Bank holidays and public holidays in the United Kingdom 2026

Thursday, January 1

New Year’s Day is the first bank holiday of the UK calendar and a quiet, family-focused day after the late-night festivities of New Year’s Eve. Banks, post offices, schools and most shops close, and the day is a paid bank holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971. Many people watch the BBC New Year’s Day Concert from Vienna, take a brisk walk to clear the head, and ease into the year. The New Year’s Day Parade in central London is a London-wide tradition; Premier League and Championship football fixtures fill the afternoon, and Loony Dook swims in Scotland (and similar dips at Brighton and Whitstable) draw hardy crowds.

Friday, April 3

Good Friday is the Friday before Easter Sunday and commemorates the crucifixion of Christ. It has been recognised as a common-law bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for centuries — predating the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 — and is universally treated as a paid day off. Hot cross buns are the traditional Good Friday food, dating back at least to medieval times: marked with a cross to symbolise the crucifixion, and traditionally said to bring luck through the year if hung in the kitchen. Church services are held nationwide, including the BBC’s televised Good Friday service, and many cities host Passion plays.

Monday, April 6

Easter Monday is the Monday after Easter Sunday and a statutory bank holiday under Schedule 1 of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971. It marks the end of the four-day Easter weekend in England and Wales. Garden centres see their busiest weekend of the year, families take spring walks at National Trust properties (Stourhead and Sissinghurst are classics), and seaside resorts from Brighton to Blackpool see the first crowds of the season. The Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge is often held on Easter weekend, and the Premier League traditionally schedules a full programme of fixtures for Easter Monday.

Monday, May 4

The Early May bank holiday — also called May Day — is the first Monday of May and a statutory bank holiday since 1978. Its origins are double: it echoes the international Workers’ Day of 1 May (Labour Day in most of the world) and the much older Celtic festival of Beltane marking the beginning of summer. May Day morning sees the famous Magdalen College Choir sing from the tower in Oxford at 6 a.m., Morris dancers perform at hundreds of village greens, and Maypole dancing is revived in many primary schools and rural villages. The Padstow ’Obby ’Oss in Cornwall is one of England’s most striking surviving folk customs.

Monday, May 25

The Spring bank holiday — the last Monday of May — replaced the older movable Whitsun bank holiday in 1971 and now anchors the end of the school May half-term week, making it a peak family-staycation moment. The weekend marks the start of the late-spring travel season: Cornwall and the Lake District fill with caravans, the Chelsea Flower Show closes in Chelsea, and football season drama peaks with the FA Cup final usually played the same weekend. Cliveden, Sissinghurst and Wisley are classic May garden destinations, and the long evenings (sunset around 9 p.m. in southern England) make the bank holiday Monday feel like proper summer.

Monday, August 31

The Summer bank holiday — the last Monday of August in England, Wales and Northern Ireland — marks the unofficial end of British summer. Notting Hill Carnival, Europe’s largest street festival, fills west London with sound systems, steel bands and Caribbean food. The Reading and Leeds music festivals run the same weekend, the Premier League season is just under way, and motorway congestion on the way home from final summer trips is a national tradition. Note: Scotland’s Summer bank holiday is the FIRST Monday of August, not the last — a longstanding difference rooted in 19th-century banking practice.

Friday, December 25

Christmas Day is the most important family day in the British calendar. The day begins for many with a midnight or morning church service (Christmas Eve carol services are the actual peak attendance), followed by present-opening, a turkey-and-trimmings dinner, and the King’s Christmas Message broadcast at 3 p.m. on the BBC and ITV. The Doctor Who Christmas special and the Strictly Christmas special are fixtures of the evening schedule. Public transport effectively shuts down — no buses, no trains, no Tube — and shops, pubs and restaurants are closed by long custom. Premier League football has played Boxing Day fixtures since the 19th century, but Christmas Day has been match-free since 1965.

Monday, December 28

Boxing Day falls on Saturday 26 December 2026 — and because it falls on a weekend, a substitute bank holiday is granted by royal proclamation under section 1(3) of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971. The substitute Monday is 28 December 2026. The traditional name comes from the day that servants and tradespeople received their "Christmas boxes" from employers. Today, the Boxing Day high-street sales (especially at Selfridges, John Lewis and Harrods) are the year’s busiest shopping moment alongside Black Friday, and the full Premier League and Championship football programme runs as it has since the 19th century. Boxing Day racing at Kempton Park (the King George VI Chase) and Wetherby is a steeplechase classic, and traditional fox-hunt meets gather across the country (drag-hunting since the 2004 Hunting Act).

