A decades-long national conversation over Belize’s September public holidays has been reignited by former prime minister Said Musa, who is drawing new attention to the colonial origins of the upcoming Battle of St. George’s Caye holiday marked every September 10.
The annual commemoration traces its roots back to the 1798 Battle of St. George’s Caye, a conflict that pitted British Baymen and enslaved local people against Spanish forces attempting to seize control of the territory. For generations, the date stood as Belize’s unofficial national day, but it has long been a point of debate for post-independence leaders who sought to center national identity on Belize’s sovereign status rather than its colonial history.
In an exclusive interview with local outlet News 5, Musa laid out his clear stance on why founding leaders, including former Premier George Price, made the deliberate choice to shift the country’s primary national celebration to September 21 – the date of Belize’s independence. Musa explained that Price recognized the need for a unifying national holiday that reflected Belize’s emergence as a free, independent, sovereign nation, rather than one tied to its history of colonial rule.
“The tenth of September historically was our national day. The problem was that it was from the colonial days, the tenth of September was tied to the colonial period and Mr. Price realized that we have to break away from that,” Musa told reporters. He went on to emphasize that the reasoning behind the shift is straightforward: “People came and wanted to know, why did we not stick with the tenth? Because, the tenth is a colonial construct, that is why, plain and simple.”
Even after the shift in national emphasis following Belize’s independence, September 10 has remained an official public holiday across the country. It continues to be observed through community ceremonies, public celebrations, and long-standing local traditions including the annual Queen of the Bay coronation pageant. Musa’s comments come just one day ahead of this year’s September 10 holiday, reopening discussion about national identity, colonial legacy, and the role of historic commemorations in modern independent Belize.