Public holydays in
Great Britain
There are only six public holidays a
year in Great Britain, that is days on which people need not go in to work.
They are: Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Spring Bank
Holiday and Late Summer Bank Holiday.
In Scotland, the New Year's Day is
also a public holiday. Most of these holidays are of religious origin, though
it would be right to say that for the greater part of the population they have
long lost their religious significance and simply days on which people relax,
eat, drink and make merry.
All the public holidays, except
Christmas Day and Boxing Day observed on December 25th and 26th respectively,
are movable, that is they do not fall on the same day each year. Good Friday
and Easter Monday depend on Easter Sunday which falls on the first Sunday after
a full moon on or after March 21st. The Spring Bank Holiday falls on the last
Monday of May or on the first Monday of June, while the Late Summer Bank
Holiday comes on the last Monday in August or on the first Monday in September,
depending on which of the Mondays is nearer to June 1st and September 1st respectively.
Besides public holidays, there are
other holidays, anniversaries and simply days, for example Pancake Day and
Bonfire Night, on which certain traditions are observed, but unless they fall
on a Sunday, they are ordinary working days.
New Year In England
In England the New Year is not as
widely or as enthusiastically observed as Christmas. Some people ignore it
completely and go to bed at the time as usual on New Year's Eve. Many others,
however, do celebrate it in one way or another, the type of celebration varying
much according to the local custom, family tradition and personal taste.
The most common type of celebration
is a New Year party, either a family party or one arranged by a group of young
people. This usually begins at about eight o'clock and goes on until the early
hours of the morning. There is a lot of drinking, mainly beer, wine, gin and
whisky; sometimes the hosts make a big bowl of punch which consists of wine,
spirits, fruits juice and water in varying proportions. There is usually a
buffet supper of cold meat, pies, sandwiches, savouries (a lovely dish of light
food with a pleasant, served at the start or end of a meal), cakes and
biscuits. At midnight the wireless is turned on, so that everyone can hear the
chimes of Big Ben ( you know, it's the bell in the clock tower of the Houses of
Parliament) and on the hour a toast is drunk to the New Year. Then the party
goes on...
Another popular way of celebrating
the New Year is to go to a New Year's dance. Most hotels and dance halls hold a
special dance on New Year's Eve. The hall is decorated, there are several
different bands the atmosphere is very gay.
The most famous celebration is in
London round the statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus where crowds gather and
sing and welcome New Year. In Trafalgar there is also a big crowd and someone
usually falls into the fountain.
January 1st, New Year's Day, is not
a public holiday, unfortunately for those who like to celebrate most of the
night. Some people send New Year card and give presents but this is not a
widespread custom. This is the traditional time for making "New Year
resolutions", for example, to give up smoking, or to do morning exercises
and etc. However, these are generally more talked about than put into practice.
The Night Of
Hogmanay
Nowhere else in Britain is the
arrival of the New Year celebrated so wholeheartedly as in Scotland.
Throughout Scotland, the
preparations for greeting the New Year start with a minor
"spring-cleaning". Brass and silver must be glittering and fresh
linen must be put on the beds. No routine work may be left unfinished;
stockings must be darned, tears mended, clocks wound up, musical instruments
turned, and pictures hung straight. In addition, all outstanding bills are
paid, overdue letters written and borrowed books returned. At least, that is
the idea!
Most important of all, there must be
plenty of good things to eat. Innumerable homes "reek of a celestial
grocery" - plum puddings and currant buns, spices and cordials, apples and
lemons, tangerines and toffee. In mansion and farmhouse, in suburban villa and
city tenement, the table is spread with festive fare. Essential to Hogmanay are
"cakes and kebbuck" (oatcakes and cheese), shortbread and either
black bun or currant loaf. These are flanked with bottles of wine and the
"mountain dew" that is the poetic name of whisky.
In the cities and burghs, the New
Year receives a communal welcome, the traditional gathering-place being the
Mercat Cross, the hub and symbol of the old burgh life. In Edinburgh, however,
the crowd has slid a few yards down the hill from the Mercat Cross to the Tron
Kirk - being lured thither, no doubt, by the four-faced clock in the tower. As
the night advances, Princes Street, the main street in Edinburgh, becomes as
thronged as it normally is at noon, and there is growing excitement in the air.
