What day would you have for a National Day in the UK?

[cakeorwine]

There's July 4th for the USA
July 14th for France.

A day off, fireworks, parties and something that brings a community together.

We have Bonfire Night - but I suspect that isn't all that unifying.
We have the different countries of the UK - which could also complicate if the wrong day is chosen.

It just seems nice to have a day for the country like some (quite a lot?) of other countries have.

Bonfire Night is nearest we have to a revolution.

I've just come back from America and experienced July 4th while staying with friends who live out there. I was actually a little envious of how proud Americans are about their country, culture and history. We have nothing like that degree of patriotism here.

He is just the patron saint of England not Britain!

I've done July 4th in the USA before.
A parade, fireworks display and a LOT of songs mentioning the USA as well as the Star Spangled Banner.

Haven't done July 14th in France but I can imagine it's also patriotic.

Interesting

It would be warm.
An event people know a bit about.

We have St Andrews Day in Scotland, and also Burns Night of course, celebrating the poet. Both quite big deals and a great excuse for a party up here!

21st October it’s Trafalgar Day and would give a holiday between August and Xmas.

We should celebrate May Day properly, for what it is. Especially now.

It has deeper roots too: the Celts called it Beltane and treated it as the first day of summer.

I’d also love for May Day to be more of a celebration. I remember it being more
Of a thing when I was a child, May Day fairs with maypole dancing and coconut shys and proper candy floss.

What would we celebrate? St George wasn't English and a Mercenary, we never had a revolution.

St George's day is also (possibly) William Shakespeare's birthday and (definitely) the day he died. Most people would be happy to celebrate either the birth of the great playwright & poet or the death of the bastard who sucked all the joy out of reading for them, according to taste.

We have had multiple revolutions. We even executed a king, but that was on the 30th of January (or 7th of February in the Gregorian calendar), which might not be a popular date for a holiday. William of Orange's overthrow of James II - the "Glorious Revolution" - was on 30th September (10th October in Gregorian calendar), which might work better but, like the 5th of November, wouldn't be very inclusive of Roman Catholics.

Perhaps the date of the Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland - 22nd July (2nd August in Gregorian calendar) - would work, although it ignores Northern Ireland. But how Northern Ireland became part of the UK isn't something that could be celebrated without causing a lot of ill-feeling.

Celebrating the beginning of spring / international workers solidarity on May Day (according to preference) sounds good.

The idea of a new Bank Holiday to celebrate the UK - sorry OP but I cringe so much just thinking about it! Just imagine the smug politicians lecturing us about our wonderful values of tolerance (while whipping up hysteria about refugees and trying to deport them to Rwanda).

Our country has a history of rapacious colonialism, then a brief period of being sensible, then the stupid tantrum/act of national self-harm that was Brexit. Currently our public services are almost collapsing from under-funding and it’s frightening.

There are some lovely things about this country too, but I think they are much better celebrated with quiet enjoyment (a country walk, a pint in a nice pub, amateur choral singing, banter among mates, favourite author/TV/films, community projects) than with jingoistic flag-waving.

Excuse my ignorance, but what's the issue with 23 June? I'm not British, so don't know.

We have the last Monday in Oct as a BH, which nicely breaks up the winter & once it's over I like to think Christmas is definitely on it's way now 😀 🎄

@CloverHilla it was the date of the Brexit vote!

Not a great celebration for Catholics though.

Kings Birthday - not popular with Republicans
Brexit vote - not popular with Remainers
Bonfire night - potentially not popular with Catholics
Trafalgar Day, Magna Carta day....could these be ok?

Head to Yorkshire for August 1st.

Haven't done July 14th in France but I can imagine it's also patriotic.

Nope, everything is shut. Well it was when I was there as a child many many years ago, the celebration was all done the night before.

Could we do something around Halloween? When are the schools on holiday for half term? A BH in the autumn half term would break the year up nicely.

I think people from Lancashire would disagree we don't want war of the roses again😂

Ah thank you @freetheunicorn1, Can see now how that would be controversial!!

What about 2nd July, the day women got voting equality with men?

I would not have any. I would have a bank holiday in each of the four nations on their saint's day.

Instead I would have November 11th, to remember all who have died in war.

5th July - creation of the NHS

Not for me, we ve too much jingoism around world wars as it is :( and we remember Armistice as it is, would going for a piss up, which many BH dissolve into, really be appropriate?

We need a day that doesn't involve fighting each other.

Are the English allowed to celebrate being English? I'm not sure in my lifetime that the English will be permitted to move on from the horrors of the Empire. It was a British Empire but the English seem to be the ones who are held responsible. I'm not denying the atrocities of it all. I live seeing the flags flying in London. I love seeing Royal and military events where flags are flying and there's pomp and ceremony but then there's shame too.
I have Yorkshire and Irish blood mixed with mainly English blood from Lancashire I think. I'd love to have a proper definitive national identity and be able to celebrate it with a national day.
I vote for May Day being more of a thing. The summer solstice bring more of a thing. Definitely Yorkshire day being a bigger thing. Despite being Catholic bonfire night should be more of a thing. St George's day I'm not sure about. I think football hooliganism has a lot to answer for on that one.

Most people don't know or ignore the fact that a good proportion of William Of Orange's army were Catholics.

Likewise, James II had some Protestant soldiers in his army.

Essentially, both armies had mercenaries.

Likewise, Guy Fawkes was dobbed in by another Catholic to the then authorities. This was really an early example of what we now call counter-terrorism.

But the 1801 Act Of Union would be a starting point for the celebration of the UK as it was the first time it became a United Kingdom. Before this, it was known as the Kingdom Of Britain.

Whilst some wouldn't like a celebration of Northern Ireland's place in the UK, it would be no different to the Republic of Ireland's own celebration rooted in the 1916 insurrection which had no popular or democratic support from the people on either side of the North Channel and Irish Sea.

It could be done if the will is there. However, I think Orwell was right about the general English psyche.

But it might well be too late since the UK should have done it a long time ago. A lot has happened since then.

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