Bank holidays and public holidays in Scotland 2026

Thursday, January 1

New Year’s Day is the headline holiday of the Scottish calendar — Hogmanay (31 December) was historically a bigger celebration in Scotland than Christmas, and the New Year remains the focal point of the festive season. Banks, post offices, schools and most shops close, and the day is a statutory bank holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971. Edinburgh’s Hogmanay party gives way on 1 January to the Loony Dook — a chilly mass plunge into the Firth of Forth at South Queensferry, in fancy dress. The Stonehaven Fireballs (held the night before) and Falkirk First-Footing tradition still run. Many Scottish families pay a New Year visit to neighbours bringing a piece of coal, shortbread or whisky as a symbol of warmth, food and good cheer for the year ahead.

Friday, January 2

2 January is a uniquely Scottish bank holiday — it does not exist in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. The day was added to the statutory list to give Scotland a proper Hogmanay recovery period after the long traditional New Year celebrations. The Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 lists it in Schedule 1 as one of Scotland’s statutory bank holidays. When 2 January falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the holiday is observed on the next non-weekend day. The Loony Dook at South Queensferry runs across this period — Scotland is still firmly in the festive-recovery phase, with a slower-paced day of family meals, walks and resting up before normal life resumes.

Friday, April 3

Good Friday is a Scottish bank holiday and the Friday before Easter Sunday — a day of Christian observance for the Crucifixion of Jesus. Scotland is the only part of the UK to retain Good Friday as a bank holiday WITHOUT also keeping Easter Monday — the Scottish trade-off vs England. Banks close and many businesses observe it. Easter Sunday in 2026 falls on 5 April. Easter Monday (6 April) is a normal working day in Scotland. Many Scottish workplaces still offer Easter Monday as discretionary leave — check your contract — but it is not a statutory bank holiday. Across Scotland the day is marked by quiet church services, Easter egg hunts on the Saturday and family Sunday lunches.

Monday, May 4

The Early May bank holiday — the first Monday of May — was added to the UK calendar in 1978 (Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 amendments) and is observed in Scotland on the same day as the rest of the UK. It marks the beginning of the spring season and traditionally coincides with Beltane (1 May), the ancient Celtic festival of the start of summer, when bonfires were lit on hilltops including Calton Hill in Edinburgh. The Beltane Fire Festival on Calton Hill is now a thoroughly modern revival drawing thousands. Edinburgh has its own additional Victoria Day local holiday on the third Monday of May (18 May 2026) — city employees only, not a national bank holiday.

Monday, May 25

The Spring bank holiday — the last Monday of May — was created in 1971 to replace the older Whit Monday (movable, tied to Pentecost). Whitsuntide remains a major term-day in Scottish legal tradition (one of the four “Scottish Term Days” for property and employment, alongside Candlemas, Lammas and Martinmas). The bank holiday gives a 3-day weekend at the brightest, longest-evening end of May. Highland Games season is in full swing — the Aberdeen Highland Games typically falls around this weekend, the Atholl Gathering at Blair Castle features the Atholl Highlanders (Britain’s only legal private army), and the Edinburgh Marathon (held Sunday before) brings thousands of runners through the city.

Monday, August 3

The Summer bank holiday in Scotland is the FIRST Monday of August — NOT the last Monday as in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This is one of the most-confused points about UK bank holidays: an English visitor arriving in Edinburgh on Monday 31 August expecting closed shops will find a normal Monday. The Scottish convention is older — it pre-dates the 1971 Act — and corresponds roughly to Lammas (1 August), one of the four Scottish Term Days. The first weekend of August is the peak Edinburgh Festival weekend: the Edinburgh International Festival, Festival Fringe, Tattoo and Book Festival are all running. The Marymass Festival in Irvine, Burntisland Highland Games and the West Highland Way completers all peak this week.