Towards midnight, all steps turn to the Tron Kirk, where a lively, swaying
crowd awaits "the Chapplin o'the Twal" (the striking of the 12
o'clock). As the hand of the clock in the tower approach the hour, a hush falls
on the waiting throng, the atmosphere grows tense, and then suddenly there
comes a roar from a myriad throats. The bells peal forth, the sirens scream -
the New Year is born!
Many families prefer to bring in the
New Year at home, with music or dancing, cards or talk. As the evening
advances, the fire is piled high - for the brighter the fire, the bitter the
luck. The members of the household seat themselves round the hearth, and when
the hands of the clock approach the hour, the head of the house rises, goes to
the main door, opens it wide, and holds it thus until the last stroke of
midnight has died away. Then he shuts it quietly and returns to the family
circle. He has let the Old Year out and the New Year in. Now greetings and
small gifts are exchanged, glasses are filled - and already the First-Footers
are at the door.
The First-Footer, on crossing the
threshold, greets the family with "A Gude New Year to ane and a'!"
(Sc. A good New Year to one and all!) or simply "A Happy New Year!",
and pours out a glass from the flask he carries. This must be drunk to the
dregs by the head of the house, who, in turn, pours out a glass for each of his
visitors. The glass handed to the First-Footer himself must also be drunk to the
dregs. A popular toast is: "Your good health!"
The First-Footer must take something
to eat as well as to drink, and after an exchange of greetings they go off
again on their rounds.
Tar - Barrel
Burning
The custom of men welcoming in the
New Year by carrying pans of blazing tar on their heads is still kept up at
Allendale, Northumberland, on New Year's Eve. Each of the "carriers",
in fancy costume, balances on his head the end of a barrel (or "kit")
filled with inflammable material. The procession is timed to reach the unlit
bonfire shortly before midnight, then each man in turn tosses his flaming
"headgear" on to the bonfire, setting it ablaze. On the stroke of
twelve, all join hands and dance around the fire, singing Auld Lang Syne (Sc.
The days of long ago). The song by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), Scotland's
national poet.
Auld Lang Syne
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to min'?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?
Chorus - For auld lang syne, my
dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll talk a cup o'kindness yet
For auld lang syne.
The Night Before
Christmas
by Clement Clarke Moore
'Twas the night before Christmas,
when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not
even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the
chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon
would be there;
The children were nestled all snug
in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced
in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in
my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's
nap,
When out on the lawn there arose
such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what
was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a
flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up
the sash.
The moon on the breast of the
new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to
objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes
should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight
tiny reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively
and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St.
Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers
they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and
called them by name;
"Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now,
Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On Cupid! On, Donder and
Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top
of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away
all!"
As dry leaves that before the wild
hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle,
mount to the sky,
So up to the house-top the coursers
they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and
St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on
the roof
The prancing and pawing of each
little hoof.
As I drew in my hand, and was
turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came
with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his
head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished
with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his
back,
And he looked like a peddler just
opening his pack.
His eyes -- how they twinkled! his
dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose
like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up
like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as
white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in
his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head
like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little
round belly,
That shook, when he laughed like a
bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right
jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in
spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his
head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing
to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went
straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then
turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his
nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he
rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team
gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down
of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he
drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to
all a good-night."
flock by night.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came
upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about
them; and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear
not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which
shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the
city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you;
Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a
manger.
And suddenly there was with the
angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace,
good will toward men.
The Role Of
Tradition
There is no other nation that clings
to the past with the tenacity of the British. The Briton has a sense of the
continuity of history. He loves to go through his ancient ceremonies as he has
always performed them with the consciousness that he is keepнng faith with his ancestors, that he
is maintaining the community they created. He does not often change his manner
of carrying out official acts, and if ever he does, the new method at once
becomes the tradition.
Qu'een Elizabeth the First provided
one of these examples of discarding the old and supplanting it with the new.
She was knitting when the list of nominees for sheriff was brought to her.
Tradition decreed that she should take up her quill and make a check in ink
against the name of each person whom it was her pleasure to-appoint. There was
no pen handy. So Elizabeth the First, with one of her knitting needles, pricked
a little hole in the parchment beside each favoured name. That is the reason
why today Queen Elizabeth the Second appoints sheriffs of England by pricking holes
in the listing of their names.
