As
you know, we have been talking about British festivals in class lately. Here is
a summary of the main ones that we have discussed:
Halloween: 31st October
Halloween
started in Britain over two thousand years ago as a Celtic festival. Over the
years it has spread to other countries, in particular the USA. People celebrate
Halloween by wearing fancy dress and going trick-or-treating. People also have
Halloween parties, where they play games such as ‘apple bobbing’ and ‘doughnut
on a string’ . People also talk about scary stories and traditions, for
example, Bloody Mary ( who appears in the bathroom mirror after you say her
name three times)
Bonfire Night: 5th November
British
people celebrate bonfire night every year to remember the failure of the
‘Gunpowder Plot’. In 1605, a man called Guy Fawkes and his friends wanted to
kill the King of England and the government. They planned to do this by blowing
up the Houses of Parliament. They built a tunnel underneath the houses of
Parliament and filled it with gunpowder. Someone wrote a letter to a friend who
worked in the Houses of Parliament, warning them to stay away. The King saw
this letter and Guy Fawkes was caught and executed before he could do anything.
This failure is celebrated by making bonfires and putting a ‘Guy’ on top to
burn. There are also fireworks and people eat baked potatoes, sausages and
toffee apples.
Remembrance
Day: 11th November
Remembrance
Day is a day in which the whole country remembers and shows their respects to
soldiers who have died whilst fighting for their country. It started after the
First World War, which ended ‘on the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the
eleventh month’. Every year, at 11AM there is two minutes silence everywhere-
schools, offices, shops etc. People also wear paper poppies to show their
respect and there are special church services and events at memorials in each
town.
Christmas: 25th December
In
Britain, Christmas celebrations start on Christmas eve ( 24th
December) with a midnight church service. Children put out mince pies and a
glass of sherry for ‘Father Christmas’ and when they wake up on Christmas
morning, the food has gone and been replaced by presents. There is a big meal
at lunchtime, with turkey and roast potatoes. For desert people have Christmas
pudding, which is set alight. People also pull crackers, which are made of
paper and contain a present, a paper crown and a joke. In Britain, Christmas
day is the main day- Kings day is not celebrated- infact it is often the day
people have to go back to work!
New Year’s Eve: 31st December
New
Year’s Eve is usually celebrated with a big party and fireworks. After the
clock strikes midnight, everyone crosses their arms over themselves and holds
hands with their neighbours and they sing ‘Auld Lang Syne’. People also make
‘New Year’s Resolutions’, which is something they intend to do in the coming
year. For example, my new year’s resolution is to learn Spanish.
April Fool’s Day: 1st
April
This
is a day in which people play practical jokes and hoaxes on each other.
However, the joke has to be done by twelve ‘o’clock, otherwise the person
playing the joke is the fool.
Shrove Tuesday
This
is known as ‘pancake day’ and takes place the day before Lent starts. Families
make pancakes, in order to use up all the sugar before the forty days of Lent.
Traditionally, people have lemon and sugar with their pancakes.
Easter
Easter
in the United Kingdom is celebrated by giving chocolate eggs to children. There
is a family lunch, with roast lamb. For dessert there is a special cake called
Simnel cake, which is a fruit cake with a layer of marzipan inside and on top.
Sofia Davies
