On most Bank Holidays you can take your pick from dozens of things to do to make your long weekend go with a swing.
You might be planning a day out or a weekend away, or catching up on jobs in the house and garden. If you live here on the Fylde Coast you could pretend to be a tourist! Have an ice cream, sit in a deck chair and just relax! Or it could be an excuse to spend the day doing exactly what you want to do. What a luxury!
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Bank Holidays in the Blackpool Area
New Year’s Day
Each year begins, of course, with 1 January, New Year’s Day. The day when the New Year begins – a time for new resolutions, new beginnings, and the start of the rest of your life.
Easter
Easter is a religious festival, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We celebrate with chocolate eggs but it’s the first Bank Holiday of the year with better weather! The Easter holiday moves about each year – sometimes it’s early, others not so much. Officially a Bank Holiday, Good Friday is up first, followed by Easter Monday.
There’s more about Easter, and things to do, at this link.
May Bank Holiday
May Bank Holiday is usually celebrated on the first Monday in the month of May. Traditionally, May Day was always on 1 May and it was only as recently as 1978 when the May Bank Holiday Monday was first created, as the Monday nearest to 1 May.
It involves crowning a May Queen and dancing around a maypole with ribbons. Morris dancing is usually associated with May Day traditions too.
Did you know that the earliest records of maypole celebrations go back to the 14th century? And by the 15th century the tradition was well established in Britain.
In 2020 May Bank Holiday Monday was moved to Friday 8 May to coincide with the 75th anniversary of VE Day – Victory in Europe Day – the formal end of World War II. Moving the holiday from Monday to Friday was intended to give everyone a long weekend to enjoy lots of special commemorative events. However, coronavirus struck…
In 1995, May Bank Holiday was also moved, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of VE Day
2023 saw the addition of an extra Bank Holiday Monday on 8 May, to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III on Saturday 6 May.
Spring Bank Holiday Monday
Now, we know the last Monday in May as a day off work. It’s often called the late May bank holiday but years ago was known as Whit Monday. So what were its origins?
It used to be the Monday after the Christian Festival of Pentecost. Also known as Whitsuntide, Pentecost is the seventh Sunday after Easter. It traditionally commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ’s disciples.
The day after was always known as Whit Monday – the day when towns held their Whit Walks. It was always the traditional time for the start of the visitor influx here in Blackpool.
As the date of Easter moves around each year, so the date of Whit Monday did. But in 1971 the Banking and Financial dealings Act fixed it as the last Monday in May, after a trial period between 1965 and 1970.
August Bank Holiday Monday
This is always the last Monday in August – and it’s the last summer time Bank Holiday of the year 🙁
Take advantage of the better weather and still lighter nights and treat yourself to a day doing just what you’d like to do!
August Bank Holiday Monday is also a marker for another special event here on the Fylde Coast. The Blackpool Illuminations Switch On event is always on the following Friday!
Christmas Day
This doesn’t really need any explaining! Another fixed calendar date, 25 December is a religious festival at heart.
It’s the day when we celebrate family and friends, marked with the exchange of gifts and time together.
Boxing Day
The day after Christmas Day – 26 December extends the celebrations and gives a bit of breathing space after a heavy Christmas Day!
Its exact origins seem to be unclear, but there seems to be a long tradition of giving food and money to people who are in need. Samuel Pepys records the first mentions of giving ‘boxes’ to tradespeople. Of course it’s also the Feast of St Stephen, and churches often collected on this Saints Day.
Nowadays, Boxing Day is a second day of festivities. It’s a traditional day for sport, and of course it’s when the Boxing day Sales start.
It’s also a day when families traditionally get together to enjoy a meal, often followed by a walk. The seafront of the Fylde Coast is always busy with people walking on Boxing Day. Wrapped up in new scarves and hats, people share time together before going back to work.
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