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Bank holidays and public holidays

Study note

Bank holidays are public holidays that fall on set days through the year. On these days banks and many businesses and offices are closed, and for most people they are a day off work. They are not chosen because they are religious festivals, although some of them happen to fall at Christmas and Easter time.

As well as the days around Christmas and Easter, there are bank holidays at the start of May, at the end of May or beginning of June, and in August. In Northern Ireland, the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne in July is also a public holiday. The main point to remember is that a bank holiday is a public holiday on which banks and many businesses close, not a purely religious event.

Memory tip: Bank holidays = public days off (e.g. at Christmas and Easter), not religious festivals.

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What are bank holidays?

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Bank holidays and public holidays: questions, answers and explanations

  1. 1. What are bank holidays?

    • Religious festivals only
    • Days when shops must close by law
    • Days when only banks open
    • Public holidays when banks and many businesses close

    Correct answer: Public holidays when banks and many businesses close

    Bank holidays are public holidays when banks and many businesses are closed.

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