Is St Georges Day A Bank Holiday

Let’s be honest—when you hear “St George’s Day,” your brain probably does a little shrug. It’s not like Christmas, where you’re already planning your turkey and tinsel. It’s not even like Easter, with its chocolate eggs and bank holidays. No, April 23rd rolls around, and most of us just carry on as if nothing happened. It’s the wallflower of national days.

So, the million-pound question: Is St George’s Day a bank holiday? The short answer is a resounding, slightly disappointing, no. It’s not a day off. It’s just a regular Tuesday or Thursday where you still have to fight for a seat on the 8:15 train. It feels like inviting everyone to a party and then forgetting to order the cake.

Why Isn’t It a Day Off? A Rant in Two Parts

You’d think the patron saint of England would get a bit more respect. I mean, St Patrick’s Day is a bank holiday in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. They practically shut down the pubs (and then reopen them with extra vigour). But St George? He gets a mention on the news, maybe a few flags outside a Wetherspoons, and then it’s back to spreadsheets.

It feels like that friend who always organises the group trip but then never gets a thank you card. St George slayed a dragon—or so the story goes—and what does he get? A quiet Tuesday and a lot of people saying, “Oh yeah, I forgot that was today.” Rude.

The English Approach: A Masterclass in Half-Heartedness

We Brits are famously awkward about patriotism. We don’t do the over-the-top flag-waving like our American cousins do on the Fourth of July. Instead, we celebrate our national day with a polite nod and a cup of tea. St George’s Day is basically the English equivalent of a quiet nod in a queue—respectful, but utterly forgettable.

Imagine if we actually made it a bank holiday. The whole country would have to agree on what to do. Do we have a massive roast dinner? An afternoon of Morris dancing? A collective moan about the weather? It would be chaos. We’d probably spend the day arguing about the best way to spend the day off, which is the most English thing ever.

Why isn't St George's Day a bank holiday? | The US Sun

So, the absence of a bank holiday is almost deliberately British. It’s a low-key, no-fuss event. You get to wear a red rose, maybe buy a little England flag, and then still go to work. It’s the perfect metaphor for our stiff upper lip: “Yes, it’s my national day, but I’m not making a fuss—I’ve got a spreadsheet to finish.”

The One-Day Wonder of Work Life

Every April, I see people in my office wearing a tiny England flag pin. They’re looking at their calendars, sighing. “It’s St George’s Day,” they whisper to a colleague. “And?” the colleague replies, looking over their glasses. “And nothing,” the flag-pin-wearer mumbles. “Back to the Zoom call.” It’s like having a birthday that falls on a Monday—everyone knows, nobody throws a party, and you still have to do the laundry.

The funny thing is, if you ask most people if they want it to be a bank holiday, they shout, “YES! Absolutely!” But then they quickly add, “But what would we do differently?” We’d probably just watch telly, have a lie-in, and then go to the pub anyway—like any other Sunday. So, the real debate isn’t about getting a day off; it’s about deserving a day off for a dragon-slayer we barely remember.

St George’s Day 2022: is it a bank holiday - parades and activities

The Pub’s Secret Celebration

Let’s not rule out the pubs, though. On St George’s Day, your local boozer will probably serve a special ale called something like “Dragon’s Breath” or “Saint’s Reward.” You’ll go in after work, see a few blokes in straw hats doing a jig, and think, “This is it. This is the celebration.” It’s shambolic, charming, and deeply unorganised—perfectly English.

You don’t need a formal bank holiday for that. You just need a quiet Tuesday, a pint, and a feeling that you’ve participated in something ancient and slightly pointless. It’s the same energy as watching the Queen’s Speech and then immediately asking what’s for dinner.

The Verdict (Finally)

Look, will St George’s Day ever become a bank holiday? Probably not anytime soon. The government has bigger fish to fry—like deciding whether we can have an extra day off for the King’s birthday. And honestly, do we really need another Monday to laze about? Our bank holiday schedule is already a mess: we get one in May, one in August, and then a long, desperate drought until Christmas.

So, here’s my take: treat St George’s Day like a secret personal bank holiday. Take the day off anyway. Tell your boss you’re “celebrating English heritage.” If they question it, say you’re slaying a dragon. They’ll probably just nod and sigh—because that’s the English way. And then you can spend the day doing exactly what you’d do on a real bank holiday: lie on the sofa, eat a bacon sandwich, and feel a tiny bit patriotic. It’s not a holiday, but it’s a good excuse for a day off. And that’s the most English compromise of all.