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Shrove Tuesday is the last day before the fasting period of Lent (for Western Christians), 47 days before Easter Sunday. Shrove Tuesday is also called Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, or Pancake Day.

Is Shrove Tuesday / Pancake Day a Public Holiday?

Shrove Tuesday / Pancake Day is not a public holiday. Businesses have normal opening hours.

Pancake Day

Shrove Tuesday is known in the UK as Pancake Day. It is a time for people to eat pancakes or participate in pancake races. But what does Shrove Tuesday have to do with pancakes?

Before the Lenten fasting, people traditionally use up ingredients they are not allowed to eat during the next 40 days—especially ingredients that will spoil, like eggs and milk.

A great way to use up these ingredients is making pancakes and waffles. That is how Shrove Tuesday, the last day before Lent, became known as Pancake Day or Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras in French).

Pancake Traditions

Pancakes in the United Kingdom come in different forms and have long-established local traditions. Welsh cakes or light cakes are eaten in Wales, while pancakes in Gloucester are often made with suet—a hard, white or pink fat made from beef or mutton.

There are a number of local customs connected to Pancake Day, such as the annual Pancake Grease where schoolboys would fight for pancakes for money in London’s Westminster or the Pancake Race.

Pancake Races

Across the UK, people organize so-called pancake races on Shrove Tuesday. One example is the Olney Pancake Race in Olney, Buckinghamshire: On a 415 yards long course (about 379 meters), participants carry think pancakes in a hot frying pan, flipping the pancakes as they run.

The winner is the first one crossing the finish line with a pancake that is not burnt. Participants wear traditional costumes consisting of a skirt, apron, and head covering.

timeanddate.com/holidays/uk/shrove-tuesday

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Guy Fawkes Night is annually held on November 5. It is sometimes known as Bonfire Night and marks the anniversary of the discovery of a plot organized by Catholic conspirators to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London in 1605. Many people light bonfires and set off fireworks.

Is Guy Fawkes Day a Public Holiday?

Even though Guy Fawkes Day falls on Saturday, 5 November 2022, it is a working day. Most businesses follow regular opening hours in United Kingdom.

What Do People Do?

Many people light bonfires and set off fireworks. As it is the end of autumn, it is the ideal opportunity to burn garden rubbish. Some light small bonfires in their own gardens, while other light larger ones in a communal space. In some towns and cities, the municipality organizes a bonfire and professional firework display in a park. These tend to be very popular. Due to its proximity to Halloween, many people organize a combined party for Guy Fawkes Night and Halloween. These parties often include elements from both festivals, such as a bonfire and dressing up in spooky outfits. Popular foods include toffee apples, bonfire toffee and potatoes baked in the ashes of the fire. Guy Fawkes, a Catholic, was arrested, tortured and executed for his part in the plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Hence many Catholics are more restrained in their celebration of this day. In addition, many injuries and even deaths occur as a result of fireworks being used incorrectly. For this reason, many safety campaigners call for the sale of fireworks to the public to be restricted even more than at present and for more professional displays to be organized.

https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/uk/guy-fawkes-day

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Halloween is an observance annually celebrated on October 31. Some people hold Halloween parties on or around this date, where the hosts and guests often dress up as skeletons, ghosts or other scary figures. Common symbols of Halloween include pumpkins, bats and spiders.

Is Halloween a Public Holiday?

Halloween is not a public holiday. Businesses have normal opening hours.

What Do People Do?

Halloween celebrations in the United Kingdom include parties where guests are often expected to arrive in a costume to reflect the day's theme. Other people gather together to watch horror films, either at home or at a cinema.

Some children go trick-or-treating. This means that they dress up and go to other peoples' houses, knocking on the door for treat of sweets or a snack. Those who do not give out a treat may be tricked with a joke instead.

Halloween has its origins in pagan festivals in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Many stores and businesses see Halloween as a chance to promote products with a Halloween theme.

https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/uk/halloween

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Halloween is an observance annually celebrated on October 31. Some people hold Halloween parties on or around this date, where the hosts and guests often dress up as skeletons, ghosts or other scary figures. Common symbols of Halloween include pumpkins, bats and spiders.

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Boxing Day in the United Kingdom is the day after Christmas Day and falls on December 26. Traditionally, it was a day when employers distributed money, food, cloth (material) or other valuable goods to their employees. In modern times, it is an important day for sporting events and the start of the post-Christmas sales.

