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Pancake day is the popular name for the Shrove Tuesday, the day before the first day of Lent. In the middle ages people on that day made merry and ate pancakes. The ingredients of pancakes are all forbidden by Church during Lent, that is why they have to be used the day before. The most common form of celebrating this day in the old times was the all town ball game or tug-of-war, in which everyone was tearing here and there, trying to get the ball or rope into their part of the city. Today the only custom, that is observed throughout Britain is pancake eating.
General Information. British Traditional Holidays_________ 3
Christmas In Great Britain____________________________ 4
The History and Customs Of Halloween_________________ 6
Bank Holidays________________________________________9
Mother’s Day_________________________________________11
May Day_____________________________________________12
Conclusion.___________________________________________14
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общеобразовательное учреждение «Средняя
общеобразовательная школа №26 с
углубленным изучением
Проект
«Национальные праздники Великобритании»
Contents.
BRITISH TRADITIONAL HOLIDAYS
Great Britain is famous for its old traditions. Some of them existed in ancient times and survived through centuries. Some of them appeared when Christianity came to British isles. Speaking about religious holidays one can’t but mention Easter, Pancake Day and Mother’s Day. The dates of these holidays aren’t strict, they depend on the date of Easter, that varies every year.
Pancake day is the popular name for the Shrove Tuesday, the day before the first day of Lent. In the middle ages people on that day made merry and ate pancakes. The ingredients of pancakes are all forbidden by Church during Lent, that is why they have to be used the day before. The most common form of celebrating this day in the old times was the all town ball game or tug-of-war, in which everyone was tearing here and there, trying to get the ball or rope into their part of the city. Today the only custom, that is observed throughout Britain is pancake eating.
For the English people the best-known name for the fourth in Lent Sunday is Mothering Sunday or Mother’s Day. For 3 centuries this day has been a day of small family gatherings when absent sons and daughters return to their homes. Gifts are made to mothers by children of all ages. Flowers and cakes are still traditional gifts. Violets and primroses are most popular flowers. Sometimes the whole family goes to church and then there is a special dinner at which roast lamb, rice-pudding and home-made wines and served.
Easter is one of the most important holidays in Christianity. In England it’s a time for giving and receiving presents, mostly Easter eggs. We can say that the egg is the most popular emblem of Easter, but spring-time flowers are also used to stress the nature’s awakening. Nowadays there are a lot of chocolate Easter eggs, having some small gifts inside. But a real hard-boiled egg, decorated and painted in bright colours , still appears on breakfast tables on Ester Day, or it’s hidden in the house or garden for children to finny. In egg that is boiled really hard will last for years. Egg-rolling is a traditional Easter pastime. You roll the eggs down a clope until they are cracked and broken, after they are eaten up.
CHRISTMAS IN GREAT BRITAIN
Christmas Day, December 25, is probably the most popular holiday in Great Britain. It is a family holiday. Traditionally all relatives and friends give each other presents. So, before Christmas all the department stores and shops are crowded, everybody is choosing a present. In general, people get prepared for this holiday very carefully. They decorate their houses in the traditional way. Christmas trees are set up in houses, in the streets and churches. They are always decorated with fairy lights, angels and small toys. In addition, little packets with nuts, candies and special biscuits are hung on the tree. Presents are put around the tree and artificial “frost” is scattered over the branches. The Germans are believed to be the first to use the Christmas tree in their celebrations and Martin Luther was the first to place a star on the top of the tree. This star represents the star appeared over the stable in which Christ was born.
In Great Britain, the Christmas tree became popular while Queen Victoria ruled the country.
Besides the Christmas tree, holly and mistletoe are used to decorate the house. Branches of holly are put up behind pictures and mistletoe is hung over doors, so the young people red berry from the mistletoe. It is said that the girl who was not kissed under it at Christmas would not get married that year.
On the eve of Christmas children hang their stockings, so that Santa Claus could put presents into them: oranges, sweets, nuts and if the child didn’t behave properly Santa Claus can put there a piece of coal as punishment.
Santa Claus got his name from a man know as St. Nicolas, who lived in the fourth century. He gave his wealth to the poor legend to colonial America. Soon the Dutch name Sinter Klaus became Santa Claus.
Carol singing is an essential part of Christmas. No church or school is without its carol service. Carols may be traditional or with some variations that express
different feelings. Carols were used for the first time during Christmas in the fifteenth century.
Usually children come around in the evening to the front doors and start singing carols and people who live in these houses give children candies, nuts, pies and so on, to thank them for carol singing.
A typical Christmas lunch includes turkey with cranberry sauce and pudding. Every young woman in each household helps to stir the Christmas pudding, if she wishes to be married that year.
Usually a coin or two are hidden inside the pudding and part of the fun is to see who finds it.
After the lunch they go to the sitting room to listen to the Christmas speech of the Queen, shown on TV.
So, Christmas is merry family holiday for all the people of Great Britain. Christmas comes but once a year.
THE HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN
On October 31st, the eve of All Saints Day or just Halloween is celebrated.
The tradition of Halloween began in the fifth century B.C. by the Irish Celts, who organized their year according to the agricultural calendar and transition from one year to the next on October 31.
The Celts, ancient inhabitants of Great Britain, celebrated their New Year on November 1st. It was celebrated every year with a festival that marked the end of the “season of the sun” and the beginning of “the season of darkness and cold”.
On the eve before their new year, October 31, it was believed that Samhain, who was the Lord of the Death and Prince of Darkness, called together all the dead people. The Celts believed the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred on this night.
On October 31st, the Druids, who were the priests and teachers of the Celts, would meet in the hilltop in the dark oak forest. They considered oak trees to be sacred. The Druids would light fires and offer sacrifices of crops, animals and possibly even human beings. They told fortunes about the coming year by examining the remains of the animals that had been sacrificed.
