The Spring Bank Holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom and is celebrated on the last Monday in May. It may also known as the Late May Bank Holiday.
Spring Bank Holiday became a holiday in 1967 when it replaced Whit Monday as a public holiday in the UK.
The change was welcome as the date of Whit Monday often fell in summer term for schools interrupting exam schedules.
Whit Monday was never celebrated in Scotland.
In 2012, the Spring Bank holiday was moved to early June to allow a 4 day weekend for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
This day is also a public holiday in Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man and Jersey.
Bank Holidays
On Bank Holidays, generally on a Monday, some shops and banks are closed. Shops that open may follow different trading hours than normal and transport may run on a reduced schedule. There will be no postal service.
Bank holidays were first introduced by the Bank Holidays Act of 1871, which designated four holidays in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and five in Scotland.
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For many people the spring bank holiday is a pleasant day off work or school. Some people choose to take a short trip or vacation. Others use the time to walk in the country, catch up with family and friends, visit garden centers or do home maintenance. However, in some parts of the United Kingdom, there are some customs associated with this day.
On Cooper's Hill in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, people race down a steep hill following a large round cheese. The hill is concave and has an incline of 1:1 in some places. The first person to cross the finishing line wins a Double Gloucester cheese weighing about 8lbs (around 3.5kg). The custom may have been started by the Romans or ancient Britons and be an ancient fertility rite or a way of guaranteeing the rights of the villagers to graze their livestock on the surrounding land. In some years, there have been a lot of injuries, causing the event to be cancelled a couple of times in recent years. In these years, the cheese was rolled down the hill, but nobody was allowed to chase it. In Endon in Staffordshire, the villagers dress their well, hold a fayre (village celebration) and crown a girl as the Well Dressing Queen. Local men hold a competition, known as 'Tossing the Sheaf', in which they compete to see who can toss a bale of straw the highest. In other places, boats are blessed, Morris dancers put on displays and local festivals are held.