Public holidays in New Zealand

Bank holidays in New Zealand originated with a celebration of St Andrew's Day in 1857.[2] Nationwide public holidays began with the Bank Holidays Act 1873, which was based on the UK Bank Holidays Act 1871. Initially there was some resistance to it.[3]

Anniversary days celebrated, from as early as 1843, the first arrivals of settlers in each province.[4] By 1846 the Wellington Anniversary Day was described as having the appearance of an English Fair.[5]

Statutory holidays are legislated by the Holidays Act 2003.[1]

In addition to the eleven national public holidays, section 44 of the Holidays Act 2003 specifies as public holidays the anniversary days of each province (or the day locally observed as that day) to celebrate the founding days or landing days of the first colonists of the various colonial provinces.[1]^{: Section 44} These are only celebrated within each province, not nationwide. Exact dates of the various provinces' anniversary days are not specifically stated in the act, and are instead determined by historical convention and local custom. The regions covered are set by provincial district (as they stood when abolished in 1876), plus Southland, the Chatham Islands, South Canterbury, and Northland. The actual observance days can vary even within each province and is due to local custom, convenience or the proximity of seasonal events or other holidays and may differ from the official observance day.

In addition to the above holidays, from 1 April 2007 all workers must be given four weeks annual leave, often taken in the summer Christmas – New Year period.[23] In many industries there is a Christmas – New Year shutdown of business. With only three working days between Christmas and New Year, many workers take this time off, as they can have a ten-day summer break for only three days leave. Many retail outlets also hold sales at this time to stimulate business while others close down due to low demand for services. The days from 25 December to 15 January are not considered to be working days for official government purposes. The public counters of most government departments do open on weekdays during this period, though often only a limited service may be available.

State schools have a 4-term year, of about ten weeks each and usually with a two-week holiday between terms.[24] Although standard term dates are set by the Ministry of Education each year, schools can vary these to account for local holidays and school closures due to weather. The first term commences in late January or early February. Occasionally, Easter holidays and/or Anzac Day may fall within these holidays. The holiday between terms two and three is generally known as the midwinter break and occurs in July, while that between terms 3 and 4 occurs in late September, early October. Term four ends in mid December, generally a week or two before Christmas, though for many senior students this term ends after their final NCEA examination in late November or early December.

A "one off" national public holiday was declared by the Prime Minister for 26 September 2022 to allow people to pay their respects for the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch of New Zealand.[25][26] South Canterbury Anniversary Day, which was due to be observed on 26 September, was moved to be observed on Friday 11 November.[27]

Following the death of Sir Edmund Hillary in 2008, the Green Party proposed a public holiday in his honour.[28] There is also support in some quarters for the old Dominion Day holiday to be revived as "New Zealand Day".[29]

From the 1950s to the 1970s it was frequently suggested that the Provincial Anniversary holidays be abolished, as the Provinces ceased to exist in 1876.

Before Waitangi Day was made a national public holiday it was sometimes suggested that a Waitangi Day holiday should replace the anniversary days, and the Waitangi Day Act 1960 made provision for this. Waitangi Day was eventually made an additional holiday and the provincial holidays lived on, primarily because most regions had long established events on those weekends.

A small minority of people advocate the abolition of the Waitangi Day holiday, but it is regularly suggested that a less controversial day, such as Anzac Day (25 April) or Dominion Day (26 September), be made New Zealand's national day.

• List of unofficial observances in New Zealand

• Employment New Zealand Public holidays
• Employment New Zealand Public holidays - Public holidays and anniversary dates
• Employment New Zealand Public holidays in iCalendar format
• School Terms and Holidays, Ministry of Education