National Heroes and Benefactors Day (Belize)

A national public holiday in Beliza, usually celebrated on the first Monday following the La Ruta Maya Canoe Race. Previously, this day was named Baron Bliss Day after Henry Edward Ernest Victor Bliss (1869–1926), a British-born benefactor who bequeathed a vast sum of money to a trust fund established by the colony of British Honduras, now Belize. The trust fund has been used to help Belizeans construct a public library-museum, nursing homes, clinics, markets and to upgrade the city’s water supply system.