This week I learned that Good Friday is NOT a bank holiday

[BlackAmericanoNoSugar]

My whole life I thought it was, everyone behaves as though it is, but officially it isn't. Came up in a discussion, I was insistent that I was right but when I Googled I was wrong. I'm very peeved about being wrong.

It’s a Norn Ireland thing!

@Daphnedot

Do civil servants still get a half day for Maundy Thursday?

In the NICS, it's a full day off.

@Silverjellybean71

When I first went to live in England I thought it was great getting Good Friday off. I also took Easter Tuesday without realising it isn’t a public holiday in England! First I knew about it was when my boss arrived at my house to check I wasn’t dead! I said, “sure it’s Easter Tuesday”. She replied “what’s Easter Tuesday?” I was like, “it’s TODAY!!” 🤣🤣🤣

🤣

Never heard of Easter Tuesday, but never worked Good Friday in 20 years working in large companies in Ireland, always been a day the office closed as a company holiday.

Easter Monday and Tuesday in Northern Ireland. My colleagues in England are off on Friday / Monday and we are off Monday/ Tuesday!

Was just about to say, trust NI to blow your minds with something different to EVERYONE with Easter Tuesday!

The Post Office is closed Good Friday.

As for religion , as a child , I hated Holy Week. Started on Thursday with Washing of the Feet , then The Passion on Good Friday ( looong) , then Easter Vigil on Saturday and finally Easter Sunday . Felt like we were on our knees forever. But the good thing was that we really dud observe Lent , so the chocolate Easter eggs tasted wonderful.

Wow - I must be naive but I thought that everything in Ireland would be closed on Good Friday! I live in NZ and everything is closed here - if anyone opens they can get fined. I always have a laugh when I see someone drive into the supermarket car park on Good Friday - they've no chance!

A former civil servant asked me ysterday if we still got a half day on the thurs!! I said no. Lucky to have the friday. Feel bad for retail and hospitality staff.

@Silverjellybean71

When I first went to live in England I thought it was great getting Good Friday off. I also took Easter Tuesday without realising it isn’t a public holiday in England! First I knew about it was when my boss arrived at my house to check I wasn’t dead! I said, “sure it’s Easter Tuesday”. She replied “what’s Easter Tuesday?” I was like, “it’s TODAY!!” 🤣🤣🤣

Ha ha that's funny. In 1994 i didnt go in on st george's day. I said "you have to work on st George's day?" They allowed it! No penalty.

In Wales

In the 80s and 90s although Friday and Monday were the official holidays where I worked (steel industry) we used to have Monday and Tuesday off 🤷‍♀️

Was just about to say, trust NI to blow your minds with something different to EVERYONE with Easter Tuesday!

Hold my traybake...

Used to feel very sorry for the English stags and hens that came to Dublin for Easter weekend, only to find all the pubs and half the shops shut on Good Friday.

I don't think Easter Tuesday was just an NI thing, I know certain sections of the civil service used to get the Tuesday after Easter off to allow the country lads travel back up to Dublin, they only got rid of it 12/15 years ago and Dh got 2 extra days leave added to his entitlement for the 2 'travel' days (I think the other was Aug?) he was losing.
I get Good Friday off in my new company which is great as my old company used make us take leave (head office was in Europe and they were tight!).
Have a lovely looong weekend everyone whose company allows it!

My office is closed Friday and Monday, and the factory DH works in is closed too. We're in Dublin.
We also had to process all the salaries a day early in work as we get paid on 15th, but it wouldn't have gone through tomorrow ... the bank sent emails warning of this.

As for hot cross buns, we've been eating them for weeks.

I’ve been working in various jobs in Dublin for over 20 years. I’ve never worked Good Friday. It was an unwritten rule in most places I’ve been. The only people outside of retail/hospitality that I know worked Good Friday were working for US multinationals.

@Stillfunny
You forgot about the Gospel on Palm Sunday that goes on forever..........

May be a bank holiday, but definitely not a public holiday in Scotland. Kids back to school on Easter Monday here too.

The public sector got 2 privilege days Easter and Christmas. It could be taken on Thursday before Easter or Tuesday after depending on staff numbers.

The Christmas Day was usually used the day after St Stephen's day, although the option was there to use it on Christmas Eve.

The reason behind them was to facilitate people who were from the country but worked in Dublin.

There would have been no transport to Dublin until the first working day after Easter and Christmas.

They were done away with and added to annual leave.

I've never had a half day on maundy Thursday, never even heard of it in 20yrs working in public sector.

I was baffled when I first moved to NI and was expected to work on Good Friday and have Easter Tuesday off instead. I couldn’t understand why the most religious part of the UK was working on the day Jesus died. Luckily I now work for a company that gives both Good Friday and Easter Tuesday - along with St Patricks Day and two days for the 12th - although I do lose the last one in May.

I don’t think I could ever move back to England and go back to 10 bank holidays.

There are no Masses held during Holy Week, just sombre services of the extra long variety. I know this because my dear father's funeral was held in the Catholic Church during Holy Week (the week before Easter), and my poor mother was devastated that my father could not have a funeral Mass. I'm sure he didn't mind and would have laughed that at last he got out of going to Mass!

@MrJollyLivesNextDoor

In Wales

In the 80s and 90s although Friday and Monday were the official holidays where I worked (steel industry) we used to have Monday and Tuesday off 🤷‍♀️

Was the same in the 1990s when I worked in manufacturing in Yorkshire.

I live in NI and got Friday and Monday off but not Tuesday! So depends on the company I think. Public sector off Monday and Tuesday I think.

also Paddy’s day is a public holiday luckylavender

@PegsandBags my grandmother died during Holy Week as well and the parish priest said that as she had been so religious he'd rather wait until Easter was over to give her an actual mass so it was the most drawn out funeral that ever existed (in irish terms). Then the grave diggers don't work on bank holiday Mondays here so It was a week before she was buried. Almost unheard of.

Yes it's not a public holiday. We don't get the day off either in my job! Office job. One office I worked in years ago (big 4) was closed but it was taken from our a/l allowance.