Sunday, January 25

Burns Night marks the birthday of Scotland’s national poet Robert Burns (1759–1796) and is celebrated across the UK and the global Scottish diaspora. The traditional Burns Supper opens with the Selkirk Grace, followed by haggis being piped in by a piper, the address "To a Haggis" recited over it, and toasts including the "Toast to the Lassies" and the answer "Toast to the Laddies". Whisky flows, neeps and tatties (turnip and potato mash) accompany the haggis, and the evening ends with "Auld Lang Syne". Although a Scottish night, Burns Night is widely observed in pubs, restaurants and homes across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Tuesday, February 17

Pancake Day — Shrove Tuesday — is the day before Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. Traditionally a day to use up rich foods (eggs, milk, butter) before the 40-day Lenten fast, it has evolved into a national pancake-eating ritual: lemon and sugar is the British classic, with chocolate spread, golden syrup or maple syrup popular alternatives. Pancake races are held in dozens of towns: the Olney pancake race in Buckinghamshire claims continuous history since 1445 and is the most famous. Schools and family kitchens nationwide host pancake-tossing competitions.

Sunday, March 1

St David’s Day (Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant) celebrates the patron saint of Wales. The Welsh dragon flag and the daffodil are flown and worn nationwide; school assemblies in Wales mark the day with traditional Welsh costume (national dress for girls, rugby kits for boys), Welsh folk songs and recitations of Welsh poetry. Cardiff hosts the National St David’s Day Parade. The DCMS-designated flag-flying day requires the Union Flag to be flown on UK Government buildings; in Wales the Welsh flag is flown alongside or instead.

Sunday, March 15

Mothering Sunday — the UK’s Mother’s Day — falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent (three weeks before Easter Sunday). The date follows the British and Roman Catholic Mothering Sunday tradition rather than the American second-Sunday-of-May. It is the busiest floral retail day of the year, with Interflora reporting Mother’s Day flower sales exceeding even Valentine’s Day. The day originated as a return to one’s "mother church" on this Sunday, and over time evolved into honouring mothers themselves; children give flowers, cards and chocolates and many families take Mum out for Sunday lunch — pubs and restaurants nationwide are booked weeks in advance.

Tuesday, March 17

St Patrick’s Day is the patron saint feast day for Northern Ireland (where it is a public holiday) and is widely observed across Great Britain by Irish-heritage communities and pubs. London’s St Patrick’s Day parade through central London (since 2002) is the largest outside Ireland, with a festival in Trafalgar Square. Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham all host parades and festivals. Pubs serve Guinness (often green-tinted), Irish dancing and traditional music sessions fill the day, and many landmarks and monuments are lit green for the evening. The DCMS designated-flag-flying rule applies to Northern Ireland Government buildings.

Thursday, April 2

Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter and the day on which the Sovereign distributes Royal Maundy money — small, specially minted silver coins given to elderly recipients chosen for their service to the church and community. The ceremony has roots in the 13th century and traditionally rotated between cathedrals; King Charles III continues the tradition. The number of recipients (and number of coins each receives) matches the Sovereign’s age in years. Maundy Thursday also marks the Last Supper in Christian tradition, with church services held nationwide.

Thursday, April 23

St George’s Day celebrates the patron saint of England — the dragon-slaying soldier-saint whose red cross on white is the flag of England. The DCMS-designated flag-flying day requires the Union Flag to be flown on UK Government buildings; in England the St George’s Cross is widely flown alongside or instead. While not a public holiday and not as commercially observed as St Patrick’s Day, the day sees parades in Stratford-upon-Avon (Shakespeare was born and died on this day), Trafalgar Square hosts a festival, and English Heritage runs special events at castles and historic sites.

Friday, May 8

VE Day marks the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany on 8 May 1945, ending the war in Europe. Public celebrations were enormous in 1945 and the day is now a major fixture of the British wartime memorial calendar. The 80th anniversary in 2025 saw a four-day national celebration with a major military parade, RAF flypast, and a concert at Horse Guards Parade. In 2026 commemorations are smaller but include wreath-laying at the Cenotaph, two-minute silences in some communities, and BBC documentary programming. Not a designated DCMS flag day in 2026 but flags are widely flown on private and community buildings.