Monday, November 30

St Andrew’s Day on 30 November is both Scotland’s national day AND a statutory bank holiday — made so by the St Andrew’s Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007 (asp 2). It is a uniquely Scottish bank holiday — not observed in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. St Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland; tradition holds that his bones were brought to what is now the town of St Andrews in Fife in the 9th century. On St Andrew’s Day the Saltire is flown over every Scottish Government building — and uniquely, where a building has only one flagpole, the Saltire REPLACES the Union Flag for the day, the only day in the calendar this happens. Celebrations include traditional Scottish music and dance (ceilidhs), Scottish food (cullen skink, haggis, neeps and tatties), and the lighting of beacons at landmarks including Edinburgh Castle.

Friday, December 25

Christmas Day is a statutory bank holiday in Scotland and the day on which families gather for the Christmas dinner — turkey or roast beef with all the trimmings, followed by Christmas pudding and mince pies. Historically Christmas was de-emphasised in Scotland — it was abolished as a holiday during the Reformation in the 16th century and not formally reinstated as a public holiday until 1958 — with Hogmanay carrying more cultural weight. That balance has shifted in modern times: Christmas Day is now a full national family day, but the New Year still has slightly more cultural depth in Scotland than in England. Most shops, cinemas and restaurants close. The Christmas Day swim at Portobello and various sea-lochs is a small but committed Scottish tradition.

Monday, December 28

Boxing Day in Scotland is observed on Monday 28 December 2026 because Boxing Day proper (26 December) falls on a Saturday. Under UK substitute-day convention codified in the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, when a bank holiday falls on a non-working day, the bank holiday is moved to the next working day. The traditional Scottish name “Boxing Day” is used (in Ireland the same date is St Stephen’s Day; that name is rarely used in modern Scotland). Boxing Day is the start of the Boxing Day Sales — Princes Street in Edinburgh, Buchanan Street in Glasgow and the major retail parks all open early. The Scottish Premiership football fixture list traditionally features a full programme on Boxing Day. Outdoor pursuits include the Boxing Day shoot, charity cycle rides and family hill-walks across the Cairngorms or Trossachs.

Sunday, January 25

Burns Night marks the birthday of Robert Burns (1759–1796), Scotland’s national bard. It is the biggest cultural night of the Scottish year, observed in homes, schools, regiments and Scottish societies worldwide. The traditional Burns Supper follows a defined order: the Selkirk Grace, the soup course (typically Scotch broth or cock-a-leekie), the piping in of the haggis, the recital of “Address to a Haggis” from Burns’s 1786 poem, the haggis cut open with a ceremonial knife, the main course (haggis, neeps and tatties, washed down with whisky), the Immortal Memory speech celebrating Burns’s life, the Toast to the Lassies and the Reply, recitals of Burns poems including “Tam o’ Shanter”, ending with the assembled company singing “Auld Lang Syne”. The Saltire is flown over Scottish Government buildings.

Tuesday, January 27

Up Helly Aa is the largest fire festival in Europe — held annually on the last Tuesday of January in Lerwick, Shetland. A thousand torch-bearing “guizers” in costumed squads led by the Jarl Squad (in full Viking regalia including helmet, axe, shield and longship) march in procession through the streets of Lerwick, ending at the burning site where they hurl their flaming torches into a replica Viking longship to set it ablaze. The festival has run in its modern form since 1881, drawing on older Yule fire-festival traditions of Shetland. Subsequent night-long parties (“gallagas”) run in halls across the town until dawn. Smaller Up Helly Aa festivals run in other Shetland communities through January and February.

Sunday, March 15

Mother’s Day in Scotland — known traditionally as Mothering Sunday — falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent, following the British and Roman Catholic pattern rather than the second Sunday of May (the American date). The exact date moves with Easter. In 2026 Mothering Sunday is 15 March. The tradition originally meant returning to one’s “mother church” on this Sunday, often the parish church where one was baptised. Over time it evolved into honouring mothers themselves. It is the busiest restaurant day of the year for Scottish hotels and restaurants, with afternoon tea at the Balmoral, the Witchery and other landmark venues booked months in advance.

