Dates, Regional Variations, and Historical Context

The government has announced eight additional bank holidays scheduled for this year. However, the specific dates will vary depending on the region within the United Kingdom. A social media announcement from the government detailed the remaining bank holidays for 2025.

The upcoming bank holiday is the early May bank holiday, set for Monday, May 5th, which will be observed throughout the UK. The spring bank holiday is scheduled for Monday, May 26th, and also applies to the entire UK. Following this, Northern Ireland will have a bank holiday on July 14th, commemorating the Battle of the Boyne. This battle, a significant event on Irish soil, involved forces of King James II and King William III.

Scotland will observe its next bank holiday on August 4th. England, Wales, and Northern Ireland will share a summer bank holiday on August 25th. The final two bank holidays are December 1st in Scotland, celebrating St Andrew's Day, and December 25th, Christmas Day, which is a bank holiday across the entire UK.

There were suggestions for an additional bank holiday on May 8th to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day. Despite these requests, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister confirmed there were no plans for an extra bank holiday. Instead, the May Day bank holiday will be used for commemorative events. The term "bank holiday" originates from the historical practice of banks closing on these days, which other businesses then adopted, leading to formal legal recognition. Bank holidays were officially recognized through an Act of Parliament in 1871.

Compared to other countries, Britain has a relatively low number of public holidays. Spain, for example, has the highest number in Europe, with up to 14 per year. Many of Spain's public holidays are related to Catholicism, such as saints' days. Colombia also has a high number of public holidays, with 18 per year, also linked to the Catholic calendar. The celebration of patron saints varies across the UK's four nations. While Northern Ireland and Scotland have bank holidays for their patron saints, Saint Patrick and Saint Andrew, respectively, England's Saint George and Wales's Saint David do not have bank holidays, although celebrations are still possible.