Garifuna Settlement Day, 19 November: What NICH Says It Marks, and the 2026 and 2027 Dates
Verified on 14 November 2026 on the Holidays Act as the Attorney General’s Ministry publishes it, the Government of Belize Press Office’s 2026 and 2027 holiday notices, the National Institute of Culture and History’s Belize Living Heritage inventory, and UNESCO’s intangible heritage list.
Garifuna Settlement Day is 19 November: the Holidays Act, Chapter 289, lists “The nineteenth day of November (Garifuna Settlement Day)” as item 11 of both its public holidays (Schedule I) and its bank holidays (Schedule II). The Government of Belize Press Office prints it as Thursday 19 November in its 2026 notice, dated 6 November 2025, and as Friday 19 November in its 2027 notice, dated 30 October 2026. The National Institute of Culture and History (NICH) says the day “commemorates the arrival of this largest group of Garinagu to Belize”, a group it says arrived in 1823 under the leadership of Alejo Beni.
| Year | Day the Press Office notice prints | Notice dated |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Thursday 19 November | 6 November 2025 |
| 2027 | Friday 19 November | 30 October 2026 |
Neither year calls on the Act’s moving rules: section 3(2) moves a holiday only when it falls on a Sunday, and 19 November is not one of the three dates that sections 3(3) and 3(4) shift to a Monday. The rest of the 2027 calendar is on Belize public and bank holidays 2027.
The arrival NICH describes
NICH’s Institute for Social and Cultural Research publishes the Belize Living Heritage inventory; NICH says that, through that institute, it is “the Government agency with responsibility for implementing UNESCO’s 2003 Convention” on intangible cultural heritage. Its entry for the day says: “According to historical accounts, the Garinagu began migrating to Belize, formerly British Honduras, from as early as 1802.” It adds that “The largest group is said to have arrived in 1823 under the leadership of Alejo Beni”, and that the day marks that arrival “as well as the overall history and culture of the people”.
From a Stann Creek holiday to a national one, in NICH’s dates
| Year, as NICH prints it | What NICH says happened |
|---|---|
| 1941 | Thomas Vincent Ramos, with Mateo Avaloy and C.S. Benguche, wrote to the District Commissioner of Stann Creek asking for a public and bank holiday there; it was first known as Carib Disembarkment Day |
| 1943 | The holiday was awarded to Stann Creek Town, now Dangriga Town, and later extended to Punta Gorda Town |
| 1970’s | Garifuna leaders lobbied for Carib Settlement Day to become a national holiday |
| 1977 | “the holiday was granted nationwide and the name was officially changed to Garifuna Settlement Day” |
NICH names Ramos as the man who “first lobbied for the celebration”.
Yurumein, in NICH’s words
NICH says the day starts with a re-enactment of the Garinagu journey, Yurumein: “Yurumein means St. Vincent in the Garifuna language”. Its entry describes the re-enactment as a portrayal of the journey from St. Vincent to Roatán, Honduras, and then to Belize, with participants paddling dories, and says the procession ends at the church for a Mass of Thanksgiving. It names the National Garifuna Council as “the primary organization that coordinates activities related to Garifuna Settlement Day and Yurumein across Belize”, and says the celebrations “have evolved into a month long series of activities”.
NICH lists the communities where Yurumein is celebrated: Libertad Village, Corozal; Orange Walk Town; Belize City; San Ignacio Town (see San Ignacio); Dangriga Town; Hopkins Village (see Hopkins); and Punta Gorda Town. It also names two other bodies: the Battle of the Drums Secretariat, which coordinates the annual Battle of the Drums Competition in Punta Gorda Town, and the Habinahan Wanaragua Steering Committee, whose annual competition for young people is held in December.
The UNESCO listing
UNESCO’s element Language, dance and music of the Garifuna, listed under Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, was “Inscribed in 2008 ( 3.COM ) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (originally proclaimed in 2001)”. UNESCO says the Garifuna settled along the Atlantic coast of Central America after being forced to flee from Saint Vincent in the eighteenth century. The UNESCO element is the language, dance and music, not the holiday itself.
What NICH and the Press Office do not publish
- A programme for 19 November in 2026 or 2027. NICH’s inventory entry describes the practice and its organisers but lists no programme with times or venues for 2026 or 2027; the Press Office notices list the date only. We read both on 14 November 2026, five days before the 2026 holiday, so this page gives no programme for either year.
How we researched this
On 14 November 2026 we read the Holidays Act (Revised Edition 2020) from the Attorney General’s Ministry’s law library, the Press Office’s 2026 and 2027 holiday notices, NICH’s Belize Living Heritage entry on Garifuna Settlement Day and Yurumein and its page on the Institute for Social and Cultural Research, and UNESCO’s entry for the Garifuna element. Both weekdays are printed in the Press Office notices. “Five days before” is our count from 14 November to the 2026 holiday.
Sources
- NICH: Belize Living Heritage, Garifuna Settlement Day & Yurumein (read 14 November 2026): the 1802 and 1823 dates, Alejo Beni, the 1941, 1943, 1970’s and 1977 steps, Yurumein, the National Garifuna Council, the communities, the month-long activities, the December Wanaragua competition
- NICH: About Belize Living Heritage (read 14 November 2026): the Institute for Social and Cultural Research and its responsibility for UNESCO’s 2003 Convention
- Attorney General’s Ministry: Holidays Act, Chapter 289 (read 14 November 2026): Schedules I and II, item 11; sections 3(2) to 3(4)
- Government of Belize Press Office: Public and Bank Holidays 2027 (read 14 November 2026): Friday 19 November, notice dated 30 October 2026
- Government of Belize Press Office: Public and Bank Holidays 2026 (read 14 November 2026): Thursday 19 November, notice dated 6 November 2025
- UNESCO: Language, dance and music of the Garifuna (read 14 November 2026): the four States, inscription in 2008, proclamation in 2001, the flight from Saint Vincent
Last verified: 2026-11-14
Researched and written by Estuardo Enriquez for belizetravelblog.com, an independent site with no connection to any airport, airline, tour operator or government body.