What is Early May Bank Holiday?
The Early May Bank Holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom and in the Crown Dependencies, including Jersey and Guernsey. It is held on the first Monday of May and creates a long weekend that marks the start of the spring season. It has no religious or national theme of its own, although it is often called May Day because its date is close to the traditional May Day festival on 1 May. The name varies a little between places.
In some places the weekend includes traditional spring customs such as maypole dancing, morris dancing and the crowning of a May Queen, along with fairs and village fetes. In others it is simply a holiday for garden centres, sports fixtures and short trips. Jersey and Guernsey also have Liberation Day on 9 May, which is a separate observance recalling the end of the German occupation in 1945. Note that 1 May itself, the international labour day, is not a public holiday in Britain.
Why it is observed
In Scotland the first Monday in May has been a bank holiday since the Bank Holidays Act 1871. England, Wales and Northern Ireland added it later: a proclamation under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, published in the London Gazette in August 1978, appointed Monday 7 May 1979 as a bank holiday there, and it has been observed ever since. The date is linked to the older May Day folk festival but is separate from the international labour holiday. In 1995 it was moved to Monday 8 May and in 2020 to Friday 8 May, in both cases to mark the anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.
How the date is set
The Early May Bank Holiday is the first Monday in May, so it falls between 1 and 7 May. In 1995 it was moved to Monday 8 May and in 2020 to Friday 8 May, to mark the 50th and 75th anniversaries of VE Day.
How it is observed
On the Early May Bank Holiday banks, public offices and schools are closed, and many shops stay open with shorter hours. Public transport usually runs a reduced or Sunday timetable, and roads and railways are busy with leisure travel. Bank holidays do not automatically give employees a right to a paid day off, so entitlements depend on the employment contract and local law. Dates are set in advance, though one-off changes are sometimes announced. In 2027 the holiday is on Monday 3 May.
Sources
Jersey