Праздники в Британии

1.

UK Holidays

2. Christmas

Christmas is amore important holiday for Brits than New
Year's Year. It is celebrated on November 25 according to
Catholic traditions associated with the difference between
the Gregorian and Ecclesiastical calendars. They carefully
prepare for this day: they decorate houses, dress up the
Christmas tree, pick up gifts for relatives and friends. In
the churches, it is customary to hold night services, as
well as theatrical performances on religious topics. A
traditional Christmas dinner consists of a whole roast
turkey with fried potatoes, vegetables, gravy and a
Christmas pudding for dessert (a sponge pudding with
dried fruits, cooked in a bowl).for a couple) - however,
each family has its own culinary traditions. If you believe
the legend, once upon a time Santa accidentally dropped
agold coin in his sock through the chimney, and since then
there has been a custom to hang a stocking on the
fireplace on Christmas Eve.

3. Halloween

Halloween, October 31. Every year on this day, the
streets of England turn into areal fairy tale with witches
in hats, devils with pitchforks, sinister pumpkins,
another "cute" characters. Children in fairy-tale
characters ' outfits go home with baskets, and by
tradition they should be treated to sweets, otherwise
there will be no luck. Historically, the holiday is based on
the Celtic rite Samhain and Christian All Saints ' Day. It
is on October 31, according to popular belief, that the
line between our world and the other world becomes
particularly thin. This allows you to creatures from the
underworld to infiltrate us and drag the living with them.
To keep the spirits from touching them, the Celts put on
scary masks and extinguished the lights in their homes,
which attracted ghosts.

4.

Valentine's Day or Valentine's Day is already firmly
ingrained in our community. Traditionally, on the Day of
Love, February 14, it is customary to send cards in the
form of hearts — valentines, as well as secretly confess
their feelings. According to legend, St. Valentine was an
ordinary priest and field doctor who secretly married
lovers during the brutal wartime. The fact is that the
government thought that a single man would be better
fight on the battlefield, as his heart will not be drawn
home to his family, beloved my wife and children.
Therefore, the military was forbidden to marry. And Saint
Valentine, sympathizing with the young people, tied them
in marriage, for which he was captured and imprisoned in
prison. There he met the warden's daughter and fell in love
with her, bathe could not admit his feelings. When the
time came for the execution, Valentine decided to confess
and wrote a love letter to his beloved, which sheered after
the execution on February 14, 269.

5.

St. John's Day Patrick's Day is a nationalholiday in
Ireland, celebrated by allIrish communities
around theworld. In the UK, the day ismarked by
festiveevents in many cities,including
Birmingham, Nottingham,Manchester and
London, as well as Belfast.It is celebrated on
March 17.Crowds of people take to the streets
wearing green clothing or decoratingthemselves
with the symbol of the three-leaf clover
(shamrock), which, according to legend,brings
good luck. Many legends are associated with the
personality of St. Patrick and his work as
amissionary. So, it is believed that it was he who
broughtthe writing of the Irish language, and
also drove all the snakes from the island.

6.

On Memorial Day in the UK, the memory of the
soldiers who died in the FirstWorld War is
honored. The symbol of the holidayis a red
poppy, which isthreaded into the buttonhole of
the jacket. Petalspoppies bloom on the
chest,symbolizing the woundsreceived in battle.
John McCray, aCanadian physician and poet,
praised the beauty ofthis flower and its
connection withthe war in the poem " In the
FieldsFlanders". On this day, it is customary tolay
flowers at military monuments, andat 11 o'clock
on November 11 in many countriesIt is customary
for the Commonwealth to maintain aminute of
silence.

7.

Many Scots celebrate this day(January 25) with a
festive dinner. On thisday, they honor and
remember theScottish poet Robert Burns,raising
glasses in his honor and reading outhis poems.
Men dressin traditional Scottishkilt skirts,
musicians play bagpipes, andalmost every table
can be seen"haggis" (haggis) – a
traditionalScottish dish of sheep's heart,liver and
lungs with turnips and potatoes.During the poet's
lifetime, this dish was considered the food of the
poor, who could notafford real lamb meat. This
evening in the homes of the Scotsthere is a
special atmosphere of comfort: prayers, the
sounds of bagpipes, the subtle aroma ofmalt
whiskey and the heartfelt poems of Robert
Burns.

8.

Easter is a Christian holiday thatmarks the
resurrection of Jesus Christ.It is always
celebrated on one of theSundays in March or
April, which iscalled Easter Sunday.The Friday
before Easter and the Monday followingit
arepublic holidays.The British celebrate Easter in
different ways, but as a rule, most peoplegive
each other chocolate eggs and eat "English
crossbuns" - sweet rolls with a cross pattern on
top, and childrenpaint the eggs and take part in
the hunt for Easter eggs.On Easter Sunday
morning, the whole British family goes to
church,they meet the sunrise there. In each
church, a large candle is lit, intowhich dozens of
pins are stuck, symbolizing the wounds of Jesus
Christ.

9.

Legend has it that Saint George was aRoman
soldier who killed a dragonto save a princess. He
is now the patronsaint of England, and on April
23- national holiday of England.The cross of St.
George can be seen on the flagEngland (red cross
on white background).Also on April 23, William
was bornShakespeare. And the best place to
spendthis day is undoubtedly the hometown
ofthe great writer, Stratford-upon-Avon
inWarwickshire, wherea festival dedicated to
this day is held. In 2014This year's celebration
was particularly lavish,as it marked the 450th
anniversary of the eventsince the birth of
Shakespeare.

10.

Walpurgis Night (April 30) is the maincoven of
witches, as well as one of the most
importantpagan holidays dedicated tofertility. At
this time, all thewitches gather together and
open thegates to the land of the elves. The
streets of England arefilled with witches of all
ages —not real ones, of course, but citizens
incarnival costumes. Also, this holidaymarks the
imminent arrival of summer.Walpurgis Night is
accompanied by explosions of firecrackers and
loud sounds.It is believed that evil spirits,
frightened by the noise, will run away into the
woods, and notthey will annoy good citizens.
Firecrackers are trusted to blow up theboys after
sunset.

11.

June
14 isthe Queen's official birthday.
Despite the fact that thereal birthdayof the
living queen is celebratedon April 21,
according to a tradition datingback to 1748,
the birthdays of the king or queen
arecelebrated in June.On this day,
atraditional military parade is held in
Londoncalled Trooping the Colour ("Taking
out thebanner"), which is hosted by
theQueen herself, surrounded by members of
herfamily.