Bank holidays: days off with no religious meaning
On top of festivals such as Christmas, Easter and New Year, the UK has several other days off each year, known as bank holidays. On these days banks and lots of other businesses close. Bank holidays have no religious meaning. They fall:
- at the start of May
- at the end of May or start of June
- in August
Northern Ireland has an extra public holiday in July to remember the Battle of the Boyne. In that battle, in 1690, William III defeated James II; see The Stuarts.
Bank holidays themselves began with the Bank Holidays Act 1871, introduced by Sir John Lubbock, a banker and Member of Parliament. People were so grateful that for a while they called bank holidays "St Lubbock's Days".
Quiz
Which battle is remembered with a July public holiday in Northern Ireland?
The Battle of the Boyne (1690). Hastings was in 1066, Bannockburn in 1314 and Trafalgar in 1805, and none of them is a holiday in Northern Ireland.
Quiz
What is a bank holiday?
A bank holiday is a public holiday when banks and many other businesses close. Despite the name, it is a day off for lots of people, not just bank staff, so D is wrong. Bank holidays have no religious meaning, so C is wrong too.