[1] The first official bank holidays were the four days named in the Bank Holidays Act 1871, but today the term is colloquially used for Good Friday and Christmas Day which were already public holidays under common law and therefore not official bank holidays in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Prior to 1834, the Bank of England observed about thirty-three saints' days and religious festivals as holidays, but in 1834, this was reduced to just four: 1 May (May Day), 1 November (All Saints Day), Good Friday, and Christmas Day 
 
 Frankly, in my view, that was rather a meagre ration. In 1871, the first legislation relating to bank holidays was passed when Liberal Politician and Banker, Sir John Lubbock introduced the Bank Holidays Act 1871 which specified the days in the table set out below. Nevertheless, people were so glad to be given time off, whether it was to watch cricket or not, they called the first bank holidays St Lubbock’s days for a while. .. 
 
 As is often the case, prefix = st1 / Scotland was treated separately because of its separate traditions, and so, for example, new year’s day was a holiday there whereas Boxing day was not. [citation needed] 
 
 The 1871 Act did not specify Good Friday and Christmas day as bank holidays in England , Wales and Ireland because they were already recognised as common law holidays, and common observance had meant that they had become customary holidays since before records began. Exactly a century after the 1871 Act, the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, which currently regulates bank holidays in the UK , was passed. [11] The majority of the current bank holidays were specified in the 1971 Act: however New Year's Day and May Day were not introduced throughout the whole of the UK until 1974 and 1978 respectively. [15] 
 
 Royal proclamation [ edit ] 
 
 Under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, bank holidays are proclaimed each year by the legal device of a royal proclamation. A royal proclamation is also used to move bank holidays that would otherwise fall on a weekend, so adding an additional one-off holiday, as was the case this year. In this way, public holidays are not 'lost' in years when they coincide with weekends. These deferred bank holidays are termed bank holidays in lieu of the typical anniversary date and in the legislation are known as “substitute days”. In the legislation they are known as 'substitute days'.
– Plagiarizing Wikipedia: It's not just for high school students anymore! ePolitix busts John Hayes, Britain's further education minister, for apparently lifting a portion of a recent House of Commons speech from Wikipedia. Hayes was giving a history of bank holidays, and ePolitix offers up a detailed comparison of what he said versus Wikipedia's bank holiday page. One example: Wikipedia: "Sir John was an enthusiastic supporter of cricket and was firmly of the belief that bank employees should have the opportunity to participate in and attend matches when they were scheduled. Included in the dates of bank holidays are therefore dates when cricket games were traditionally played between the villages in the region where Sir John was raised." Hayes: "I understand that Sir John Lubbock was an enthusiastic supporter of national and local cricket, and was firmly of the belief that bank employees should have the opportunity to participate in and attend matches when they were scheduled. Dates of bank holidays are therefore dates when cricket games were traditionally played between villages in the area where Sir John was raised." Click for the full comparison.