vacanza
Add SH Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha holidays
URLs:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Helena,_Ascension_and_Tristan_da_Cunha
- https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/2023/news/public-and-government-holidays-2024/
- https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Public-Notice-Public-Holidays-2025.pdf
- https://www.qppstudio.net/public-holidays/saint_helena.htm
- https://holidayapi.com/countries/sh/2025
Hi @arkid15r,
I wanted to ask for some guidance regarding the inclusion of historical holidays for Saint Helena in the holidays package.
As you know, Saint Helena is a British Overseas Territory, so its holiday calendar has been significantly influenced by the British Crown and associated national events. In addition to regular public and regional holidays, there have been several one-off or special occasion holidays in the past—such as:
26 May 2017 – Ratting Day (Tristan da Cunha)
3 June 2022 – Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee
Some of these events are specific to particular years and are not regularly recurring, often originating from royal or national observances or local decisions. I’ve come across references indicating that holiday ordinances were issued as far back as 1948. However, compiling a reliable list of such historical holidays has proven challenging.
I searched extensively for authoritative sources that include holiday data for Saint Helena prior to 2015. Unfortunately:
Websites like Timeanddate.com only list holidays from 2015 onward.
I have not been able to find digitized legal documents or official calendars issued before 2015 that include these holidays.
Local archives or legal gazettes seem to be the only possible sources, but they aren’t accessible online or are very hard to track down.
My question is: In cases where no verifiable and complete source is available for historical holidays (pre-2015), how should we proceed in the holidays package?
Is it acceptable to include only holidays from 2015 onward, based on verifiable sources like timeanddate.com and other references mentioned above?
Should we attempt to add known one-off events (like Ratting Day or Jubilee holidays) if at least some documentation exists, even if others remain undocumented?
Or should we avoid including uncertain or unverifiable holidays altogether until proper historical data can be sourced?
I want to make sure my contribution follows the best practices of the project and doesn’t compromise data quality or consistency. I’d really appreciate your advice on how to handle this situation.
Thanks so much for your time and guidance!
Is it acceptable to include only holidays from 2015 onward, based on verifiable sources like timeanddate.com and other references mentioned above?
Yes, it's better to have a shorter period, but a reliable one.
Should we attempt to add known one-off events (like Ratting Day or Jubilee holidays) if at least some documentation exists, even if others remain undocumented?
Ratting Day is annual holiday, it's just proclaimed separately each year. The Royal Jubilee - yes, it should be included as special holiday.