Monday, April 6

Tartan Day on 6 April marks the anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath, signed at Arbroath Abbey on 6 April 1320 — the foundational document of Scottish independence, addressed to Pope John XXII. The most-quoted line: “as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule.” Tartan Day is observed most enthusiastically by the Scottish-American diaspora — the New York City Tartan Day Parade up Sixth Avenue is the largest event — but is increasingly marked in Scotland too. The Saltire is flown over Scottish Government buildings. Note: Easter Monday in 2026 ALSO falls on 6 April — it is NOT a Scottish bank holiday.

Sunday, June 21

Father’s Day in Scotland follows the international (American) date — the third Sunday of June — unlike Mother’s Day which follows the British Mothering Sunday tradition. Children give cards, golf gear, ties and tools, and many families take Dad to lunch. Often coincides with the early-summer rugby and football fixtures. It is a less commercially intense day than Mother’s Day but is firmly established in the Scottish family calendar.

Wednesday, June 24

Bannockburn Day on 24 June marks the anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn (23–24 June 1314), the decisive Scottish victory under Robert the Bruce against the English forces of Edward II. The battle is the foundational moment of Scottish national identity and led directly to the Declaration of Arbroath six years later. The Battle of Bannockburn Heritage Centre near Stirling holds an annual commemoration with re-enactors, lectures and a memorial wreath-laying at the Robert the Bruce statue. The Saltire is flown locally around the Stirling area and the Bannockburn battlefield.

Saturday, October 31

Halloween descends from the Celtic festival of Samhain (“saw-win”, marking the end of harvest and the start of winter), which has been observed across Scotland and Ireland for over two thousand years. Bonfires were lit on hilltops, costumes worn to disguise oneself from spirits crossing the boundary between the worlds. Traditional Scottish customs include guising (the original “trick-or-treat”, where children perform a song or poem in exchange for nuts, fruit or sweets) and dookin’ for apples. The carving of neeps (turnips) into lanterns predates the modern pumpkin tradition by centuries — Scottish neep lanterns were the original jack-o’-lanterns. Robert Burns’s 1785 poem “Halloween” is the canonical literary record of pre-modern Scottish Halloween customs.

Sunday, November 8

Remembrance Sunday is the second Sunday of November — observed across the UK to honour the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. The Scottish national service of remembrance is held at the Stone of Remembrance at Edinburgh Castle, attended by the First Minister, Defence Forces representatives and veterans’ organisations. Wreath-laying and the two-minute silence at 11:00 am are observed at war memorials in every Scottish town and village. The Saltire is flown at half-mast over Scottish Government buildings. Poppies (worn by most) are sold by Poppyscotland to raise funds for Scottish veterans.

Wednesday, November 11

Armistice Day marks the end of World War I at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, 1918. Two minutes’ silence is observed at 11:00 am at Scottish war memorials, schools, businesses and government buildings. The Scottish National War Memorial in Edinburgh Castle holds a service. The Saltire is flown at half-mast over Scottish Government buildings. Some 150,000 Scots died in the First World War — a generational loss disproportionate to Scotland’s population at the time — and the day continues to carry deep cultural weight in Scotland.

Thursday, December 31

Hogmanay is the Scottish New Year’s Eve celebration — culturally a bigger event than Christmas in traditional Scotland and still the centrepiece of the Scottish festive season. Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party is one of the largest New Year celebrations in the world: a ticketed event running along Princes Street with multiple stages, fireworks from Edinburgh Castle at midnight and the singing of “Auld Lang Syne” in unison by tens of thousands. The Stonehaven Fireballs (Aberdeenshire) sees men and women swing flaming wire-mesh balls on chains around their heads as they march down the High Street — a unique survival of pre-Christian fire-purification ritual. Smaller bonfires, torchlight processions and ceilidhs run in towns across Scotland. “First-footing” continues into the small hours of 1 January.

Thursday, January 1

Friday, January 2

Friday, April 3

Monday, May 4

Monday, May 25

Monday, August 3

Monday, November 30

Friday, December 25

Monday, December 28