Text 12. Holidays and Traditions.

There are only eight official public holidays a year:

• New Year Holiday – January 1st

• Good Friday – March/April

• Easter Monday – March/April

• May Day Holiday – May 1^st

• Spring Holiday – May

• Summer Holiday – August

• Christmas Day – December 25^th

• Boxing Day – December 26^th

The exact date of some holidays (e.i.Easter) varies each year. But there are many more unofficial holidays, with which different customs and traditions are connected.

Hogmanay and First Footing.

At midnight on 31^st December throughout Great Britain people celebrate the coming of the new year, by holding hands in a large circle and singing the song:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,

For auld lang syne,

We’ll take a cup of kindness yet,

For auld lang syne!..

“For auld lang syne” means “in memory of past times” and the words were written by Scotland’s most famous poet Robert Burns.

New Year’s Eve is a more important festival in Scotland than it is in England, and it even has a special name. it is not clear where the word “Hogmanay” comes from, but it is connected with the provision of food and drink for all visitors to your home on 31^st December.

It was believed that the first person to visit one’s house on New Year’s Day could bring good or bad luck. Therefore, people tried to arrange for the person of their own choice to be standing outside their houses ready to be let in the moment midnight had come. Usually a man with dark hair was chosen, never a woman, for she would bring bad luck the first footer was required to carry three things: a piece of coal to wish warmth, a piece of bread to wish food, and a silver coin to wish wealth. In parts of northern England this pleasing custom is still observed.

St. Valentine’s Day.

St. Valentine is considered a friend and patron of lovers. For centuries St. Valentine’s Day, February 14^th, has been a day for choosing sweethearts and exchanging Valentine cards. At first a Valentine card was hand-made, with little paintings of hearts and flowers, and a short verse composed by the sender. In the 19^th century Valentine cards appeared in shops, complete with verses and decorations, brightly colored and gilded. The tradition of sending Valentine cards is widespread all over the country. People usually do not sign these cards and a lot of time is spent trying to guess who has sent them!

Pancake Day.

Ash Wednesday is the day in February when the Christian period of Lent begins. This refers to the time when Christ went into desert and fasted for forty days. Although many people actually give up eating during this period, on Pancake Tuesday, the day before the Ash Wednesday, they eat lots of pancakes. These are made from flour, milk and eggs, and fried in a hot pan.

Easter.

Easter is a Christian holiday in March or April, when Christians remember the death of Christ and his return to life. The holiday is marked by going to church and then having a celebration dinner. Easter is connected in people’s minds with spring, with the coming to life of the earth after winter. The most popular emblem of Easter is the Easter egg: a hard-boiled egg painted in different colors. Easter eggs are traditional Easter presents for children. Nowadays Easter eggs are usually made of chocolate. Children get chocolate eggs, and also chocolate Easter rabbits. They are either hollow or have a filling, and are usually covered with brightly colored silver paper.

On Good Friday bakers sell hot cross buns, which are toasted and eaten with butter. Each year, on Easter Sunday, London greets spring with a traditional spectacular Easter Parade in Battersea Park. The Parade is a great procession of many richly decorated floats, that is large moving platforms on wheels, on which actors and amateurs perform shows. The most beautifully decorated float moves at the back of the procession and carries the Easter Princess and her attendants. Easter Monday is a holiday and many people travel to the seaside for the day or go and watch one of the many sporting events, such as football or horse-racing.

May Spring Festival.

The May Spring Festival, which is celebrated on the 1^st of May, is a pagan spring festival. Nowadays it is celebrated mostly by children and young people in many schools in different parts of Britain. It is celebrated with garlands of flowers, dancing and games on the village green, where they erect a maypole – a tall pole decorated with flowers and ribbons. The girls put on their best summer dresses, put flowers in their hair and round their waists, and wait for the crowning of the May Queen. The most beautiful girl is crowned with a garland of flowers. After this great event there is dancing, and the dancers wear fancy costumes representing characters from the Robin Hood legends.

Spring Bank Holiday.

Spring Bank Holiday is celebrated on the last Monday in May. It is an official holiday, when all the offices are closed and people don’t go to work. Many people go to the country on this day and have picnics.

Late Summer Bank Holiday.

It is another official public holiday, and it is celebrated on the last Monday in August. During the August Bank Holiday people usually go to the country and to the seaside. If the weather is fine, many families take a picnic lunch or tea with them and enjoy their meal in the open. Seaside towns near London are invaded by thousands of Londoners, who come in cars and trains, on motor-cycles and bicycles.

The August Bank Holiday is also a time for big sports meetings at large stadiums, mainly all kinds of athletics. There are also horse races all over the country, and, most traditional, there are large fairs. Traditional on this day is the Henley regatta.

Halloween.

Halloween means “holy evening”, and takes place on 31^st October. Although it is much more important festival in the USA than in Britain, it is celebrated by many people in the UK. It is particularly connected with ghosts and witches. At parties people dress up in strange costumes and pretend they are witches. They cut horrible faces in potatoes, pumpkins and other vegetables and put a candle inside, which shines through the eyes. People may play different games such as trying to eat an apple from a bucket of water without using their hands.

In recent years children dressed in white sheets knock on doors at Halloween and ask if you would like a “trick” or a “treat”. If you give them something nice, a “treat”, they go away. However, if you don’t they play a “trick” on you, such as making a lot of noise or spilling flour on your front doorstep!

Guy Fawkes Night.

In 1605 King James I was on the throne. As a Protestant, he was very unpopular with Roman Catholics. Some of them planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament on 5^th November of that year, when the King was going to open Parliament. Under the House of Lords they had stored 36 barrels of gun powder, which were to be exploded by a man called Guy Fawkes. However, one of the plotters spoke about these plans and Fawkes was discovered, arrested and later hanged. Since that day the British traditionally celebrate 5^th November by burning a dummy, made of straw and old clothes, on a bonfire, whilst at the same time letting off fireworks. This dummy is called a “guy” (like Guy Fawkes) and children can often be seen on the pavements before 5^th November saying, “Penny for the guy”. If they collect enough money they can buy some fireworks.

Christmas.

If you try to catch a train on 24^th December you may have difficulty in finding a seat. This is the day when many people are traveling home to be with their families on Christmas Day, 25^th December. For most British families, this is the most important festival of the year, it combines the Christian celebration of the birth of Christ with the traditional festivities of winter.

On the Sunday before Christmas many churches hold a carol service where special hymns are sung. Sometimes carol-singers can be heard in the streets as they collect money for charity. Most families decorate their houses with brightly-colored paper or holly, and they usually have a Christmas tree in the corner of the front room, glittering with colored lights and decorations. (The main Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square is an annual gift from Norway.)

There are a lot of traditions connected with Christmas but perhaps the most important one is the giving of presents. Family members wrap up their gifts and leave them at the bottom of the Christmas tree, to be found on Christmas morning. Children leave a long sock or stocking at the end of their bed on Christmas Eve, 24^th December, hoping that Father Christmas will come down the chimney during the night and bring them small presents, fruit and nuts. They are usually not disappointed! At some time on Christmas Day the family will sit down to a big turkey dinner followed by Christmas pudding. They will probably pull a cracker with another member of the family. It will make a loud crack and colored hat, small toy and joke will fall out.

Later in the afternoon they may watch the Queen on TV as she delivers her traditional Christmas massage to the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. If they have room for even more food they may enjoy a piece of Christmas cake or eat a hot mince pie.

26^th December is also a public holiday, Boxing Day, and this is the time to visit friends and relatives or to watch football.