Bank holidays are public holidays where the majority of the working population in the UK have a day off work.
It originates from the Church's calendar of saints' days and religious festivals with many existing bank holidays retaining some link to Christian holy days or feast days.
Aside from the obvious Christmas Day, Good Friday and Easter Monday, the spring bank holiday was originally Whit Day, linked to Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given to the disciples.
Although there is no automatic right to time off on bank holidays, most people are granted a day off or extra pay for working on these days.
Here are the remaining bank holiday dates for England and Wales in 2017:
Good Friday: 14 April
Easter Monday: 17 April
May bank holiday: 1 May
Spring bank holiday: 29 May
Summer bank holiday: 28 August
Christmas Day: 25 December
Boxing Day: 26 December
In Scotland an extra bank holiday is added for their patron St Andrew's Day on 30 November.
And in Northern Ireland they manage two extra bank holidays on top of those in England and Wales – one for their patron St Patrick's Day on 17 March and one to mark the battle of the Boyne on 12 July.
