Public holidays in the Cook Islands

The following are public holidays in the Cook Islands as prescribed by the Public Holidays Act in 1999.[1][2] Each Sunday is also a public holiday, as most Cook Islanders follow the Christian religion, with over half of the population registered as members of the Cook Islands Christian Church.

Date Name Remarks
1-2 January New Year's Day
25 April Anzac Day
moveable Good Friday
moveable Easter Monday
First Monday in June King's Birthday Celebrated on the same day as New Zealand celebrates the holiday.
First Friday in July Ra o te Ui Ariki
4 August Constitution Day This marks the date in 1965, when this event was first celebrated.[3]
26 October Gospel Day Christianity was first brought to the islands in the 1820s by John Williams of the London Missionary Society.
25 December Christmas Day
26 December Boxing Day

Also, the regions observe the following regional holidays. Most of the populated islands celebrate their own Gospel Days:[4]

Date Atoll/Island Name
13 March Penrhyn Island Penrhyn Gospel Day
25 May Palmerston Island Palmerston Gospel Day
15 June Mangaia Mangaia Gospel Day
20 July Atiu Atiu Gospel Day
21 July Mitiaro Mitiaro Gospel Day
25 July Rarotonga Rarotonga Gospel Day
8 August Manihiki Manihiki Gospel Day
15 August Rakahanga Rakahanga Gospel Day
27 October Aitutaki Aitutaki Gospel Day
8 December Pukapuka Pukapuka Gospel Day
  1. ^ Cook Islands Government PDF of national holidays Archived 26 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Cook Islands Prime Minister's clarification of public holidays Archived 26 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Creation of a nation – the Cook Islands story".
  4. ^ Gospel Day Information