When the morning arrived, the Druids would give an ember from their fires to each family who would then take them home to start new cooking fires at home. There fires would keep the homes warm and free from evil spirits.
The story tells us that during the transition, spirits return to earth, looking for living bodies to possess for the following year. The Celts dress up in ghoulish costumes and parade around to frighten them away.
In the year 835 AD the Roman Catholic Church made November 1st a church holiday to honour all the saints. This day is called All Saint’s Day. It used to be also known as Hallowmas. Gradually, over the years, October 31st became known as All Hallow Even, eventually All Hallow’s Eve, and then Halloween as we know it today.
It was thought that even strangers could help a soul’s passage to heaven by saying prayers.
ENGLISH HALLOWEEN CUSTOMS
The celebration of All Saint Day or just Halloween takes place on October 31st. The tradition
Of Halloween began in the fifth century B.C. This day the Irish Celts celebrated their New Year at that time, became they organized their year according to the agricultural calendar and marked the transition from one year to the next on October 31.
In the year 835 A.D. the Roman Catholic Church made November 1st a church holiday to honour all the saints. This day is called All Saint’s Day. Since that time many years have passed. Some traditions are gone, new traditions appeared. I am going to tell you about the most popular customs of Halloween.
The most know custom is the tradition of dressing.
The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. Hundreds of years ago, winter was an uncertain and frightening time. Food supplies often ran low and, many people afraid of the dark, the short days of winter were full of constant worry. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. On Halloween, people place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them form attempting to enter their home.
Fire has always played an important part in Halloween. Fire was very important to the Celts as it was to all early people. In the old days people lit bonfires to ward away evil spirits and in some places they used to jump over the fire to bring good luck. Today, we light candles in pumpkin and then put them outside our homes to ward of evil spirits.
Another tradition is Apple Bobbing. It was the roman origins. The Roman festival for remembering the dead was also in October. During this time, the Romans remembered their goddess, Pomona. She was the goddess of the trees and fruits, and when the Romans came to Britain, they began to hold these two
festivals on the same day as Samhain. Apples probably became associated with Halloween because of this festival. Some people believe that, if you slice an apple through the equator (to reveal the five-pointed star within) and then eat it by candlelight before a mirror, your future spouse will appear over your shoulder.
Trick or Treat was first known as Mischief Night. Halloween was a time for making mischief – many parts of England still recognize this date as Mischief Night – when children would knock on doors demanding a treat (Trick or Treat) and people would disguise themselves as witches or ghosts, in order to obtain food and money from nervous householders.
Halloween was sometimes called Nut Crack Night or Snap Apple Night in England. Families would sit by the fire and tell stories while they ate apples and nuts.
BANK HOLIDAYS
British bank holidays have been recognized since 1871. The name Bank Holiday comes from the time when Banks were shut and so on trading could take place during this time. Even though Banks are still closed on these days, many shops now remain open.
Traditionally on a Bank Holiday many businesses are closed to enable the workers to have a holiday. This time is often spent with the family. Anyone, who works on Bank Holidays, usually gets extra payment – “time-and-a-half” or even “double time”, negotiated for them by the Trades Unions.
In England and Wales there are six bank holidays: New Year’s Day, Easter, May Day (not necessarily 1 May), Spring and Later Summer Holidays at the end of May and August respectively, and Boxing Day. There are also two common law holidays on Good Friday and Christmas Day.
Scotland has nine public holidays at the end of May and the beginning of August, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
In Northern Ireland there are seven bank holidays: New Year’s Day,
St. Patrick’s Day (17 March), Easter Monday, May Day (not necessarily 1 May), Spring and Later Summer Holidays at the end of May and August respectively and Boxing Day. There are also two common law holidays on Good Friday and Christmas Day and a public holiday on the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne that takes place on July,12.
MOTHER’S DAY
Every second Sunday in May, English mothers become queen-for-a-day. Children present cards, flowers, call their mothers. In fact, the holiday’s history embodies many social changes of recent centuries.
The earliest tributes to mothers date back to the annual spring festival the Greeks dedicated to Rhea, the mother of many deities. Christians celebrated this festival on the fourth Sunday in Lent in honour of Mary, mother of Christ. In England this holiday was expanded to include all mothers and was called Mothering Sunday.
MAY DAY
May Day is the holiday of the first day of the month of May. But before 1752, when the calendar was changed, it was 11 days earlier. It is the time of year when warmer weather begins and flowers and trees start to blossom. It is said to be a time of love and romance. It is when people celebrate the coming of summer with lots of different customs that are expressions of joy and hope after a long winter.
May Day celebration have their origins in the Roman festival of Flora, goddess of flowers, which marked the beginning of summer. People decorated their houses and villages with fresh-cut flowers gathered at dawn in the belief that the vegetation spirits would bring good fortune.
May 1st was an important day in the Middle Ages. In the very early morning, young girls went into the fields and washed their faces with dew. They believed this made them very beautiful for a year after that. Also, on May Day the young men of each village tried to win prizes with their bows and arrows.
In some place May Day celebrations begin at sunset on 30 April. They include lots of floral decorations and processions through towns and villages.
May is the month for traditional dancing around the maypole. Many English villages still have a maypole, and on May 1st, the villagers dance around it.
The original maypoles were freshly felled trees, stripped of their branches, brought into the community and adorned with garlands and ribbons. The Maypole was originally a pagan fertility symbol.
Conclusion.
Summing up I’d like to say that, holidays are a part of culture of any country. Great Britain is famous for its old traditions. Some of them existed in ancient times and survived through centuries.
The Great Britain is rather small island with an interesting variety of regions which carefully preserve the national holidays.
That is practically all I was going to tall you about.