📅 holiday

South Canterbury Anniversary Day

Monday, September 28, 2026

— days to go

South Canterbury Anniversary Day is a public holiday on the fourth Monday of September. The original provinces of New Zealand that existed from 1853 till 1876 have been long abolished. But nevertheless, the areas of these original provinces are treated as “regions” that get a special founding day holiday as an annual off-work day. Canterbury Province covered the whole central third of South Island, until its west coast was split off as Westland Province in 1867, following the West Coast Gold Rush. The southern portion of Canterbury Province also attempted a split in the 1860’s, but this was rejected. Today, the southern part of Canterbury Region has its own anniversary day, observed on the fourth Monday of September. This coincides with Dominion Day, the day in 1907 when the Dominion of New Zealand was officially formed. That date was 26 September, but South Canterbury Anniversary Day only approximates the exact date. It is put on a Monday to create a three-day South Canterbury Anniversary Weekend. The northern and central parts of Canterbury Region celebrate Christchurch Show Day in mid-December, but the southern part has its own holiday. The largest city of South Canterbury is Timaru, and that is the centre of activity on Anniversary Day. But many also get out into the countryside to view the rustic beauty of the landscape, hike, bike, mountain bike, or golf.

History

The original provinces of New Zealand that existed from 1853 till 1876 have been long abolished. But nevertheless, the areas of these original provinces are treated as “regions” that get a special founding day holiday as an annual off-work day

How It's Celebrated

South Canterbury Anniversary Day is a public holiday on the fourth Monday of September. But nevertheless, the areas of these original provinces are treated as “regions” that get a special founding day holiday as an annual off-work day. Today, the southern part of Canterbury Region has its own annive

Other Years

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📅 holiday Feb 10

Feast of St Paul's Shipwreck

The Feast of Saint Paul’s Shipwreck is a holiday unique to Malta because it was on Malta that the Apostle Paul was shipwrecked around the year A.D. 60. In 2027, Feast of St Paul's Shipwreck falls on Wednesday 10 February. The holiday will be on Thursday 10 February in 2028. The feast is kept on February 10th each year, and as Paul is the patron saint of Malta, it is a much-anticipated event. Out of dozens of “saint days” on the church calendar in Malta, the Feast of Saint Paul is one of only a handful that have the status of a national holiday. The account of Paul’s shipwreck and three-month, wintertime stay on Malta is found in the Bible’s Acts 27:27 through 28:11. He was being taken to Rome as a prisoner to eventually stand trial before Caesar. God let him know in advance he would be shipwrecked but would spare the lives of all on board, which promise was later kept and in answer to Paul’s prayers for their lives. The Bible says the storm was in the Adriatic Sea, though Malta borders the Ionian Sea, because in ancient times, the Adriatic’s boundaries were considered to extend much farther south. The ship broke up on the rocks near the shores of Malta, and all swam ashore. The local population greeted them, but thought he might be a murderer whom the “goddess of justice” had finally caught up with after he was bitten by a poisonous snake. After he lived, however, they supposed him to be, perhaps, a god. Paul, however, soon showed them it was God’s power at work in a mere man by healing the governor of the island, Publius, and many others who were sick or disabled among the island’s population. No doubt, Paul preached the Gospel to them as well, and when he left Malta, the inhabitants gave him all necessary supplies out of gratitude. The Feast of Saint Paul’s Shipwreck is kept at the “Parish Church of Saint Paul Shipwrecked” in Malta’s capital city of Valletta. It is also a day of processions and family get-togethers. Three things to do should you visit Malta, though hopefully not be shipwrecked there, on February 10th are: