CONFIDENTIAL
6
CO
These holidays are drawn from four sources
(a)
internationally observed holidays;
(b)
traditional Chinese festivals;
(c)
holidays specific to Hong Kong; and
XCX(93)
(d) holidays deriving from United Kingdom sovereignty.
Arguments for retaining or changing these holidays are set out in paragraphs 7 to 11 below.
Internationally Observed Holidays
7
The first weekday in January (New Year's Day) is well-established internationally, is a holiday in China, and should be retained. The Easter long-weekend (Good Friday, the day following Good Friday and Easter Sunday) is celebrated in a large number of countries in different parts of the world, and may be seen as an internationally recognised holiday. These holidays should be retained. Easter Monday, on the other hand, has no particular religious significance, and is celebrated in fewer countries, particularly where Good Friday is already a holiday. It could thus be considered for replacement by another more appropriate holiday.
8
Christmas Day is now a fully accepted festival in Hong Kong. It is also celebrated as a holiday in many other countries and should be preserved. The first weekday after Christmas Day is less well-established overseas, but it has been celebrated as a holiday in Hong Kong for a long time and the arrangement of having a two-day holiday in the festive period is highly popular with the public. This holiday should therefore be preserved.
Traditional Chinese Festivals
9
Traditional Chinese festivals include Lunar New Year, Ching Ming, Tuen Ng, the day following the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, Chung Yeung and the Chinese Winter Solstice Festival (which is an alternative holiday to Christmas Day under the Employment Ordinance). Of these, only the first, second and third days of the Lunar New Year are holidays in China. All these festival holidays are well-established in Hong Kong and should be retained after the change of sovereignty.