HOLIDAYS IN GREAT BRITAIN
Each people has its own traditional holidays. A lot of holidays celebrated in Great Britain are connected with religion such as Christmas and Easter. Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of December. It is a happy holiday when families get together to share their happiness, attend churches , exchange gifts. Christmas cards are sent to friends and relatives. Children hang up stockings to receive presents from Santa Claus. Christmas carols are sung on the radio and in public places. Churches, newspapers and organizations ask for donations of money for needy.
New Year’s Day celebrates the start of the new year. People who follow the Roman calendar celebrate this holiday on the 1st of January. This month was named after Janus, the ancient Roman god with two faces- one looking into the past, another into the future. On the New Year’s Day people often think about their past and make New Year’s resolutions, which they try to follow.
Valentine’s Day is a special holiday observed on the 14th of February. Some people think that the tradition to celebrate this holiday came from an ancient Roman holiday Lupercalia; the other experts believe that this holiday is connected with the name of one or more saints of the early Christian church. Still the others think that birds choose their mates on the 14th of February.
Probably the tradition to celebrate St.Valentine’s Day on the 14th of February came from a combination of all this sources and the belief that spring is the time for lovers. On this day people send greeting cards which are called "valentines” to their sweet heart friends and members of their family.
Halloween is a very popular holiday in Great Britain. It is held on the end of autumn when winter is approaching with its snow and cold. It is celebrated on the 31st of October. In old times it was a pagan holiday- the last night when witches and ghosts were out. Its celebrations include wearing masks and costumes, going from house, collecting money and sweets, "trick or treating”.
Easter is the most important holiday in the Christian calendar. It holds the key to understanding Christianity. Christians believe that God made his son suffer for people’s sins so that they could be forgotten and forgiven. The actual day of Easter changes every year. Western Christians agreed that the day of Easter should fall on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the 21st of March. The preparations for it really begin 42 days before it on Shrove Tuesday. This marks the beginning of the period of fasting or Lent.
The main Easter celebrations take place during "Holy Week” which begins on Palm Sunday. "Maundy” Thursday is traditionally the day when Christians try to do good acts.
Good Friday is the most solemn day of Easter because it is the day when Christians remember Christ’s crucifixion. Sunday is the day of Christ’s resurrection. It is a joyful occasion when Christians prepare to the overnight church serves called "vigil”.
A tradition to celebrate the 5th of November Guy Fawkes Night ( called Bonfire night) is very popular among the British children. It is one of the most enjoyable traditions when children have a lot of fun and remember Gunpowder, treason and plot.
Among the local holidays there are to be mentioned Hogmanay, which is a Scottish name of the New Year’s Eve. It’s a time for merrymaking, giving presents and observance of the old custom of First Footing. The custom lies in the tradition of greeting the first guest in the New Year’s Day. The visitor always brings a piece of coal, symbolizing warmth, fish – wealth, a bottle of whiskey or a piece of bread, which means food.
Another widely celebrated local holiday in Scotland is Bank Holidays – a series of holidays, which includes different festivals and Scottish Sports Day is among them. Its celebrations involve not only sports competitions but competitions in dancing, singing and thinks like that.
Burn’s Night is also widely celebrated in Scotland. It falls on the 26th of January. On this day Scottish people make haggis for dinner and usually recite a poem of Robert Burns over it before it is eaten. It is considered that this holiday was named after Robert Burns because he wrote a poem or an ode to haggis and it has become associated with its occasion.