7’s the magic number

Posted on 28 August 2011 - 07:12pm
Last updated on 28 August 2011 - 07:17pm

R. Nadeswaran

READING online reports from Malaysia, the “balik kampung” exodus started last week and by the time you read this, driving in Kuala Lumpur and other cities would be a breeze. The long break gives an opportunity for people to celebrate the festive occasion with family and friends.
Over in London, there was a similar exodus on Friday, but not the size and volume compared to Malaysia. The motorways were filled with an extraordinary number of vehicles but thanks to cameras and strict enforcement of traffic laws, there were no major jams.
For the past few days, the phrase “last bank holiday until Christmas” was being blared in TV commercials. Today (Monday) is a public holiday in the UK and locals refer to it as a “bank holiday”.
It gives people here a three-day break to head for holiday resorts before the cold weather sets in.
“Bank holidays” have nothing to do with banks being closed or anything related to financial institutions. In the 19th century, the Bank of England observed 33 Saints’ Days and religious festivals as holidays.
In 1834, it was reduced to just four: May 1 (May Day), Nov 1 (All Saints Day), Good Friday and Christmas Day.
In 1871, the first legislation relating to holidays was passed when banker and Liberal MP Sir John Lubbock introduced the Bank Holidays Act which specified the holidays for the year. Hence, public holidays came to be known as “bank holidays”.
These days, there are just seven public holidays in England – New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, May Day, the Queen’s Birthday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. In addition to these, the last Monday in August is declared a “Summer Bank Holiday”.
Malaysians can be considered lucky that there is still public transport on festive days. In London, everything comes to a standstill on Christmas Day with no public transport operating.
The Underground has limited services on Christmas Eve and even on Boxing Day, only limited services are provided. So, the issue of visiting friends is out of the question unless you drive or pay a small fortune for taxies.
Despite these, many Londoners queue outside department stores in freezing temperatures from as early as 4am for the traditional Boxing Day sales when unsold Christmas offerings go at a bargain -- sometimes up to 70% off marked prices.
The number of holidays in the UK is relatively small compared to that in many other European countries. There have been calls for an increase in the number of holidays. Among the most notably absent dates from the list are the feast days of Patron Saints – St George’s Day on April 23 in England and St David’s Day on March 1 in Wales.
St Patrick’s Day on March 17 is a public holiday in Northern Ireland and Nov 30 is a bank holiday in Wales on St Andrew’s Day.
When the Labour government was in power, there were demands that St George’s Day be recognised as a holiday but they were stalled. The government declared it had no plans to change the pattern of bank holidays, but “are nevertheless considering all these suggestions carefully”.
The then Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that it is “for public debate” whether it should become a holiday.
The patriotic fervour has not died down. Already, there are letters in newspapers demanding for one and MPs have indicated that they would push for it. In May last year, the Department of Culture Media and Sport launched a pre-consultation which included the suggestion of moving the May Day bank holiday to a date in October, to be a “UK Day” or to “Trafalgar Day” (Oct 21) or move the holiday to St George’s Day.
To all our Muslim readers, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri and to all Malaysians, Happy Holidays.
R. Nadeswaran is theSun’s UK correspondent based in London and can be reached at: citizen-nades@thesundaily.com