Holidays in Great Britain

1. Holidays in Great Britain 7 grade

2. British National Holidays

3. January winter

4. New Year’s DayThe celebration of the New Year in the UK is held at night onDecember 31 . New Year, unlike Christmas, is celebrated not only at home with the family but also with friends. People go to restaurants, cafes andclubs .Food: New Year’s menu intheUK includes : apple pie , oatcake of the round form with a hole in the middle, pudding, cheese , and hot dishes - roast goose, the steaks. Decoration:the decorations usually include sprigs of holly, mistletoe and ivy, which are hung over the door. The central place is beautifully decorated with a fir-tree.Presents: people exchange some things like key chains, candles and beautiful tea-spoons. As a rule,people give small cards and Christmas toys to their friend.

5. UP-HELLY-AA Up-Helly-AA is one of the festivals of fire. Thousands Shetlanders put on Viking costumes and carry the ship through the town to the sea and burn it there. This is the culmination of the festival.

6. Saint Valentine’s Day First Valentine cards appeared in the 18th century. Nowadays Valentine’s Day is celebrated in many countries of the world on February 14. In Europe, North America and Australia February 14 is famous as Saint Valentine’s Day. On that day people send “Valentines” - special cards with an affectionate messages to their friends and relatives. You can also send a card to a person you don’t know. But traditionally you mustn’t write your name on it. There are a lot of traditions connected with Saint Valentine’s day.

8. Pancake day, or Shrove Tuesday is the day before Lent starts. It is traditionally a day of celebration, the last day when you may eat what you want.

9. Women and men traditionally take part in pancake races in a frying pan. While running they have to throw the pancake in the air and catch it again in the pan. All people have a lot of fun.

10. Saint David’s day March the first is a very important day for Welsh people. It is St. David’s day.

11. St. David is the “patron” or National Saint of Wales. On March 1st , the Welsh celebrate their national Holiday. They wear daffodils in the buttonholes of their coats or jackets.

12. St. Patrick‘s Day

13. St. Patrick's Day St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was born in Wales about AD 385. At that age, he was sold into slavery. During his captivity he became a Christian and adopted the name Patrick. Then he escaped from slavery and wished to return to Ireland, to convert the native pagans to Christian. Patrick was arrested several times, but escaped each time. He traveled across Ireland, establishing monasteries for thirty years. He died on March 17 in AD 461. That day has been commemorated as St. Patrick's Day ever since.

14. April Fool’s Day

15. Easter In the UK Easter is one of the major Christian festivals of the year. It is full of customs, folklore and traditional food. It is traditionally associated with the coming of spring and with chocolate eggs. They are usually hollow and contain sweets. The Friday before Easter Sunday, which is called good Friday, and the Monday after Easter are bank holidays in the UK. Easter customs like egg rolling, performing Pace Egg plays, Morris dancing and display of Easter bunny form the major attractions of Easter celebrations in the UK.

16. May Day • The history of the holiday is still unknown though it‘s based on something magical and mysterious. • It is always celebrated on the last Monday of May. • All people get dressed in carnival costumes, participate in different contests, and have fun. • The symbol of this holiday is “May tree” which is set in the centre of the city.

18. Royal Ascot This is one of the biggest horse-race meetings in Britain. It is held In Ascot and lasts for four days. The Royal Ascot is the most famous horse race in Britain. About 500,000 visitors admire this famous event. Ascot is one of the major events in the British secular calendar. The first royal festival was held in 1952. Since 1954 royal horses won 30 prizes.

19. The Trooping of the Colour • It is an “official” birthday of the Queen celebrated on the 2nd Saturday in June. • It is a big parade with the Queen’s soldiers, the Horse Guards and brass bands. • At the front of the parade there is a “colour”. • Thousands of Londoners and tourists watch the Parade.

20. Thisisoneofthefourgreatworldtennischampionshipsandtheonlyone, whichisplayedonthegrass. Thewinnergetsthetrophy, called «WimbledonPlate» or «All-EnglandPlate» Wimbledon

21. Swan Upping It is a very special tradition. A lot of white swans belong traditionally to the Queen. The Queen’s Swan Keeper goes from London bridge to Henley in a boat. He marks the Royal young swans.

22. Highland games. Highland games is a festival which is usually held in Scotland . People remember Celtic and Scotland culture with this festival. Many traditions of the festival have become national symbols like bagpipe music and wearing kilts. Nowadays the program of the competitions includes tossing the caber, throwing the hammer and the stone.

24. In the United Kingdom, the State Opening of Parliament is an event that takes place usually in November or December and marks the beginning of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and that includes a Speech from the Throne. The Queen's Speech is delivered from the throne in the House of Lords. Before the monarch departs her residence, the Crown takes a member of the House of Commons to Buckingham Palace as a ceremonial hostage.

25. Harvest Festival Harvest festival are held in autumn. This is a Christian Festival and churches are decorated with , vegetables and flowers that people bring. People say “thank you” to the God for the harvest.

26. Harvest festival is traditionally held on the Sunday. The celebrations on this day usually include singing hymns, praying, and decorating churches with baskets of fruit and food.  In Britain people bring their products from the gardens or farms. The food is often distributed among the poor citizens of the local community for the church, or charity.

27. Halloween

28. Halloween festival • Halloween is a festival that takes place on October 31. It is not a public holiday but is dear to those who celebrate it, especially to children and teenagers. • This pagan festival celebrates the return of the souls of the dead who come back to visit places where they used to live. In the evening there are a lot of Halloween parties. People dress up in funny clothes, they decorate their houses with pumpkins, children play “Trick or treat” .

29. Guy Fawkes' Night Guy Fawkes is Britain's famous terrorist. On the 5th of November in 1605, Guy Fawkes planned to blow up The Parliament and kill the King of England, James I. But his plan was discovered. The conspirators were executed. Every year people set up fireworks and bonfires on this day. On the top of each bonfire they put a figure of Guy Fawkes. Also people wear Guy Fawkes' maskslike the symbol of protest. This historical event was mentioned in the comic book «V For the Vendetta»

30. CHRISTMAS Christmas is most popular holiday in Britan. It’s traditions and early ceremonies were rooted in pagan beliefs and date back hundreds of years. They are still part of contemporary Christmas celebrations.

31. Boxing Day Boxing day is traditionally the day following Christmas Day. Many years ago servants and tradesmen traditionally received gifts from their superiors or employers, known as “Christmas box”. Today, Boxing day is better known as a Bank holiday that occurs on the 26 of December.