Tuesday 22 March 2011

We're all going on another holiday

We shall to have to wait to see how much time Cornwall councillors spend debating this motion next week:
"Cornwall Council notes the recent government white paper on changing bank holidays and instructs the chief executive to respond that any change in Cornwall should lead to the creation of a public holiday on St Piran's Day to reflect our unique cultural heritage."
The government is currently consulting on whether to scrap the May Day holiday (introduced in 1978 to mark International Workers' Day) and have instead a public holiday on St George's Day (23rd April) or Trafalgar Day (21st October.)


Trafalgar Day used to be marked by parades and parties to celebrate Nelson's 1805 victory, although enthusiasm for this diminished after the First World War. St George's Day was also quite a shindig in the 16th century but again, ran out of steam after a couple of hundred years (St George incidentally was born in Syria, the son of a Roman soldier and Palestinian mother. The bit about the dragon was completely made up.)

I have no idea what the impact of a St Piran's Day holiday might have on Cornwall's economy - but I imagine that to be closed for business, when the rest of the UK is open, won't help the bottom line. There is also the question of whether it should be St Piran, St Petroc or St Michael.

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