Pop songs from the Mamas and the Papas and the Boomtown Rats have long reminded us that Monday is not the most popular day of the week.

Before industrial capitalism took hold in Britain, it was common for artisan workers to take Monday off, a practice known as Saint Monday.

Surprisingly, significant historical events such as Peterloo and the Chartist protest both took place on Mondays.

The 1871 Bank Holidays Act was an attempt to regularize and control the practice of taking Mondays off.

Reactionaries have demanded that the May Day holiday be moved to the autumn and renamed Trafalgar Day or Margaret Thatcher Day.

May Day is marked around Britain with marches and festivals, often combined with the traditional welcoming of spring.

Eric Hobsbawm found that May Day was marked with more lively and robust protests in some other countries.

British May Days tend to reflect the traditions of labourism dating back to the 1860s, with marches, banners, and brass bands.

In recent times, the diversity of music and flags and banners has broadened considerably, reflecting a living tradition.

A week after May Day, another bank holiday will be held to mark the coronation of King Charles III on May 6.

While Britain has fewer public holidays than elsewhere in Europe, special holidays can appear at an official whim.

The coronation will cost millions of public money, despite the wealth of the royals and the King personally.

An Australian citizen will carry a golden spur at the coronation, a tradition dating back to the 1189 coronation of Richard the Lionheart.

May Day marches and festivals reflect a living tradition, with a diversity of music and flags and banners.

The coronation holiday will be marked with mixed feelings, with some questioning the expense and purpose of such traditions.