Saturday, June 13

Trooping the Colour is the annual military parade marking the official birthday of the Sovereign — held on the second Saturday of June regardless of the actual royal birth date (King Charles III’s actual birthday is 14 November). The parade moves from Buckingham Palace down The Mall to Horse Guards Parade, with the Royal Family in horse-drawn carriages, Foot Guards in scarlet tunics and bearskin hats, and the climactic RAF flypast over Buckingham Palace at 1 p.m. seen by tens of thousands on The Mall and millions on TV. The DCMS designated-flag-flying day applies; tickets to the parade itself are by ballot.

Sunday, June 21

Father’s Day in the UK follows the international (American) third-Sunday-of-June pattern — unlike Mother’s Day, which uses the older British Mothering Sunday date. Children give cards, ties, golf balls, beer subscriptions and tools, and many families take Dad to Sunday lunch. Less commercially intense than Mother’s Day but firmly established in the UK family calendar. Often coincides with high-summer outdoor events: cricket Test matches, county shows, Royal Ascot week.

Saturday, October 31

Halloween — All Hallows’ Eve — was historically a quieter affair in the UK than in the US (Bonfire Night a week later was the bigger celebration), but has grown enormously since the 1990s under American cultural influence. Trick-or-treating, pumpkin carving, costumes and Halloween parties are now firmly established. Major retailers (Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda) treat Halloween as a major commercial event with full pumpkin and costume aisles. The festival also has Celtic British roots in Samhain — the festival marking the end of harvest and the boundary between the living and the dead — preserved most strongly in Scotland.

Thursday, November 5

Bonfire Night commemorates the failed Gunpowder Plot of 5 November 1605, when Guy Fawkes was caught with 36 barrels of gunpowder beneath the House of Lords in a plot to assassinate King James I. The traditional rhyme — "Remember, remember, the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot" — is taught to British schoolchildren. Bonfires and fireworks displays light up parks, gardens and town centres nationwide; "Penny for the Guy" — children begging coppers from passers-by with a stuffed effigy — is the older tradition, fading but not gone. The largest displays are at Lewes (Sussex), Edenbridge (Kent) and Battersea Park.

Sunday, November 8

Remembrance Sunday — the second Sunday in November — is the UK’s national day to remember the fallen of all wars. The National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in Whitehall is the central ceremony, attended by the King, the Royal Family, the Prime Minister, leaders of all political parties, the High Commissioners of Commonwealth nations, and representatives of all branches of the armed forces. The two-minute silence is observed at 11 a.m., the Last Post is sounded, wreaths of red poppies are laid, and a March Past of veterans follows. The poppy — inspired by the WWI poem "In Flanders Fields" — is worn by virtually the entire population in the weeks leading up. The Union Flag is flown at half-mast until the end of the Last Post, then full-mast.

Wednesday, November 11

Armistice Day marks the moment when World War I ended — the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, 1918. A two-minute silence is observed at 11 a.m. across the country: BBC and ITV broadcasts go silent, retail tills pause, public transport halts where possible, and schools and offices fall quiet. The Royal British Legion’s annual Poppy Appeal — the biggest charity appeal of the British calendar — runs through October and November, and the Poppy Field at the Tower of London is a striking annual installation. Where Remembrance Sunday is the formal ceremonial day, Armistice Day is the precise hour of remembrance.

Monday, November 30

St Andrew’s Day celebrates the patron saint of Scotland and is a bank holiday in Scotland (but not in England, Wales or Northern Ireland). The Saltire — Scotland’s blue-and-white St Andrew’s Cross — is flown widely, and the DCMS designated-flag-flying day requires the Union Flag on UK Government buildings (where Scottish Government buildings have only one flagpole, the Saltire is flown instead). Celebrations include traditional Scottish dance, Burns-style suppers (a softer version of Burns Night), bagpipes, and ceilidhs. The day is Scotland’s national day.

Thursday, January 1

Friday, April 3

Monday, April 6

Monday, May 4

Monday, May 25

Monday, August 31

Friday, December 25

Monday, December 28