BELIZE CITY, Wed. Nov. 17, 2021 — Today, the Government of Belize released an updated version of the list of Public and Bank Holidays scheduled for 2022. The main purpose of the update appears to have been to change the name of the October 12 holiday from Dia de la Raza, which a previous release had indicated would be the new name of the day which formerly honored Christopher Colombus’s arrival in the New World, to Indigenous Peoples’ Resistance Day.

After some pushback from the public, and a strongly worded release from the UDP, however, the Minister responsible for holidays, Hon. Kareem Musa, has decided to change the name of the October holiday to a name that reflects the struggles and triumphs of the ancient Maya people whose descendants are still living in Belize.

So in Belize, we will follow the lead of various Latin American countries that have decided to depart from paying homage to colonial figures and instead honor the peoples who despite efforts at systematic eradication have survived until the current time.

Of note, the May 24th holiday is no longer on the list of holidays, as outlined by the UDP in their press release last week. This day is set aside for Commonwealth countries, and the UDP says that its removal from the list of public and bank holidays in Belize sends a disturbing signal.