Express readers have had their say on whether St George's Day should be an official Bank Holiday in England. Although the day is celebrated across the nation, it is not actually an official holiday like other major events in the calendar like Easter.
St George's Day is recognised as England's national day to mark the death of the Patron Saint of England who is believed to have died around AD 303 when he was executed in Lydda, Israel. St George was described as a martyr after he died for his Christian faith.
In a recent poll, the Express asked readers: "Should St George's Day be a Bank Holiday?" Out of over 7,000 votes, 89% of people voted yes while just 10% said no. Meanwhile, 1% of readers say they don't know.
This means that 6,646 of the voters believe that St George's Day, which is celebrated annually on April 23, should be an official Bank Holiday. However, 729 people don't think it should be.
A number of Express readers also voiced their opinions in the comment section. Like the results of the poll, most agreed that St George's Day should be an official Bank Holiday.
Whyayeman said: "100%. St. George was chosen as England’s patron saint largely due to his reputation as a courageous and virtuous warrior. Although he never visited England, his legend spread across Europe, particularly during the Crusades. His most famous story—slaying a dragon—symbolized the triumph of good over evil, making him an appealing figure for medieval knights."
Castlelord10 agreed: "Absolutely should have St. George's Day as a bank holiday." Lazy Git added: "Yes... ALL the patron saints national days should be bank holidays in their respective countries."
However, others said that it should not be a bank holiday. They agreed that there are already too many bank holidays during this time of year.
Goosieiscooked said: "No, too many already in spring when weather is too unpredictable". Kboyle continued: "Unfortunately St George's day is in April when we already have 3 bank holidays close together. Easter (usually) and the 2 May bank holidays. It would be nice to have one between August and Christmas."
The UK has had official Bank Holidays since 1871, which means banks, businesses and schools are allowed to close. We now have eight across the year, which is one of the lowest amounts in the world.
The bank holidays in 2025 for the UK are as follows:
Meanwhile, Spain has up to 14 national holidays per year which is the highest in Europe. Columbia has one of the highest number in the world with 18 a year.
There have been calls in the past for England to have a bank holiday for St George's Day. Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said in 2018 that, if he were elected, he would introduce four new bank holidays to the whole of the UK, marking each country's patron saints.
