Yesterday we celebrated St George, a day late, as his feast had been rerouted to Monday as this year the April 23 fell on a Sunday. If the Mr Corbyn is our next Prime Minister, we might actually be having a Bank Holiday on the feast next year. And not just for St George, but for Ss David, Patrick and Andrew as well, in all four nations of the United Kingdom. The idea is to celebrate our national days as a United Kingdom, and to give workers some hard earned free time.
This is one political idea that everyone should endorse. One objection is economic. Each public holiday comes at a price in lost productivity, though it must be said that such holidays also boost the leisure industry. Beyond the economic, there might be ideological objections. After all, these are Christian feasts. What about other religions? Though, as a Catholic, I have absolutely no objection to having a holiday for, let us say, Jewish New Year, Eid al-Fitr or Diwali. Why not? I strongly support a calendar that has meaning for all people. I had much rather have a day off on these days rather than the current spring and autumn bank holidays which are surely ripe for abolition. They may have made sense once, when we were a nation of farmers and factory workers, but hardly do so now.
