What is Repentance Day Holiday ?

Repentance Day, on 26 August, is a public holiday in Papua New Guinea. It is celebrated by "prayer ceremonies" across the country. It was established on 15 August 2011 by Prime Minister Peter O'Neill, who had come to power less than two weeks earlier. The announcement came only eleven days before the first Repentance Day was to be celebrated. It was made a public holiday at the request of "a group of churches", which had initially submitted the request to O'Neill's predecessor Sam Abal, before the latter was ousted in a motion of no confidence.