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Public Holidays and Bank Holidays for Samoa

The list of Samoa bank holidays, national holidays and public holidays for 2008, comes from the Q++ Worldwide Public Holidays Database, the professional source of international public holidays long trusted by the world's foremost diary publishers. The information on this page is provided for private, non-professional, use. Qualified professionals can license data for 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and beyond. For details, please visit our licensing information page or

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24 Jul 2008 (The New Zealand Herald) The Samoan Minister of Transport, Tuisugaletaua Aveau, announced today that the switch from driving on the right hand side of the road to the left hand side of the road, will take effect at 6:00am on Monday the 7th of September 2009, and that to mark the switch date, Monday the 7th and Tuesday the 8th of September, 2009, have been declared as public holidays to "allow for familiarisation with the change". • 09 Mar 2008 (APIA-Pacnews + The Samoa Observer) Chief executive officer for the prime minister’s office, Vaasatia Poloma Komiti announced that the government may not declare a new public holiday on March 1st, the birthday of the new head of State, Tuiatua Tupua Tamasese Efi, or at least not before many years, reminding everyone that a public holiday on the previous head of State's birthday had only been declared, after he had reigned for over 40 years. • 15 Sep 2007 (Radio New Zealand International) The government of Samoa has announced that, beginning in 2008, ANZAC Day and Arbor Day would no longer be public holidays, though some commemorative ceremonies will continue to be held on those dates. In addition, also beginning in 2008, all shops will stay open on the remaining public holidays. • 15 May 2007 (Matangi Tonga) The Samoan Government has declared Thursday and Friday, May 17 and 18, 2007, to be public holiday for King, and Samoan High Chief, Malietoa Tanumafili II's, official funeral and burial. • 11 May 2007 (IHT) King Malietoa Tanumafili II, one of the world's longest reigning monarchs, passed away. • 12 Apr 2007 (Radio Australia Sport) The Samoan Cabinet has approved the allocation of the afternoon of Thursday April 12 (commencing at 12 noon), and the entire day of Friday April 13, 2007 as a public holiday, to celebrate the recent victory of the national rugby team in Hong Kong. • More News Updates For the full version of the summarized news items above, and older news items not displayed above, go to the Samoa public holidays news and updates page, or worldwide public holidays news and updates page, or subscribe to one of our free email newsletters.

Governing Law: Official public holidays in Samoa are regulated by the Public Holidays Act 2008 (Law 2008, No. 3), which came into force on January 1st, 2008, and amends the Shops Ordinance 1961 and the Labour and Employment Act 1972. • Weekend Public Holidays: All public holidays which fall on Sunday are to be observed on the following Monday. Subsequently, consecutive public holidays with one on Sunday are likewise observed on the following days. • Head of State's Birthday: The term O le Ao o le Malo is often mislabled as King's Birthday. But Samoa's head of State does not necessarily need to be a royal. Indeed after the death of Malietoa Tanumafili II, in 2007, it was former Prime Minister Tupua Tamasese Tupuola Tufuga Efi who became head of State. • Shop Closings: Starting in 2008, all shops will stay open on Samoa public holidays. • Death of Leading Politicians: The death of leading politicians, active or retired, often results in the last-minute declaration of a national public holiday of mourning . • Other Sources of Information For information not covered here, see the following specialized websites: Central Bank of Samoa (Samoa central bank), ASI Hot Spots (security-related world events: terrorist threats, political strife, strikes, criminal activity, aviation incidents and health outbreaks), CIA World Factbook (maps, demographic and economic statistics), Copp Clark (financial markets' trading hours, settlement holidays and currency non-clearing days), and the IFES Election Guide (information covering upcoming elections, referenda, electoral structures and past voter participation).

Observance : Any entry in the Observance column indicates that, in Samoa, the holiday may be regional or non-official or limited to certain religious and/or linguistic groups, or begin at a time other than midnight. Note that religious holidays are included only if they are national public holidays, or if the national labour code has specific holiday allowances for employees of specific religions. For more information, see our pages on the religious calendars of the world.

Disclaimer
In many parts of the world, holidays are subject to arbitrary, last minute, changes by local authorities. While every effort has been made to present an accurate list of 2008 bank holidays, legal holidays and public holidays for Samoa, we cannot accept any responsibility for any error or omission in the data presented above. You are therefore advised to verify the above dates with the embassy or consulate of Samoa, before planning any trip to Samoa. For last-minute updates to worldwide public holidays, visit our blog or subscribe to our free email newsletters.