Is Boxing Day a Public Holiday?

Boxing Day is a public holiday. It is a day off for the general population, and schools and most businesses are closed.

What Do People Do?

For many people Boxing Day is a time to recover from the excesses of Christmas Day and an opportunity to spend time with family, friends, and neighbors. Some people choose to go for a walk in the countryside, while others flock to the post-Christmas sales that often begin on Boxing Day. Some people even spend part of the night and early morning queuing to get into the stores when the best bargains are still available.

Boxing Day is also an important day for sporting events. Traditionally, fox hunting was a popular sport in the upper class. Pictures of hunters on horseback dressed in red coats and surrounded by hunting dogs are often seen as symbolic of Boxing Day. Nowadays, fox hunting is outlawed. Horse racing and football (soccer) are now popular sports.

https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/uk/boxing-day

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Boxing Day in the United Kingdom is the day after Christmas Day and falls on December 26. Traditionally, it was a day when employers distributed money, food, cloth (material) or other valuable goods to their employees. In modern times, it is an important day for sporting events and the start of the post-Christmas sales.

Is Boxing Day a Public Holiday?

Boxing Day is a public holiday. It is a day off for the general population, and schools and most businesses are closed.

©iStockphoto.com/urbazon

What Do People Do?

For many people Boxing Day is a time to recover from the excesses of Christmas Day and an opportunity to spend time with family, friends, and neighbors. Some people choose to go for a walk in the countryside, while others flock to the post-Christmas sales that often begin on Boxing Day. Some people even spend part of the night and early morning queuing to get into the stores when the best bargains are still available.

Boxing Day is also an important day for sporting events. Traditionally, fox hunting was a popular sport in the upper class. Pictures of hunters on horseback dressed in red coats and surrounded by hunting dogs are often seen as symbolic of Boxing Day. Nowadays, fox hunting is outlawed. Horse racing and football (soccer) are now popular sports.

Public Life

Boxing Day is a bank holiday. If Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, the following Monday is a bank holiday. If Christmas Day falls on a Saturday, the following Monday and Tuesday are bank holidays. All schools and many organizations are closed in this period. Some may close for the whole week between Christmas and New Year.

Many stores are open and start their post-Christmas sales on Boxing Day. Public transport services may run on special timetables. Many people travel to visit family or friends in this period, so bus, plane and train services can be very busy.

Background and symbols

There are a number of stories behind the origin of the term "Boxing Day". It used to be customary for employers to give their employees or servants a gift of money or food in a small box on this day. This is still customary for people who deliver letters or newspapers, although the gift may be given before Christmas Day. In feudal times, the lord of the manor would gather all those who worked on his land together on this day and distribute boxes of practical goods, such as agricultural tools, food, and cloth. This was payment for the work that they had done throughout the year.

Other stories relate to servants being allowed to take a portion of the food left over from the Christmas celebrations in a box to their families and the distribution of alms from the Church collection box to poor parishioners. These traditions have evolved into the Christmas hampers that many large employers distribute, although these are now often distributed in the week before Christmas.
While we diligently research and update our holiday dates, some of the information in the table above may be preliminary. If you find an error, please let us know.

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Boxing Day in the United Kingdom is the day after Christmas Day and falls on December 26. Traditionally, it was a day when employers distributed money, food, cloth (material) or other valuable goods to their employees. In modern times, it is an important day for sporting events and the start of the post-Christmas sales.

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Easter Sunday, also called Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Christ. In the UK, it is common to organize Easter egg hunts and get together for lunch with friends and family.

Is Easter Sunday a Bank Holiday?

Although Easter Sunday is not formally defined as a bank holiday in the United Kingdom, it is a day off for most people because it falls on a Sunday. In the UK, it is common to use the term bank holiday to refer to all public holidays.

Two of the other days of the Holy Week, Good Friday and Easter Monday, are bank holidays in all or most of the UK. However, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Holy Saturday are not bank holidays.

Egg Hunts and Easter Bunny

There are many old non-religious traditions linked to Easter Sunday in the UK, just like in most other western countries, such as the USA, Canada, and Australia. People give each other chocolate Easter eggs and Easter bunnies or hollow plastic or cardboard eggs filled with candy. Egg hunts, a traditional Easter game where children try to find hidden Easter eggs, take place all over the UK. According to popular legend, the Easter bunny hides the eggs.

