Starting with Palm Sunday and culminating in Easter Sunday, the Holy Week is one of the key observances of the Christian calendar.

It’s a big time of year for the secular community, too, as many people get a four-day long weekend with two national holidays.

The first of these came on Good Friday, with the second day off arriving on Monday 10 April.

Is today a bank holiday?

Easter Monday, the day after Easter Sunday, is a bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland – in 2023 it falls on 10 April.

However, today’s day off is not marked in Scotland, where people now have to wait until Monday 1 May for their next national holiday.

While it’s not an official national holiday, some councils do claim it as one, such as Edinburgh, Falkirk and Dundee.

This is because all local councils in Scotland have the power to make certain days local public holidays.

Additionally, for business reasons, Scottish banks are generally closed on the same day as those in England and Wales.

Good Friday, which fell on 7 April, was marked as a national holiday across the UK.

When are shops open on Easter Monday?

Here are the opening times for major supermarkets today:

• Tesco: Some larger Tesco stores have announced that they will be open between 8am and 6pm on Easter Monday, but hours vary from store to store and by location.
• Morrisons: On Easter Monday, most Morrisons stores will be open 7am to 8pm although a few will remain open until 10pm. You can check your local store’s opening hours here.
• Asda: On Easter Monday, Asda says opening times will be 7am to 8pm. It recommends that as times vary across their supermarkets, shoppers check their local store’s opening hours here.
• Aldi: After being closed on Easter Sunday Aldi stores are reopening today from 8am to 8pm. The supermarket stresses that some opening hours may vary so check your local store’s opening hours here.
• Lidl: Lidl stores are understood to be opening from 8am to 8pm on Easter Monday, after being closed yesterday.
• Co-op: Co-ops have been open as usual over the Easter weekend, although large stores in England and Wales closed on Easter Sunday. The Co-op recommends to check with your local store or online.
• Sainsbury’s: On Easter Monday, the vast majority of Sainsbury’s supermarkets will be open 8am to 8pm and convenience stores will open from 7am to 10pm.
• Waitrose & Partners: On Easter Monday, the majority of Waitroses will be open from 8am to 6pm, with some Little Waitrose stores opening from 7am to 10pm.

Is there post on Easter Monday?

Whether you receive post over Easter depends on where you are in the UK.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, there are no Royal Mail collections or deliveries on either Good Friday or Easter Monday.

While in Scotland there were normal collections and deliveries on Good Friday, there is no post on Easter Monday.

The majority of Post Offices were expected to be closed on Good Friday and Easter Monday – to find the details of your local branch’s opening times over the bank holiday weekend, you can use the postcode checker here.

Deliveries from courier services like DPD, Evri and Hermes are also curtailed by the Easter bank holidays – you can find full details here.

When are the other UK bank holidays in 2023?

Bank holiday dates vary slightly across the UK: England and Wales always have the same bank holidays, but Scotland and Northern Ireland have some of their own dates.

For example, Scotland’s summer bank holiday falls at the start of August, rather than the end of the month.

England and Wales bank holidays 2023

• Monday 1 May – early May bank holiday
• Monday 8 May – bank holiday for the coronation of King Charles III
• Monday 29 May – spring bank holiday
• Monday 28 August – summer bank holiday
• Monday 25 December – Christmas Day
• Tuesday 26 December – Boxing Day

Scotland bank holidays 2023

• Monday 1 May – early May bank holiday
• Monday 8 May – bank holiday for the coronation of King Charles III
• Monday 29 May – spring bank holiday
• Monday 7 August – summer bank holiday
• Thursday 30 November – St Andrew’s Day
• Monday 25 December – Christmas Day
• Tuesday 26 December – Boxing Day

Northern Ireland bank holidays 2023

• Monday 1 May – early May bank holiday
• Monday 8 May – bank holiday for the coronation of King Charles III
• Monday 29 May – spring bank holiday
• Wednesday 12 July – Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen’s Day)
• Monday 28 August – summer bank holiday
• Monday 25 December – Christmas Day
• Tuesday 26 December – Boxing Day

For the first time since 2019, both Christmas Day and Boxing Day will be marked with bank holidays on the correct days, after falling on the weekend for three years in a row.