What Exactly is a Bank Holiday?

A sarcastic person would say that "its obviously the day that the bank is closed".  I am that person.  Kinda.

It's actually the UK equivalent to a federal holiday.  As the Bank of England is closed, so are the other banks and accordingly all of the businesses.  The stores on the other hand will be open for Bank Holiday sales.

There are currently 8 bank holidays.  These include New Year's Day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day (the day after Christmas), Good Friday and Easter Monday as most people observe these holidays.  They also include the first and last Monday in May as well as the last Monday in August.

Below is a list of the forthcoming Bank holidays.



Good Friday - 2 April
Easter Monday - 5 April
Early May Bank Holiday - 3 May
Spring Bank Holiday - 31 May
Summer Bank Holiday  - 30 August
Christmas Day - 27 December*
Boxing Day - 28 December*

*Date observed

Note this means that outside of these days, there are no other public holidays.  There is no time off for Memorial Day, President's Day, Martin Luther King's Birthday and certainly, absolutely no time off for the 4th of July or Thanksgiving much to the chagrin of many Americans.  It's okay.  They can console themselves with their (minimum) 25 days vacation!