3. Major uk national holidays St George’s Day

St George’s Day is on 23 April. It is England’s national day.

St George is the patron saint of England. Like England, every country in the UK has its own patron saint who in times of great peril is called upon to help save the country from its enemies.

St George was a Roman soldier who protested against the Romans' torture of Christians and died for his beliefs. The popularity of St George in England stems from the time of the early Crusades when it is said that the Normans saw him in a vision and were victorious. One of the best-known stories about Saint George is his fight with a dragon. But it is highly unlikely that he ever fought a dragon, and even more unlikely that he ever actually visited England. Despite this, St George is known throughout the world as the dragon-slaying patron saint of England. St George is always depicted as a knight carrying a shield with a red cross (or a banner with a red cross), generally sitting upon a horse and always killing a dragon.

By tradition, 23 April is the day for a red rose in the button hole, the national flower. Another custom is to fly the St George's Cross flag in some way: pubs in particular can be seen on 23 April festooned with garlands of St George's crosses. Traditional English foods and drink may be consumed. However, England does not celebrate it like Americans celebrate 4 July with fireworks. In fact, you are more likely to see big St Patrick parades in England celebrating Ireland’s National Day, than any sign of St George’s Day being celebrated. For most people in England St George’s Day is just another ordinary day, although some organizations and prominent people advocate a wider celebration of the holiday.

St Andrew’s Day

On 30 November, Scottish people celebrate St Andrew’s Day.

St Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland. He was one of the Twelve Apostles (disciples of Jesus) and brother of Simon Peter (Saint Peter). He was a fisherman by trade, who lived in Galilee (in present-day Israel). St Andrew is believed to have died on a diagonally transversed cross which the Romans sometimes used for executions and which, therefore, came to be called St Andrew’s cross – a white cross on a blue background.

It is a bank holiday in Scotland and an official flag day – the Flag of Scotland (The Saltire) flies on all government buildings with a flagpole. In Edinburgh, there is a week of celebrations, concentrating on musical entertainment and traditional ceilidh dancing. Schools across Scotland hold special St Andrew’s Day events and activities including art shows, Scottish country dancing, reciting and writing poems, cooking traditional Scottish meals, and even bagpipe playing.

Around midnight on November 29, it was traditional for girls to pray to St Andrew for a husband. They would make a wish and look for a sign that they had been heard. A girl wishing to marry could:

• Throw a shoe at a door. If the toe of the shoe pointed in the direction of the exit, then she would marry and leave her parents’ house within a year.

• Peel a whole apple without breaking the peel and throw the peel over the shoulder. If the peel formed a letter of the alphabet, then this suggested the name of her future groom.