Holidays and Notable Special Days in Great BritainMany festivals and holidays in Britain are centuries old. Every town, village and hamlet in Britain has its own traditions, some involving months of careful planning and preparations of costumes and choreography, others requiring simply a worrying desire to make a complete and utter fool of oneself.

January

1. New Year's Day Parade

The New Year's Day Parade is a parade of 10,000 performers through the streets of the West End of London which takes place annually on 1 January. The first year the parade took place was 1987 as the Lord Mayor of Westminster's Big Parade. The parade was renamed in 1994 and for 2000 only it was renamed the Millennium Parade.More than 10,000 dancers, acrobats, cheerleaders, musicians and performers assemble in the heart of the city for a "celebration of nations."

1. Twelfth Night Celebrations

Twelfth Night (5th January) is when all Christmas Decorations should be removed so as not to bring bad luck upon the home. If decorations are not removed on Twelfth Night, they should stay up all year.

Why is it bad luck to leave the decorations up after Twelfth Night?

Long ago it was thought that leaving the decorations up would cause a disaster. People believed that tree-spirits lived in the greenery (holy, ivy etc) they decorated their houses with. The greenery was brought into the house to provide a safe haven for the tree-spirits during the harsh midwinter days. Once this period was over it was necessary to return the greenery back outside to release the tree-spirits into the countryside once again. Failure to do this would mean that vegetation would not be able to start growing again (spring would not return), leading to an agricultural disaster.

It was also thought that, if you left the greenery in the house, the tree-spirits would cause mischief in the house until they were released.

Today people still feel uneasy about leaving the Christmas decorations up after Twelfth Night. Despite decorations now being made of foil or paper, and even though the tree-spirits are long forgotten, the superstition still survives.

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Twelfth Night Plays

Twelfth Night itself was a traditional day for plays or "mumming" and it is thought that Shakespeare's play, Twelfth night, took its name from the fact that it was first performed as part of Twelfth Night celebrations about 1601.

Mummers' PlaysMummers' Plays are one of the oldest surviving features of the traditional English Christmas. Mumming in England goes back for over a thousand years.Mumming is best described as early pantomime. The plays are based loosely on the legend of St. George and the dragon. The plays are intended to show the struggle between good and evil.

Half a dozen heavily disguised characters perform the play. The characters vary from play to play, although the hero is always St George, who fights with the power of evil traditionally represented by the Turkish Knight (boo hiss).

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St Agnes's Eve 20 January

This was the day on which girls and unmarried women who wished to dream of their future husbands would perform certain rituals before going to bed.

It is said that if you look through a silk handkerchief at the new moon, which has never been washed, the number of moons you see will be the number of years which will pass until you're married. But it is unlucky to see the new moon through a window.

To dream of your future husband, it is said that at the first appearance of the first new moon of the year you should go out and stand over the spars of a gate or stile and look at the moon saying:

All hail to thee moon, all hail to thee,I prythee, good moon, reveal to me,This night who my husband shall be.

February

Candlemas Day (the Christian festival of lights )- 2nd February

How did this 2nd February come to be called Candlemas?

It was the day of the year when all the candles, that were used in the church during the coming year, were brought into church and a blessing was said over them - so it was the Festival Day (or 'mass') of

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the Candles. Candles were important in those days not only because there was no electric lights. Some people thought they gave protection against plague and illness and famine. For Christians, they were (and still are) a reminder of something even more important. Before Jesus came to earth, it was as if everyone was 'in the dark'. People often felt lost and lonely. Afraid. As if they were on their own, with no one to help them. Then came Jesus with his message that he is with his followers always ready to help and comfort them. As if he is a guiding light to them in the darkness. Christians often talk of Jesus as 'the light of the World' - and candles are lit during church services to remind Christians of this.

Shrove Tuesday

In the UK, Shrove Tuesday is also known as Pancake Day (or Pancake Tuesday to some people) because it is the one day of the year when almost everyone eats a pancake.

What is Pancake Day?

