Culture

Main article: Culture of Mauritius Holidays and festivals

Mauritius public holidays involves the blending of several cultures from Mauritius's history, as well as individual culture arising indigenously. There are Hindu festivals, Chinese festivals, Muslim festivals, as well as Christian festivals.

There are 15 annual public holidays in Mauritius. Seven of these are fixed holidays: 1 and 2 January; 1 February; 12 March; 1 May; 2 November; and 25 December. The remaining public holidays are religious festivals with dates that vary from year to year. However these are public holidays, many other festivals like Holi, Raksha Bandhan, Père Laval Pilgrimageal also exist in Mauritius.

Public holidays in Mauritius 2012 Date New Year's Day 1-2 January Chinese Spring Festival 23 January Abolition of Slavery 1 February Thaipoosam Cavadee 7 February Maha Shivaratree 20 February Independence Day 12 March Ugadi 23 March Labour Day 1 May Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary 15 August Eid ul-Fitr (Depending on the visibility of the moon) 19 August Ganesh Chaturthi 20 September Arrival of Indentured Labourers 2 November Diwali 13 November Christmas Day 25 December Sports "To The Line", winner of the Maiden Cup in 2006. See also: Football in Mauritius

The most popular sport in Mauritius is football and the national team is the Club M. However, Mauritius' national sports teams has had little success internationally because of its small population, lack of funding and a local culture that values academic achievement over other activities. Water sports are popular, including swimming, sailing, scuba diving and water skiing. Other popular sports in Mauritius include cyling, table tennis, badminton, volleyball, basketball, handball, boxing, pétanque, judo, karate, taekwondo, weightlifting, bodybuilding and athletics.

However Mauritius is quite competitive at regional level in the Indian Ocean. Mauritius collected some golds, silver and bronze medals in the Indian Ocean Island Games. The second (1985) and fifth editions (2003) were hosted by Mauritius. Mauritius won its first Olympic medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing when boxer Bruno Julie won the bronze medal.

The national sport, however, remains horseracing, which is part and parcel of the island's cultural heritage. Horseracing in Mauritius dates to 1812, when the Champ de Mars Racecourse was inaugurated, making it the oldest racecourse in the Southern Hemisphere. Eight races are held every Saturday afternoon from March to December at the Champ de Mars Racecourse in Port Louis.