Emancipation Day 2025, 2026 and 2027 in Jamaica

Various countries and dependencies throughout the Caribbean have an Emancipation Day with various dates and historical backgrounds. In Jamaica, Emancipation Day comes on 1 August, the day in 1834 when the British Parliament passed the bill to abolish slavery in all British colonies.

Year	Date	Day	Holiday
2025	1 Aug	Fri	Emancipation Day
2026	1 Aug	Sat	Emancipation Day
2027	1 Aug	Sun	Emancipation Day
	2 Aug	Mon	Emancipation Day Holiday
Please scroll down to end of page for previous years' dates.

The bill itself contained provisions for former masters to be compensated for the loss of their “property”, sometimes by several years of continued service by the former slaves. Thus slavery did end in Jamaica, but it was a process. The first of August stands out as the key date that saw that process get started, and for that reason, it’s the date of the holiday.

By 1840, at least, all of Jamaica’s 311,000 or so slaves were finally free. And the same could be said for thousands upon thousands more spread throughout other British holdings in the Caribbean and beyond.

Emancipation Day was first made a public holiday in Jamaica in 1893, but it was discontinued when Jamaica became an independent country in 1962. In 1997, however, it was reintroduced and has been celebrated ever since.

It is a day on which people remember the long struggle against slavery and rejoice that it was finally abolished. It is also a time to reflect on how far Jamaica and its population – largely descended from freed slaves – has come over the last 175 years or so.

Previous Years

Year	Date	Day	Holiday
2024	1 Aug	Thu	Emancipation Day
2023	1 Aug	Tue	Emancipation Day