In some parts of the United Kingdom, people organize egg rolls, a game where they roll hard-boiled eggs down slopes. In another variation of the game, people knock hard-boiled eggs against other peoples' eggs. The winner is the person whose egg remains whole. After the game, the eggs are eaten. In some parts of Scotland, fondant-filled chocolate eggs about the size of a hen's egg are covered in batter and deep-fried.

Who Celebrates Easter in the UK?

Easter Sunday is one of the biggest celebrations of Christianity. According to the Pew Research Center, between 46% and 59% of the British population considered themselves Christian in 2014. However, a lot of people who do not see themselves as Christian also take part in Egg hunts and family traditions. In fact, UK chocolate makers have recently started producing halal Easter eggs, indicating that also people of other faiths enjoy Easter treats.
https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/uk/easter-sunday

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New Year's Day on January 1 marks the beginning of the New Year in the Gregorian calendar. It is a bank holiday in the United Kingdom, where people mark the day with unique customs and traditions.

Is New Year Day a Public Holiday?

New Year's Day is a bank holiday, which means it is a non-working day in the United Kingdom.

As with all bank holidays in the United Kingdom, a substitute holiday is declared if New Year's Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday. Usually, this is on the following Monday.

How Is New Year's Day Celebrated in the UK?

New Year is one of the most widely celebrated holidays in the world. Like in most parts of the globe, New Year festivities in the United Kingdom begin the day before on New Year's Eve on December 31. Around the world, as well as in the UK, people host and attend New Year parties at home or celebrate in restaurants, bars, or on the street, counting down to the end of the year and wishing each other a happy new year with champagne and other sparkling beverages as the clock strikes twelve.

Who Celebrates New Year in the UK?
New Year is a secular holiday in the UK, so most people celebrate it. Even though employers are not legally obliged to give their employees a day off on January 1, most places of business and work are closed on this day. Many people tend to spend a quiet day with family and friends after attending New Year Eve parties.
https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/uk/new-year-day#:~:text=New%20Year%20is%20a%20secular,attending%20New%20Year%20Eve%20parties.

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Christmas Day is celebrated in the United Kingdom on December 25. It traditionally celebrates Jesus Christ's birth but many aspects of this holiday have pagan origins. Christmas is a time for many people to give and receive gifts and prepare special festive meals.

Is Christmas Day a Public Holiday?

Christmas Day is a public holiday. It is a day off for the general population, and schools and most businesses are closed.

In 2022, it falls on a Sunday, and some businesses may choose to follow Sunday opening hours.

What Do People Do?

Prior to Christmas Day, people decorate their homes and gardens prior to Christmas Day. These decorations may include:

Christmas trees.

Small colored fairy lights.

Leaves and berries from holly trees and mistletoe bushes.

Various other decorations with rich colors that spark the Christmas mood.

In many towns and cities, the shopping streets are also decorated with lights and large pine trees, often specially imported from Norway. In some places a Nativity scene is arranged. This illustrates the story of Jesus' birth using statues or actors and live animals. Many churches hold special services in the night before Christmas Day.

Many people spend Christmas Day with family members, with whom they exchange gifts and cards. Many children wake up to find a sock or stocking filled with small gifts on their bed or somewhere else in the house. These have supposedly been brought by a mythical figure called 'Father Christmas' or 'Santa Claus', who lives for most of the year at the North Pole. He travels in a sleigh pulled by reindeer and enters houses by climbing down the chimney. He hopes to enjoy a small snack of mince pies and brandy at each house. He supposedly travels so fast that he can deliver presents to all children in one night, although some in some stories elves help him with his work.

Later in the day, people may attend special church services, even if they do not usually go to church. Nearly everyone prepares and eats a special meal. This often includes roast turkey, potatoes and parsnips, and other vegetables. After the main course, Christmas pudding is often eaten. This is a heavy steamed, dense, cake-like pudding filled with dried fruit and nuts. Burning brandy is often poured over it as it is served, giving a spectacular effect. Mince pies are also popular on Christmas Day. They are sweet pastry cases filled with a mixture of dried fruit, fat and alcohol.
https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/uk/christmas-day#:~:text=Christmas%20Day%20is%20celebrated%20in,and%20prepare%20special%20festive%20meals.