a national public holiday; on these days, some shops may open and public transport runs, but banks and offices are closed
These are public holidays within the United kingdom, where you do not have to work. Everyone in employment is entitled to Bank Holidays in addition to his or her annual leave.
legal holiday, public holiday
The day after becoming president in 1933, Franklin Roosevelt called for a four-day "bank holiday," which placed an embargo on the export of gold and temporarily closed all banks while they were investigated by federal examiners to determine their solvency. Most banks were open again within a month.
A Bank Holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom and also in the Republic of Ireland. Although there is no legal right to time off on these days, the majority of the population not employed in essential services (e.g. utilities, fire, ambulance, police, health-workers) receive them as holidays; those employed in essential services usually receive extra pay for working on these days. Bank holidays are so called because they are days upon which banks are shut and therefore (traditionally) no other businesses could operate.