Holidays in Gambia

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The twelve public holidays in Gambia are based on the two national holidays and the religious holidays of the two largest religions in the country. In the West African state of Gambia , 90 percent are Muslims and 8 percent are Christians . Despite the majority of the Muslim population, the Christian holidays have their place, due to British colonial history. Gambia gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1965 .

General

Sunday has been the weekly rest day since colonial times. If a public holiday falls on a Sunday, it will be postponed to the following Monday, which is then non-working. Friday is the day of prayer for Muslims, strict believers keep their shops closed after midday prayer ( Friday prayer ). In addition to the secular and religious holidays, there are countless regional festivals.

history

The Holy Mary Day was declared in 1958 to the holiday, this was in 1976 reversed. This day was reinstated under the Jammeh government (from 1994).

The holidays were regulated by law in Gambia in 1990 with the Labor Act 1990 . Under Jammeh's government, Section 76, Section 1 of the new constitution, which came into force in 1997, gave the President the power to determine public holidays.

After lingering late at a concert by the Senegalese megastar Youssou N'Dour , he declared the following day a public holiday by decree. So he decided on December 19, 2006, following the swearing-in ceremony after the presidential election . News of his decision did not reach many Gambians in time.

In 2008 the Gambian national soccer team reached a draw against the Senegalese national soccer team in qualifying for the 2010 soccer world championship, which was almost enough for participation in the world cup. Out of joy, Jammeh declared October 13, 2008 a public holiday.

Jammeh declared April 3, 2009 a one-time holiday because of the victory of the Africa Cup of Nations of the Gambia's U-17 national team.

Also in April, the National Assembly decided that Africa Day would begin as a public holiday on May 25th . On this anniversary (coincidentally this is the birthday of the former President Yahya Jammeh) the Organization for African Unity (predecessor organization of the African Union ) was founded.

public holidays

Immovable Holidays

date Surname German name Remarks
January 1st New Year's day New Years Day
February 18 Independence Day independence Day National holiday
1st of May Labor Day Labor Day
25. May African Liberation Day Africa day
15th of August Holy Maria Day Assumption Day Christian holiday
25 December Christmas Day Christmas holiday Christian holiday
  • Independence Day
On Independence Day of February 18, 1965, thought of the day, was released to the Gambia from the UK to independence.
  • Holy Maria Day ( Assumption Day , Sang Marie )
The veneration of Mary has a special meaning in Gambia. Geographical objects such as Cape St. Mary , St. Mary's Island and the Kombo-St. Mary Area named after the holiday of the Annunciation . Likewise, the Roman Catholic Cathedral and the Anglican Cathedral in the capital Banjul , each of which is the bishopric of the two Christian churches, are dedicated to Mary. Holy Maria day ( Assumption ) is a public holiday.
  • African Liberation Day
As of 2009, Africa Day will begin as a public holiday on May 25th, and the Organization for African Unity was founded on this anniversary .

Immovable Holidays (historical)

With the election victory of Adama Barrow on December 1, 2016 over the former President Yahya Jammeh , the following holidays were no longer celebrated:

date Surname German name Remarks
25. May African Liberation Day ( President Yahya Jammeh's Birthday ) Africa day
22nd of July Republic Day Revolution day National Day , from 1995 to 2017
  • Republic Day
On Republic Day of July 22, 1994, thought of the day on which the President Yahya Jammeh against Dawda Jawara coup and the Second Republic proclaimed. This holiday was no longer observed in the Third Republic (from 2017)
  • President Yahya Jammeh's Birthday
As of 2009, Africa Day will begin as a public holiday on May 25th, and the Organization for African Unity was founded on this anniversary . Coincidentally, this day was also the birthday of former President Yahya Jammeh.

Moving Holidays

Muslim Holidays

The Muslim holidays follow the Islamic calendar . They vary in the individual Islamic countries, depending on which of the powerful brotherhoods interprets the phases of the moon. In The Gambia, for example, the Supreme Islamic Council (SIC) declared September 15, 2007 to be the beginning of Ramadan and Thursday, December 20, 2007 as the day for Tabaski.

Public holidays are:

Surname German name 2010 2011 2012 2013
Koriteh, (Korité) End of Ramadan ('Īd al-fitr) September 10 August 31 August 19th August 9
Tabaski, (Tobaski) Islamic Festival of Sacrifice ('Īd ul-Adha) November 16 November 6th October 26th 15th October
Prophet's Birthday, ( Wolof Gammo, Gamou, Gamo ) Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (Maulid an-Nabī) 27th of February February 15th February 4th January 24th

The data come from calculated values, they can still deviate from the actual days in Gambia.

  • Tabaski
Tabaski , the Islamic Festival of Sacrifice ('Īd ul-Adha) is the most important festival in Gambian life next to Ramadan . Its meaning is comparable to the Christian Christmas festival.
  • More Muslim festivals
The following days are Muslim holidays, but not public holidays in Gambia:
Surname German name 2010 2011 2012 2013
Ramadan begins Beginning of Ramadan ('Īd al-fitr) August 11th August 1st 20th of July July 9
Tamkharit Islamic New Year (ra's al'äm) December 7th November 26th 15th of November November 4th

The data come from calculated values, they can still deviate from the actual days in Gambia.

Christian Holidays

Surname German name 2010 2011 2012 2013
Good Friday Good Friday 2nd of April April 22 April 6th March 29
Easter Monday Easter Monday April 5th April 25 9th April April 1st

swell

  • Jojo Cobbinah : Senegal, Gambia: practical travel guide to the west coast of Africa Meyer, Frankfurt am Main 2001, ISBN 3-89859-103-4
  • Rosel Jahn: Gambia: travel guide with regional studies; with a travel atlas May, Dreieich 1997, ISBN 3-87936-239-4
  1. ↑ Gambia in " CIA - The World Factbook "; Figures from 2010
  2. ↑ Public holidays in Gambia ( Memento of the original from August 20, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. www.hotelkatalog24.de, accessed in June 2010 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.hotelkatalog24.de
  3. ↑ a b Public Holidays for The Gambia ( Memento of the original from June 12, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed June 2010  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.qppstudio.net
  4. ↑ Monday abruptly Made Public Holiday (archive version) ( Memento of 28 September 2007 at the Internet Archive ) The Gambia Journal , December 18, 2006
  5. ^ Gambia draw sparks public holiday BBC News (online) of October 13, 2008
  6. ↑ President Jammeh celebrates Gambia's victory - Pledges D1Million for each U-17 player  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The Daily Observer (online) April 6, 2009@1@ 2Template: dead link / observer.gm  
  7. ↑ Assembly approves May 25th as holiday  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The Daily Observer dated April 6, 2009@1@ 2Template: dead link / observer.gm  
  8. ↑ Ramadan Begins September 15th Council Declares (archive version) ( Memento from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) The Gambia Journal , April 19, 2007
  9. ↑ Tobaski Thursday ( Memento of the original from December 17, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The Daily Observer , December 17, 2007  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / observer.gm
  10. ^ A b Important Religious Dates in Global Calendar www.moonsighting.com/, accessed June 2010

Web links