A
Bank Holidays in the UK
Public holidays in the UK are commonly referred to as bank holidays. As the UK is a country made up of four more or less independent regions, official holidays vary depending on whether you live in England, Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland.
There are eight bank holidays in England and Wales.
|
Holidays
|
Time of The Year
|
|
New Year’s Day (substitute day)
|
1 January (3 January 2022)
|
|
Good Friday
|
15 April 2022
|
|
Easter Monday
|
18 April 2022
|
|
Early May
|
2 May 2022
|
|
Spring Bank Holiday
|
2 June 2022
|
|
Summer Bank Holiday
|
29 August 2022
|
|
Christmas Day (substitute day)
|
25 December (26 December 2022)
|
|
Boxing Day (substitute day)
|
26 December (27 December 2022)
|
When bank holidays fall on a weekend, the following Monday is usually a “substitute” holiday. For instance, 25 December 2022 is Sunday, so there will be a national substitute holiday for Christmas Day on Monday, 26 December 2022.
In Scotland, the summer bank holiday is earlier in August. Moreover, Scots celebrate St. Andrew’s Day on 30 November and 2 January is also a bank holiday, but Easter Monday is not. All in all, there are nine bank holidays in Scotland.
In Northern Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day on 17 March is a bank holiday, and so is Orangemen’s Day on 12 July which commemorates（纪念）the Battle of Boyne. There are a total of ten bank holidays in Northern Ireland, making it the region with the most holidays in the UK.
The UK does not have a national day, making it only one of two countries in the world without one (the other is Denmark). There’s an old joke about this, that the United Kingdom, once called “the empire on which the sun never sets”, doesn’t need its own national day because it’s indirectly responsible for so many other countries’ national independence days.
21. Which region has the most holidays in the UK?
A. England. B. Scotland. C. Wales. D. Northern Ireland.
22. Which of the following bank holidays are celebrated in Scotland?
A. St. Andrew’s Day and 2 January.
B. Easter Monday and St. Patrick’s Day.
C. St. Patrick’s Day and Orangemen’s Day.
D. Easter Monday and Orangemen’s Day.
23. What does the joke in the last sentence imply?
A. The UK’s culture influenced many countries.
B. The UK used to rule a lot of countries.
C. The UK’s independence greatly encouraged many countries.
D. The UK helped many countries set their independence days.
