Cayman’s Discovery Day holiday, which was initially dropped to make way for Emancipation Day in May, will make its return to the official schedule of public holidays this year.
Cabinet, in its 20 Feb. meeting, approved the issuing of drafting instructions for the retention of the holiday, which is celebrated on the third Monday in May, and addition of Emancipation Day to the Public Holiday Act (2007 Revision).
This year, the third Monday in May falls on 20th.
The change, according to the latest post-Cabinet summary, issued Wednesday evening, was approved by circulation on 15 Feb., 2024.
The Discovery Day holiday celebrates the sighting of Little Cayman and Cayman Brac by Christopher Columbus on 10 May 1503.
The Public Holidays Order formalising the celebration of Emancipation Day on the first Monday in May was gazetted on 21 Feb.
The order states the occasion will “be known as Emancipation Day in commemoration of the abolition of slavery in the Cayman Islands with the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation on May 3, 1835”.
Last November, then-Culture Minister Bernie Bush announced the reinstatement of Emancipation Day which was first observed in the Cayman Islands in 1835, before being replaced with the Constitution Day holiday by the Legislative Assembly in the 1960’s.
The reinstatement of Emancipation Day as a national day of observance began in late 2022 when the ministry established task forces to facilitate discussions, collect data, research and examine existing policies to address issues such as slavery, emancipation and cultural identity.
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Do our Members of Parliament really need more holidays?.
Another holiday paid for by employers courtesy of those who won’t be paying for it.
As always, “Easy to be generous with someone else’s money.”