Ever wondered why we have Bank Holidays?
We all love a Bank Holiday, but have you ever stopped to think “Why do we have bank holidays”?
Bank holidays were first introduced by banker, politician and scientific writer Sir John Lubbock, who drafted the Bank Holiday Act in 1871.聽 He added Easter Monday, Whit Monday, the first Monday in August and Boxing Day to the two common law holidays which already existed, Good Friday and Christmas Day.
Originally it was just banks and financial buildings that closed on these days, hence the term “bank holiday”, gradually, businesses, shops, schools and government workers began to adopt these holidays.
Spring bank holiday, the second in May, is also known as Whitsun or Pentecost.聽 Whitsun is thought to have come from the name “white Sunday” describing the robes worn after baptism and Pentecost, spelled the Greek way Pentekoste, means fiftieth. Pentecost is a festival celebrated by those of the Christian faith and marks the fiftieth day after Easter.
