Ever wondered why we have selected days in our calendar allowing the working population time off of work or extra pay for a day?  

Bank holidays are common worldwide for different reasons. In England, our first bank holidays were created because of the Bank Holidays Act in 1871.  These days originally included the first Monday of August, Boxing Day, Easter Monday and Pentecost Monday. Today, in England, banks holidays include: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, the first and last Mondays in May, the last Monday in August, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.  The Bank Holidays Act in England was introduced by Sir John Lubbock, a banker and politician.  The aim of the Act was to ease the pressure on workers. By giving them an extra four days off work, the Bank Holidays Act was introduced to secure additional holidays and shorter working hours for the working class.

In the United Stated of America, the Bank Holiday was introduced by President Roosevelt in March of 1933. As a result of the Great Depression and the Wall Street Crash, the banking system in America had collapsed, causing the American citizens to lose out on great masses of money and lose trust and confidence in the American economy. Therefore, when President Roosevelt came to power, in his first 100 days he closed down all of the banks with the intention to stabilise each one, before reopening again four days later.  This solved the worst of the American banking crisis and bank holidays have remained ever since.

Olivia Wiltshire, Langley Park School for Girls