Garifuna Settlement Day

Garifuna Settlement Day
Observed byBelize
Date19 November
Next time19 November 2025 (2025-11-19)
FrequencyAnnual

Garifuna Settlement Day is a public holiday in Belize, celebrated each year on November 19.[a] The holiday was created by Belizean civil rights activist Thomas Vincent Ramos in 1941.[1] It was recognized as a public holiday in the southern districts of Belize in 1943, and declared a national holiday in 1977.[1] The holiday celebrates the settlement of the Garifuna people in Belize after being exiled from the Grenadines by the British.[2] The major festivities for the holiday occur in the town of Dangriga, including parades, street music, and traditional dancing.[3]


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  1. ^ a b Avila, Tomas Alberto; Jose Francisco Avila (2008). Garifuna World. Milenio Associates. pp. 362, 423, 426. ISBN 978-1928810025.
  2. ^ "Garifuna Settlement Day Celebrated". San Pedro Sun. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  3. ^ Greenspan, Eliot (2011). Frommer's Belize (4th ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley Publishing. pp. 36–37. ISBN 978-0470887707.