Pancake Day ( also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the last day before the period which Christians call Lent (Lent is a Christian Festival). It is traditional on this day to eat pancakes. Why are Pancakes eaten on Shrove Tuesday?

Lent is a time of abstinence, of giving things up. So Shrove Tuesday is the last chance to indulge yourself, and to use up the foods that aren't allowed in Lent. Pancakes are eaten on this day because they contain fat, butter and eggs which were forbidden during Lent.

The Legend of the Snowdrop

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The flower called snowdrop appears in February and is a symbol of hope. According to legend, the snowdrop became the symbol of hope when Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden. When Eve was about to give up hope that the cold winters would never end, an angel appeared. She transformed some of the snowflakes into snowdrop flowers, proving that the winters do eventually give way to the spring.

May

May Day

The first day of the month of May is known as May Day. It is the time of year when warmer weather begins and flowers and trees start to blossom. It is said to be a time of love and romance. It is when people celebrate the coming of summer with lots of different customs that are expressions of joy and hope after a long winter.

Traditional English May Day celebrations include Morris dancing, crowning a May Queen and dancing around a Maypole.

June

Trooping the Colour (12 june)

The official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II is marked each year by a military parade and march-past, known as Trooping the Colour (Carrying of the Flag).

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Each June, the Queen and other members of the Royal Family attend the Trooping the Colour ceremony on Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall in London. The Queen attends the ceremony to take the salute from thousands of guardsmen who parade the Colour (their regiment's flag).

The Trooping the Colour is tradition going back to the days when the Colours (regimental flag of the regiment) was trooped in front of soldiers to make sure everyone could recognise their flag in battle.

August

Notting Hill Carnival

Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event which since 1966 has taken place on the streets of Notting Hill, London, UK each August. Around two million people take to the streets of Notting Hill in West London for the Notting Hill Carnival - Europe's biggest carnival.

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Remembrance Day in Britain

December

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Remembrance Day is on 11 November. It is a special day set aside to remember all those men and women who were killed during the two World Wars and other conflicts. Remembrance Sunday is held on the second Sunday in November. Special services are held at war memorials and churches all over Britain. A national ceremony takes place at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London. The Queen lays the first wreath at the Cenotaph. Wreaths are layed beside war memorials by companies, clubs and societies. People also leave small wooden crosses by the memorials in remembrance of a family member who died in war.

Boxing Day

In Britain, Boxing Day is usually celebrated on the following day after Christmas Day, which is 26 December. Boxing Day is a public holiday.

The Christmas box was a wooden or clay container where people placed gifts. Christmas Boxes were used in different ways: to protect ships; to help the poor; a present for the workers.

Traditionally Boxing Day is a day for fox hunting. Horse riders dressed in red and white riding gear, accompanied by a number of dogs called foxhounds, chase the fox through the countryside in the hope of tiring it out.

Common Holidays

Good Friday (Holy Friday) – Vinerea Mare

On Good Friday, Christians remember the day when Jesus was crucified on a cross. It is traditional to eat warm 'hot cross buns' on Good Friday. Hot Cross Buns with their combination of spicy, sweet and fruity flavours have long been an Easter tradition.

DECEMBER

Christmas Day

Christians will go to church to sing carols and to celebrate the birth of Jesus

Christmas presents/ Christmas Crackers

FEBRUARY

Valentine's Day

It is the traditional day on which people express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery.

There are many other traditions and superstitions associated with romance activities on Valentine's day including:

the first man an unmarried woman saw on 14th February would be her future husband; if the names of all a girl's suitors were written on paper and wrapped in clay and the clay put

into water, the piece that rose to the surface first would contain the name of her husband-to-be.

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if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine’s Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a rich person.

In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week.

In Wales wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favourite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, "You unlock my heart!"

Mothering Sunday - Mothering Sunday is a time when children pay respect to their Mothers. Children often give their Mothers a gift and a card.

OCTOBER

Halloween

On October 31st, we celebrate Halloween,thought to be the one night of the year when ghosts, witches, and fairies are especially active. Halloween is on the eve of a major Catholic festival, All Saints (1st November) and the eve of the pagan Celtic festival known as Samhain.

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