Why does England not have a National Holiday?

Question

Bonfire night is quoted as a national Holiday in Wiki but since it's not a 'Bank' holiday there is no day off fo ordinairy working people. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_holiday#January

Bonfire night, Guy Fawkes day ... same thing. Still no day off.

Answer 1

It would be difficult for the goverment to warrant another disruptive bank holiday slotted so close to the spring holidays.
With the changeable dates of Easter and then Mayday less than a month after on average another bank holiday inbetween would not seem correct. I am all for celebrating St Georges Day, but as a person who has normally to work every Bank Holiday due to the work commitments I would say it is more disruptive.
On top of that each company would either have to give an extra days Holiday to all staff or deduct a day from your allocation, plus the compensation to people like myself who would normally work them and the Children and schools being given extra time off.
Finally as St Georges Day shifts from year to year, do you make it the Monday only? Or do you make it a moveable Holiday Date like Xmas and make it more damaging?
Wiki is notoriously wrong in many areas and I would never trust the facts as they give without rechecking elsewhere.

Answer 2

You are quite correct that England does not have a designated national day with a Bank Holiday attached. The obvious date would be 23rd April St. George's Day, England's Patron Saint. This would be in line with other national days such as St. Andrew's and St.Patrick's Day. 5th November, Bonfire Night or "Burn a Catholic Night" is not really appropriate as it still retains sectarian overtones.

However, aside from the jingoism that might be associated with St. George's Day (who's father was from Cappadocia and was brought up in Palestine and is also the Patron Saint of various Eastern European nations as well as the English). The date is surrounded by other bank holidays, Easter, May Day, Whitsun (Spring Bank Holiday). It would be necessary to abolish one of these to fit St. George's Day in (I would advocate removing the socialist May Day).

Alternatively there is a long period between the end of August and Christmas with no public holidays. The obvious dates here are; Trafalgar Day, 21st October when Admiral Nelson beat the combined Napoleonic fleets of France and Spain; or the official end of the Battle of Britain, 31st October 1940. Both represent national survival for England in the face of overwhelming odds.

Answer 3

The reason why UK [England] does not have a national holiday [national day] is because unlike other countries we have nothing in particular to celebrate.

The USA have 4th July - Independence Day and Revolution etc.

France have Bastille Day [think] 14th July.

Guy Fawkes Day in UK, 5th November, is not a public holiday and is not a celebration of anything 'national'. It is a celebration of the fact that Guy Fawkes and his gang failed to blow up parliament and kill the king and all of his court [James 1st].

For UK to have a National Day or National Holiday would be best described as silly.

In any event, the British just would not agree on which day to have and what event, if any, to celebrate.

Answer 4

The English themselves celebrate St George's day and this is becoming more popular. The UK government who don't seem to represent anyone didn't even see fit to include english as an ethnic group in the last census.
The English flag which is the cross of St George (white flag with red cross) has even been attacked as being offensive to muslims.

BTW, St George was not from palestine, his mother was, he was born in Cappadocia which is now part of Turkey, his father was Greek and his mother might have been as well as their were Greek/Byzantine colonies in Palestine back then.

Answer 5

As with a lot of the previous answerers, I for one believe we should have St Georges Day as our national holiday, although with so much political correctness in this land of OURS, and the fact that Easter is a 'movable feast', it hardly seems likely.
To Steve_Geo, where did you learn to spell? There is no 'L' in Guy Fawke's name, although it could be said that he was the only man to enter the Houses of Parliament with true intentions....of blowing them to kingdom come, and the so-called 'civilised society' of the day had him hung, drawn and quartered as an example of what politicos do to anyone with a mind to speak for common justice.

Answer 6

It's cause your government is chicken.

Over here in Canuckistan the Frenchies has their own national holiday a week ahead of the rest of us. They get their fleur-de-lis flags out and wave'em all about. A week later all the rest of us get out our maple leaf flags, drink beer, and set off fireworks and stuff. Nobody gets into fights about it. They just use it for a party that lasts a whole week.

Farther out west we do the same thing with the Americans next door. We drink beer on July 1 and watch fireworks here. Three days later we go across the line and drink beer and watch fireworks there.

My point is as long as everyone is invited to the party, who is going to get annoyed and start causing sheeit?

Answer 7

Mayday was a national bank holiday designed for the common man, you will still find labour or union based events happening at that time.
There is not a national day I guess because it is not PC.

Answer 8

England does no longer celebrate a Thanksgiving Day regardless of the undeniable fact that it is going to, besides as another united states of america interior the worldwide. notwithstanding if George Washington reported we've a countrywide Thanksgiving Day, or maybe nevertheless he presented the assumption to congress and it became handed, Thanksgiving Day did no longer take carry till Abraham Lincoln made it an expert trip. He made it a trip through fact the rustic became interior the path of the Civil conflict and he had to strengthen help for the union and additionally style of quell thoughts of regionalism. Boston editor Sara Josepha Hale had a huge hand in helping to get Thanksgivng Day began via beginning a marketing campaign for it. She have been doing this for years, asserting that Thanksgiving Day ought to be a countrywide trip to furnish owing to God for all we've. Lincoln agreed, and then it took carry and we've been celebrating it nationally ever considering the fact that. so as you may locate, it became created to furnish owing to God for each and all of the advantages bestowed unto us from the superb writer. each united states of america ought to have a Thanksgiving Day and supply owing to God for all that He has given us. chuffed Thanksgiving all of us!!!

Answer 9

It's not really a national holiday...
England is meant to have St Georges day, but government have decided that English (as a culture) doesn't exist and we don't deserve to have our day.

Answer 10

Because England's meant to be 'multi-cultural' and to have a bank holiday for England might upset some of the more easily offended sectors of this 'multi-cultural' country.