This is everything you need to know about the spring bank holiday 2020

This is what you need to know about the second May bank holiday (Photo: Shutterstock)This is what you need to know about the second May bank holiday (Photo: Shutterstock)
This is what you need to know about the second May bank holiday (Photo: Shutterstock)

With the May Day bank holiday now over and VE Day celebrations done and dusted, everyone is wondering when the next day off in May is this year.

There are two bank holidays in May this year, with the next one to come being the late May bank holiday.

This is everything you need to know about it.

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What’s the next bank holiday in May?

The next bank holiday this month takes place on Monday 25 May.

While VE Day saw a change in date from Monday 4 May to Friday 8 May, the spring bank holiday will keep its regular date of Monday 25 May.

While bank holidays can vary across the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all have Monday 25 May in their bank holiday calendar this year.

What is the spring bank holiday?

The spring bank holiday, also known as the late May bank holiday since it takes place at the end of the month, replaced the previous holiday, known as Whit Monday, in 1971.

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Whit Monday (or Pentecost Monday) was a holiday marked after Pentecost, a Christian celebration that takes place 50 days after Easter Sunday.

It serves to commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks.

Whit Monday would generally take place around the start of June but it was replaced with the spring bank holiday in the UK in 1971 by the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, following a trial period from 1965 to 1970.

This moved the date of the holiday from the beginning of June to the last Monday of May.

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Do people celebrate the spring bank holiday?

For most, the spring bank holiday simply serves as a break from work or school without any traditional celebrations to undertake.

However, across the UK, there are some specific celebrations that take place on the late May holiday.

On Cooper’s Hill in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, the annual spring bank holiday event of Cheese-Rolling and Wake takes place.

From the top of Cooper’s Hill, a large round of Double Gloucester cheese is sent rolling, with competitors racing after it. The first person over the finish line wins the wheel of cheese.

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How many more bank holidays are there this year?

There are a few more bank holidays spread across the rest of 2020.

If a bank holiday date falls on a weekend, a ‘substitute’ day becomes a bank holiday. For example, if the bank holiday fell on a Saturday, the new ‘substitute’ day would be on the following Monday.

In England and Wales, these are the bank holidays remaining in 2020:

  • Monday 25 May, spring bank holiday
  • Monday 31 August, summer bank holiday
  • Friday 25 December, Christmas Day
  • Monday 28 December, Boxing Day (substitute day)

In Scotland, these are the bank holidays remaining in 2020:

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  • Monday 25 May, spring bank holiday
  •  Monday 3 August, summer bank holiday
  • Monday 30 November, St Andrew’s Day
  • Friday 25 December, Christmas Day
  • Monday 28 December, Boxing Day (substitute day)

Finally, these are the remaining 2020 bank holidays in Northern Ireland:

  • Monday 25 May, spring bank holiday
  • Monday 13 July, Battle of the Boyne (substitute day)
  • Monday 31 August, summer bank holiday
  • Friday 25 December, Christmas Day
  • Monday 28 December, Boxing Day (substitute day)
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