As the name suggests originally these were days on which the banks closed and the British typically went to the seaside for a day out or some other place of interest. However over the years more and more businesses (especially shops), now open on all bank holidays (except Christmas), and people stay at home due to congestion on the roads!

Key to flags:

UK	England	Wales	Scotland	Northern Ireland	Republic of Ireland

This table shows when the Bank Holidays occur in the UK each year

Date	Name	Which country
1st January	New Year’s Day
2nd January
17th March	St Patrick’s Day
First Friday before Easter Sunday	Good Friday
The day after Easter Sunday	Easter Monday
First Monday in May	May Day
Last Monday in May	Spring bank holiday
First Monday in June	June Bank Holiday
12 July	Battle of the Boyne – Orangemen’s Day
First Monday in August	Summer Bank Holiday
Last monday in August	Summer Bank Holiday
Last Monday in October	October Bank Holiday
30 November	St Andrew’s Day
25 December	Christmas Day
26 December	Boxing Day, St. Stephen’s Day

This is the day when tradition says that whatever the weather is like, it will continue like that for the next 40 days. This means everyone really hopes it won’t rain.There is an old rhyme about St Swithin’s Day that goes as follows:

St. Swithin’s day if thou dost rain
For forty days it will remain
St. Swithin’s day if thou be fair
For forty days ’twill rain na mair.

Statue of St Swithun in the Stavanger Cathedral

St Swithin (or Swithun) was the bishop of Winchester from 852 – 862, and when he died, at his own request was buried outside the cathedral where people could walk over him and the rain could pour on him.

In 971 it was decided to move his body to a shrine inside the cathedral, but on the day he was moved, it poured with rain and this is supposed to have been a sign of his displeasure.

You can read more traditional verses on my nursery rhyme website.