Boxing Day in Guyana
Boxing Day falls on December 26 and is named as St. Stephen’s Day in Guyana’s public-school social studies material. The Public Holidays Act sets out the day’s legal status, the Sunday rule, and which public services observe public holidays.[1][2]
Legal status and the date
The Public Holidays Act defines a public holiday as a day kept as a holiday by banks, educational establishments, public offices and government departments, subject to exceptions the Minister may make for particular offices or departments. The Act includes December 26 among the public holidays.[1]
The Act says that when December 26 is a Sunday, the following day is the holiday, unless Christmas Day also falls on Sunday; in that case it names the Tuesday after Christmas. This statutory rule differs from the calendar data shown on this page, which lists no substitute days.[1]
How the day is observed
Guyana’s Ministry of Education describes December 26 as St. Stephen’s Day, also called Boxing Day. Its social studies worksheet says people observe it by visiting friends, picnicking and going to parties.[2]
Guyana’s Ministry of Education describes visiting friends, picnicking and going to parties as ways people observe Boxing Day.[2]
Work and opening hours
The public-holiday definition covers banks, schools, public offices and government departments, though the Act allows the Minister to exclude some offices or departments. It does not establish that every private business closes.[1]
Separate Guyanese legislation sets hours for licensed premises. For the period from December 15 through December 31, it says retail spirit shops covered by the relevant schedules are not to open on Sundays, Christmas Day or Boxing Day. This rule is specific to those licensed premises and does not establish opening hours for other shops, public transport or travel services.[3]
Some hospitality and retail workers may work on a public holiday. The Labour (Conditions of Employment of Certain Workers) Act says workers covered by that law who work on a public holiday must be paid at least one and a half times their hourly rate for those hours.[4]
Name and background
The official school material uses both names, St. Stephen’s Day and Boxing Day, for December 26.[2]
Boxing Day in Guyana: frequently asked questions
Is Boxing Day a public holiday in Guyana?
Yes. The Public Holidays Act includes December 26 as a public holiday and defines public holidays as days kept by banks, educational establishments, public offices and government departments, subject to specified exceptions.[1]
When is Boxing Day observed?
It is listed on December 26. The Act provides for the following day when December 26 is a Sunday.[1]
What is open on Boxing Day?
What do people do on Boxing Day in Guyana?
The Ministry of Education’s social studies material describes visiting friends, picnicking and going to parties as ways people observe the day.[2]
Sources and references
Sources used for Boxing Day in Guyana:
- Laws of Guyana: Public Holidays Act, Chapter 19:07- Ministry of Legal Affairs, Guyana
- Grade 5 Social Studies Weeks 9–12 Worksheets, Term 2- Ministry of Education, Guyana
- Laws of Guyana: Licensed Premises, Chapter 82:22- Ministry of Legal Affairs, Guyana
- Laws of Guyana: Labour (Conditions of Employment of Certain Workers) Act, Chapter 99:03- Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning, Guyana