Redsy,
Official holidays in England include New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day (a peculiarly British name for December 26).
Other than that, we mostly have what are called "Bank holidays" (roughly equivalent to American public holidays).
Very infrequently we get an extra holiday thrown in for "special" occasions, such as the Queen's Golden Jubilee this year.
Other parts of the U.K. can vary a little, e.g. St. Patrick's Day is a holiday in Northern Ireland but not in England, in much the same way as Columbus Day and Lincoln's Birthday are observed officially in some states but not others.
You can see a list here:
http://www.dti.gov.uk/er/bankhol.htm Click the "historical note" link for more info.
[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 11-29-2002).]
