Public holidays in Rhodesia, a historical region in southern Africa equivalent to today's Zimbabwe and Zambia—formerly Southern and Northern Rhodesia, respectively—were largely based around milestones in the region's short history. Annual holidays marked various aspects of the arrival of white people during the 1880s and 1890s, as well as the respective unilateral declarations of independence (1965) and of republican government (1970). On these days, most businesses and non-essential services closed. A number of Christian holidays were also observed according to custom, in the traditional British manner, and referred to in official documents by name—Christmas Day, for example, or Easter Monday.
Rhodesian non-work days were first defined in 1895, by The Bills of Exchange Regulations passed by Leander Starr Jameson, the second administrator of the territory appointed by the British South Africa Company. Holidays were instituted along traditional British lines, with some others created exclusively for Rhodesia: Shangani Day, on 4 December, marked the anniversary of the Shangani Patrol being killed in battle, while Rhodes's Day and Founders' Day—respectively commemorating Company chief Cecil Rhodes and his contemporaries—were held consecutively, starting on the first or second Monday of each July, to create the annual four-day "Rhodes and Founders' weekend". Shangani Day was replaced as a public holiday by Occupation Day in 1920, but continued to be unofficially marked thereafter. Occupation Day, held on 12 September each year, marked the anniversary of the arrival of the Pioneer Column at Fort Salisbury in 1890, and their raising of the Union Jack on the kopje overlooking the site. It was renamed Pioneers' Day in 1961.
Southern Rhodesia effectively became the entirety of Rhodesia in 1964 when Northern Rhodesia became independent as Zambia. After Southern Rhodesia's colonial government unilaterally declared independence from Britain on 11 November 1965, the anniversary became celebrated as Independence Day. The penultimate Monday in October was designated Republic Day in 1970 following the adoption of a republican system of government. All of these holidays were celebrated until 1979, when Rhodesia reconstituted itself under majority rule as the unrecognised state of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia. The country's national holidays were replaced soon after with alternatives intended to be more inclusive: President's Day, Unity Day and Ancestors' Day. These were in turn superseded in April 1980, when the country became the recognised state of Zimbabwe. The modern Zimbabwean holiday calendar differs radically from that of Rhodesia, but retains every one of the traditional holidays defined by name in the 1895 Bills of Exchange Regulations, with the exception of Whit Monday.
| width=15% scope=col | Name | width=15% scope=col | Date | scope=col | scope=col class=unsortable | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope=row | New Year's Day | 1895–1979 | Statutory public holiday, defined by name in The Bills of Exchange Regulations, 1895 | ||||
| scope=row | Good Friday | 1895–1979 | Statutory public holiday, defined by name in The Bills of Exchange Regulations, 1895 | ||||
| scope=row | Holy Saturday | 1895–1979 | Statutory public holiday, defined by name in The Bills of Exchange Regulations, 1895 | ||||
| scope=row | Easter Monday | 1895–1979 | Statutory public holiday, defined by name in The Bills of Exchange Regulations, 1895 | ||||
| scope=row | Whit Monday | 1895–1979 | Statutory public holiday, defined by name in The Bills of Exchange Regulations, 1895 | ||||
| scope=row | Rhodes Day | 1895–1979 | One of the original Rhodesian holidays designated by The Bills of Exchange Regulations, 1895. Commemorated Cecil Rhodes' birthday (5 July 1853). | ||||
| scope=row | Founders' Day | 1895–1979 | One of the original Rhodesian holidays designated by The Bills of Exchange Regulations, 1895. Commemorated founders of white rule in the region other than Rhodes; deliberately placed directly following Rhodes Day to create what became commonly known as the annual four-day "Rhodes and Founders' weekend". | ||||
| scope=row | Pioneers' Day | 1920–1979 | Created as Occupation Day by the Bank Holiday Amendment Ordnance, 1920, in place of Shangani Day. Renamed Pioneers' Day by the Bills of Exchange Amendment, 1961. Commemorated the anniversary of the arrival of the Pioneer Column at the site of Fort Salisbury in 1890, and their raising of the Union Jack on Salisbury Kopje, thereby marking the foundation of the city. | ||||
| scope=row | Republic Day | 1970–1979 | Commemorated the declaration of a republic on 2 March 1970. The government initially considered holding Republic Day on 11 November in place of Independence Day, but eventually settled on the second-to-last Monday in October. The date deliberately coincided with that month's mid-term school weekend (during which boarders returned home) as it had previously been the only one not extended by a public holiday.[1] | ||||
| scope=row | Independence Day | 1966–1979 | Commemorated the anniversary of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965. Coincided with Armistice Day, the anniversary of the 1918 Armistice with Germany at the end of the First World War, which had been marked since 1919, but not as a public holiday. | ||||
| scope=row | Shangani Day | 1895–1920 | One of the original Rhodesian holidays designated by The Bills of Exchange Regulations, 1895. Replaced as a public holiday with Occupation Day (later Pioneers' Day) in the Bank Holiday Amendment Ordnance, 1920, but still unofficially marked thereafter. Commemorated the anniversary of the Shangani Patrol's annihilation in 1893. | ||||
| scope=row | Day of the Vow | 1938–1940 | A South African holiday celebrating the Voortrekkers' victory in the Battle of Blood River. The Southern Rhodesian government recognised it for some years due to requests by the Afrikaans Cultural Union of Rhodesia, an Afrikaner cultural organisation.[2] | ||||
| scope=row | Christmas Day | 1895–1979 | Statutory public holiday, defined by name in The Bills of Exchange Regulations, 1895. | ||||
| scope=row | Boxing Day | 1895–1979 | Statutory public holiday, defined by name in The Bills of Exchange Regulations, 1895. Generally the day after Christmas, but celebrated on 27 December where 26 December was a Sunday. |