Even the casual visitor to London
can view without effort many of the brilliant parades and spectacles in which
the colour of medieval times has been preserved for ours. And if you wish you
can also enter the visitors' gallery of the House of Commons and participate in
the ceremony that has ruled the Commons as long as it existed. If a speaker
steps across the Hne on the floor that marks the point at which he would be
within sworпs length of
his adversaries on the opposite side of the Chamber, the session is
automatically suspended. If a rebellious member should seize the great mace,
the symbol of authority that rests on the table before the Speaker's chair, and
make off with it (this happened at least once), no legal business can be
transacted until the mace has been restored to its position. You can also go
into the House of Lords, where the glitter is more pronounced, the royal
scarlet more in evidence, and where your own back will begin to ache
sympathetically at the speetacle of the Lord Chancellor, so uncomfortably
seated on the edge of the enormous woolsack.
Traditions.
Clubs. One of English traditions is
clubs. A club is an association of people who like to meet together to relax
and discuss things. These people are usually upper-class men or men connected
with the govern-ment or other powerful organizations which control public life
and support the established order of soci-ety. However, there are clubs of
people not connected with the ruling circles, for example cultural clubs, whose
members are actors, painters, writers and critics and their friends. In a word,
clubs are organizations which join people of the same interests. A club usually
owns a building where members can eat, drink, and sometimes sleep. Gardening.
Gardening is yery popular with many people in Britain. Most British people love
gardens, and this is one reason why so many people prefer to live in houses
rather than flats. In suburban areas you can see many small houses, each one
with its own little garden of flowers and shrubs. For many people gardening is
the foundation of friendly rela-tions with neighbours. Flower-shows and
vegetable-shows, with prizes for the best exhibits, are verypopular.
London's Ceremonial
Events
The London calendar is distinguished
by many picturesque events and ceremonies, some of ancient origin. Among the
best known are: Trooping the Colour, Opening of Parliament, the Lord Mayor's
Show, the annual Opening of the Law Courts, about October 1, with a procession
through the main Hall of the Courts, preceded by a special service at
Westminster Abbey, and the annual Royal Academy Dinner, held on the Saturday
before the opening of the summer exhibition. Less distinguished but extremely
picturesque annual events include Van Horse Parade on Easter Monday and the
Cart Horse Parade on Whitmonday, both in Regent's Park; the Sheep-Dog Badge,
and the University Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge on the Thames; the
Fairs on Easter Monday, Whitmonday and August bank holiday, on Hampstead Heath
and Black Year's Eve; the Soho Fair, in July, and the Chelsea Arts ball on New
Year's eve. Daily ceremonies include the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham
Palace, the Mounting of the Guard of the Household Cavalry in Whitehall, and
the nightly locking up of the Tower of London, or Ceremony of the Keys by the
chief warder of the yeomen warders («Beefeaters»).
Trooping The Colour
The ceremony of «Trooping the
Colour» takes place annually in London on the Official Birthday of the
Sovereign. It is notable for the colourful appearance and precise movements of
the Foot Guards who perform it, and for the part taken in it by the Queen
herself.
The ceremony derives from two old
military ceremonies: Trooping the Colour and Mounting the Queeir s Guard. From
earliest times Colours and Standards have been used to indicate the position of
the commander in battle and act as rallying point for the soldiers, and were
honoured as symbols of the spirit of military units. It was probably in the
eighteenth century that it became customary in the British Army, before a
battle, to salute the Colours by beat of drum before carrying them along the
ranks (this is what the expression «Trooping» means) so that every soldier
could see them and be able to recognise them later. It soon became usual to
troop the Colour daily at the most important parade or the day: for the
Regiment of Foot Guards; who traditionally have the honour of guarding the
Sovereign, the most important was obviously the Mounting of the Queen's Guard.
On the Sovereign's Birthday all the
Regiments of Foot Guards took part in the Trooping, and, after daily Trooping
was discontinued early in Queen Victoria's reign, the full annual parade on the
Sovereign's Birthday continued and has done so to this day, except during the
two world wars. Only one Colour, however, can be trooped at a time, and the
five Regiments (Grenadier Guards, Coldstream, Scots, Irish and Welsh) therefore
take their turn year by year in strict rotation.
The ceremony can be divided into the
following phases: the arrival of the Queen at the Horse Guards Parade, her
inspection of the troops, the actual Trooping, the march past, and the Queen's
return to Buckingham Palace.
