Renewed Calls to Make Saint George's Day a Public Holiday in England

Sources: Daily Express and England Public Holidays. With the name day of Saint George upon us again, calls have grown to make April 23 a public holiday in England. it has been reported that nearly a million people have signed an on-line petition supporting a proposed Parliamentary Bill calling for a public holiday on Saint George's Day.

Analysis: The arguments from the proponents of making Saint George's Day a public holiday in England, is that Northern Ireland has its own Saint Patrick's Day (March 17), and that Scotland recently obtained Saint Andrew's Day (November 30) as a public holiday in Scotland, kind of. Detractors point out that there are already enough public holidays in April and May with Easter and the 2 May public holidays, and that another public holiday would be bad for business. In the end, it is possible that a compromise, similar to the one reached in Scotland, will be reached. This would add Saint George's Day as a possible replacement for another public holiday, but not as an additional public holiday.