as defined by the Arbeidsregeling. The law lists exceptions that include pharmacies for specified sales, hotels, restaurants, hotel shops and shops in airport buildings; exemptions may also be granted.[2][3]
The law sets legal opening limits, not the hours that an individual business chooses to keep. Check directly with a shop, restaurant or service before travelling, and make separate arrangements for transport if needed.
Local customs and history
Boxing Day is the second day of Christmas in Curaçao’s official holiday listing.[1][2]
Boxing Day in Curaçao: questions and answers
When is Boxing Day in Curaçao?
It falls on December 26 each year, the second day of Christmas in Curaçao’s official holiday listing.[1]
Is Boxing Day a day off?
Are shops open on Boxing Day?
Some may be. The law permits shop opening between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. on public holidays, subject to exceptions and exemptions. Individual business hours can differ, so check ahead.[3]
Does a weekend Boxing Day move to Monday?
The cited law does not provide a general substitute weekday for the second day of Christmas, and the calendar facts list no substitute day.[2]
Sources and references
Sources used for Boxing Day in Curaçao:
- Officiële vrije dagen op Curaçao (Nationale Feestdagen)- Gobiernu di Kòrsou, Digitaal loket
- Arbeidsregeling 2000- Gobiernu di Kòrsou
- Landsverordening Winkelsluiting- Gobiernu di Kòrsou