UK Holidays 2009, 2010

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain, is a sovereign island country located off the northwestern coast of mainland Europe consisting of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales - the four constituent countries. The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy with its seat of government in London, the capital. It is a constitutional monarchy with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II the head of state. Currency - Pound sterling (£) (GBP). 1 Pound Sterling (£) = 100 pence (p). Population - 61,612,300 (2009 estimate)from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

London — the capital and largest city. Time Zone: GMT (UTC+0, Summer (DST) – BST (UTC+1).

Human Development Index 2008 rankings — 0.947 (21st) in High Human Development countries. Gini coefficient – 34% (a low Gini coefficient indicates more equal income or wealth distribution, while a high Gini coefficient indicates more unequal distribution). Fiscal year – 6 April - 5 April. Inflation rate (CPI) – 3% (2009). Public debt – $864 billion (36% of GDP) (2006). from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Main industries — industrial equipment, machine tools, motor vehicles and parts, shipbuilding, scientific equipment, computers, aircraft, coal mining, electronic machinery, processed metals, chemical products, oil production, paper, food processing, textiles, clothing and other consumer goods.

"Business Day" refers to Monday through Friday (Weekend: Saturday and Sunday).
When an anniversary day that is usually a bank holiday falls on a weekend, the date of the bank holiday is postponed and declared for a following weekday. This new date is termed a 'bank holiday in lieu' of the actual anniversary day. In this way, public holidays are not 'lost' on years when they coincide with weekends (which will already be a day off for many people.)

United Kingdom Bank's Holidays for 2009, 2010

31 December - New Year's Eve. Hogmanay - New Year's Eve in Scotland.

* - St. George's Day is celebrated by several nations of which Saint George is the patron saint, including Catalonia (Spain), England, Portugal, Georgia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Macedonia and the Gora. For England, St. George's Day also marks its National Day. Most countries who observe St. George's Day celebrate it on 23 April, the traditionally accepted date of Saint George's death in 303. St. George's Day is a provincial government holiday in Newfoundland, Canada.

Saint David's Day is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1 March each year.

St. Andrew's Day is the feast of Saint Andrew, celebrated on 30 November each year. Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland and St. Andrew's Day is Scotland's official national day, although Burns' Night is more widely observed. In 2006, the Scottish Parliament designated the Day as an official bank holiday.

Saint Patrick's Day colloquially St. Paddy's Day or Paddy's Day, is an annual feast day which celebrates Saint Patrick (circa 385–461 AD), one of the patron saints of Ireland, and is generally celebrated on March 17.

The day is the national holiday of Ireland. It is a bank holiday in Northern Ireland and a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Montserrat, and the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. also from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia