Bank holiday

type of public holiday in certain countries, closing many banks, schools and workplaces

A bank holiday is the name used for a public holiday in both the United Kingdom, Ireland, and some other Commonwealth countries. The UK started using bank holidays in 1871.

List of bank holidays

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The below is a list of such holidays in the United Kingdom and Ireland. An "X" underneath a country's name means that country uses that date as a bank holiday

Current bank and public holidays
Date Name England and Wales Scotland Northern Ireland Republic of Ireland
    8 9 10 9
1 January New Year's Day X X X X
2 January 2 January X
17 March St. Patrick's Day X X
The Friday before Easter Sunday Good Friday X X X
The day after Easter Sunday Easter Monday X X X
First Monday in May¹ Early May Bank Holiday (UK), Labour Day (Ireland) X X X X
Last Monday in May² Spring Bank Holiday X X X
First Monday In June June Bank Holiday X
12 July Battle of the Boyne - Orangemen's Day X
First Monday in August Summer Bank Holiday X X
Last Monday in August Summer Bank Holiday X X
Last Monday in October October Bank Holiday X
30 November St. Andrew's Day X
25 December Christmas Day X X X X
26 December Boxing Day, St. Stephen's Day X X X X
  1. For one year only, 1995, this holiday was moved to the second Monday in May – i.e., from 1 May to 8 May – to commemorate the 50th anniversary of VE Day.
  2. For one year only, 2002, this holiday was moved to 4 June. This caused it to follow an extra bank holiday on 3 June, making a four-day weekend to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II.

In other countries

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India has 15 bank holidays

Hong Kong calls public holidays "bank holidays", even though they are not officially called that.