What Is The Spring Bank Holiday?

Spring Bank Holiday is a “secular replacement” for the original late-May holiday known as Whit Monday. Whit Monday was an off-day that came the day after Whit Sunday, which commemorated the gift of the Holy Spirit to the church on the Day of Pentecost. In 1971, the Banking and Financial Dealings Act changed the date of the holiday to make it fall on the last Monday in May rather than on the day after Whit Sunday, which itself fell seven Sundays past Easter.

Oddly, the 1971 statute does not give an official name to this holiday, but it is often called Spring or May Bank Holiday.