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Public Holidays and Bank Holidays for Bhutan

The list of Bhutan 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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22 Aug 2008 (The Bhutan Times) According to a draft document released by the National Steering Committee for the Coronation and Centenary Celebrations (NSCCC), the 3-day coronation public holiday, announced on August 4, will be extended by 2 additional days (November 10 and 12, 2008) giving the people of Bhutan a 7-day long public holiday on the occasion of the upcoming coronation and centenary celebrations (November 11 is already a public holiday in Bhutan). • 04 Aug 2008 (Royal Civil Service commission of Bhutan) The coronation ceremony of His Majesty the King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck will be held at the Tashichhodzong on the 8th Day of the 9th Bhutanese month of the Earth Male Rat year corresponding to November 6, 2008. The coronation ceremony will be followed by two days of celebrations at the Changlingmithang stadium. As such, the 3 days, from Thursday, November 6, to Saturday, November 8, 2008, have been announced as public holidays in Bhutan, according to a press release issued be the Royal Civil Service Commission of Bhutan. • 16 Jul 2008 (Kuensel) According to a press release from the cabinet secretariat, the government of Bhutan has declared Friday, July 18, 2008, as a one-off public holiday, to mark the historic signing of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan, at 9:30am, at the Kuenrey of the Trashichhodzong. On that occasion, schools, government and public institutions will remain closed, so that the public can witness the historic event, and later view the Constitution which will be displayed to the public. • 19 Jan 2008 (Kuensel) The date for Bhutan's upcoming General Elections has been set for Monday, March 24, 2008. The Electoral Commission of Bhutan has confirmed that that that date had been declared a public holiday in Bhutan, as stipulated by Bhutan's Election Bill. • 24 Oct 2007 (Election Commission of Bhutan) The Election Commission of Bhutan has confirmed that Monday, December 31, 2007, would be a one-off public holiday, to facilitate participation in that day's National Council Elections (except in the five dzongkhags, Thimphu, Haa, Gasa, Lhuentse and Trashi Yangtse, where the election has been postponed until January 2008). In addition, note that the Indo-Bhutan border will be sealed for 36 hours, from 6 pm on December 30, to 6 am on January 1st. • 01 Sep 2007 (Bhutan Draft Election Bill) The recently released draft to the Bhutan Election Bill would enshrine into law the principle of declaring public holidays on the date of any future election to Parliament or Local Government (Chapter 17, Article 327). • 02 May 2007 (Kuensel) The Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB), announced today that it would conduct next year's parliamentary elections, the first ever in Bhutan, on a weekday and that that day would be declared as a public holiday "so that more people can come and vote". • 03 Jan 2007 (Bhutan Broadcasting Service) The ministry of home and cultural affairs has announced important changes in the list of public holidays in Bhutan, effective immediately. Three, one-day public holidays have been removed: Thrue (Blessed Rainy Day), Ngenpa Guzom (Meeting of the Nine Evils), and the anniversary of the death of the third Druk Gyalpo, His Majesty the late King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. To compensate, the birthday of His Majesty the Fifth Druk Gyalpo, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, on February 21, has been made into a new annual public holiday, lasting 3 days. • More News Updates For up-to-the-minute news about public holidays trends and changes, visit our public holidays news and updates pages, or subscribe to one of our free email newsletters.

Governing Law: Official public holidays in Bhutan are regulated by article 5.22 of the "Rules and Regulations on Employment of Bhutanese Nationals in the Private Sector" and section 108 of the Labour and Employment Act of Bhutan 2007, which stipulates that employees are entitled to a minimum of 9 public holidays each year, inclusive of the birth anniversary of His Majesty the King and the National Day in addition to the normal days of rest. The specific dates of public holidays are confirmed yearly by decree. • The Dasain ceremony, which symbolises the victory of good over evil, was declared a national holiday in Bhutan by His Majesty the King in 1980. • Two wonderfully named holidays, the Blessed Rainy Day (Thrue) and the day of the Meeting of Nine Evils (Ngenpa Guzom) are no longer public holidays as of 2007. • Thimphu Tshechu is a public holiday in Thimphu only. • Other Sources of Information For information not covered here, see the following specialized websites: Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (Bhutan 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 Bhutan, 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.

Religious Holidays : Public holidays in Bhutan that are based on certain religious calendars may be subject to local variations due to differing interpretations between different religious authorities, or to seemingly arbitrary changes in the date a holiday is celebrated because it conflicts with another holiday that is based on another calendar, or because the day of the holiday is deemed inauspicious (bad luck). To find out more about these uncertainties, see the footnote below, if any, for each specific religion.

Solar Holidays : The calculation of moon phases, moonrises, moonsets, equinoxes, solstices, sunrises, and sunsets used to predict solar bank holidays, legal holidays and public holidays for Bhutan are based on the geographical location of Thimphu (latitude 27,5°N, longitude 89,8°E, GMT+5,5 hours, no summer time rules). Note that many countries in South-East Asia are progressively changing the recurrence rule of some of their lunar/solar holidays to rules based on fixed dates of the Western (Gregorian) calendar. Therefore, while the dates predicted above for 2009 and beyond are currently technically correct, the rules of these holidays may change in the next few years. For more details on lunar and solar holidays, see the Lunisolar Footnotes.

Lunisolar Holidays : The calculation of moon phases, moonrises, moonsets, sunrises, and sunsets used to predict lunar bank holidays, legal holidays and public holidays for Bhutan are based on the geographical location of Thimphu (latitude 27,5°N, longitude 89,8°E, GMT+5,5 hours, no summer time rules). Note that many countries in South-East Asia are progressively changing the recurrence rule of some of their lunar/solar holidays to rules based on fixed dates of the Western (Gregorian) calendar. Therefore, while the dates predicted above for 2009 and beyond are currently technically correct, the rules of these holidays may change in the next few years. For more details on lunar and solar holidays, see the Lunisolar Footnotes.

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 Bhutan, 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 Bhutan, before planning any trip to Bhutan. For last-minute updates to worldwide public holidays, visit our blog or subscribe to our free email newsletters.