Before the Queen arrives, the crowds
have assembled around the Parade and along the approach routes, and the Queen
Mother, the Royal children, and other members of the Royal Family have arrived
by horse-drawn carriages and entered the Horse Guards Buildings to watch the
ceremony from a balcony. The massed bands of the Guards Division have formed up
at one side of the parade ground, and the guardsmen are standing in line in an
L-shaped formation on two sides of it. The Queen then leaves the Palace, riding
side-saddle. She wears the uniform of whichever Guards' regiment is trooping
and a specially-designed tricorn hat. She is followed by her husband, the Duke
of Edinburgh, also on horseback, and accompanied by the Sovereign's Escort
found by the Household Cavalry Regiment (Mounted). She rides down the Mall on to
the Horse Guards Parade and as she turns to face her Guards from the saluting
base the National Anthem is played.
The Colour is then trooped through
the ranks to the sound of the drums beating, while the band plays traditional
marches.
After the trooping, each battalion
of Foot Guards taking part marches past the Queen to the sound of the band
playing the regiment's slow and quick marches, first in slow time (a most
taxing manoeuvre requiring a very high standard of training), and then in quick
time. As each «guard» passes her the order «Eyes Right» is given, and the Queen
returns the salute. Afterwards the mounted division of the Household Cavalry
Regiment, their mounted band playing, first walk and then trot past the
saluting base.
The Queen then rides back to the
Palace, preceded by the Sovereign's Escort and followed by the Foot Guards. On
her arrival, the Old Guard is already formed up in the courtyard, and the New
Guard enters; the remaining troops once more march past the Queen, who has
taken her position in the Palace gateway, before returning to the barracks.
Finally, the Queen enters the
forecourt and rides between the Old and the New Guard into her Palace, and the
ceremony of Trooping the Colour is over for another year.
Mounting the
Guards.
Mounting the Guard is an-other
colourf ul ceremony. It takes place at the Horse Guards, in Whitehall, at 11
a.m. every weekday and at 10 a.m. on Sundays. It always attracts sight seers.
The Guard is a detachment of Cavalry troops and consists of the Royal Horse
Guards and the Life Guards. The Royal Horse Guards wear deep-blue tu-nics and
ivhite metal helmets with red horsehair plumes, and have black sheep-skin
saddles. The Life Guards wear scarlet uniforms and white metal helmets with
ivhite horsehair plumes, and have white sheep-skin saddles. Both the Royal
Horse Guards and the Life Guards wear steel cuirasses - body armour that
reaches down to the waist and consists of a breastplate and a backplate
fastened together. The ceremony begins with the trumpeters sounding the call.
The new guard arrives and the old guard is relieved. The two officers, also on
horseback, salute each other and then stand side by side while the guard is
changed. The ceremony lasts fifteen minutes and ends with the old guard
returning to its barracks.
Opening Of
Parliament
If you want to see the spectacle of
the third oldest parliament in the world in action (it was preceded by the
Althing of Iceland and the Parliament of the Isle of Man), ask your consulate
to get you a ticket admitting you to the visitors' galleries. On the opening of
Parliament the Sovereign delivers the address from the Throne, a speech worded
as though it emanated from the Crown, though actually it is written by the
Prime Minister. This is a day when ceremony rules every gesture, and when
officials appear to perform their appointed functions, whose exact role is not
clear even to most Britons themselves -- like Black Rod, who leads the
parliamentarians into the hall to attend their ruler's address. The titles and functions
of such officials, mysterious even to the British, and naturally doubly so to
foreigners. For example, no one is able to define the precise functions of Lord
Privy Seal, for he has none. He is one of several members of the government who
give it great flexibility since, having no stated department under their
control, they are available for assignment by the Prime Minister to such
special and unusual problems as may arise in the course of his term of office.
Although it is unlikely that you
will be able to get inside the Houses of Parliament on the day of its opening,
you can enjoy some of the spectacle in the street.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh
ride, in state to Westminster. The famous gilded coach of which you heard so
much at the time of the Coronation parades from Buckingham Palace to the Houses
of Parliament, escorted by the brilliantly uniformed and superbly mounted
Household Cavalry — on a clear day, it is to be hoped, for this ceremony takes
place in late October or early November, depending on the exigencies of
Parliament. As the Queen enters the Houses of Parliament the air shakes with
the booming of heavy guns and all London knows that the processes that have so
long protected England from oppression have once again been renewed with all
their age-old ceremony.
The Lord Mayor's
Show.
The local power of the City of
London is headed by the Lord Mayor who is elected every year from among the
most prominent citizens. The splendid ceremony of election known as the Lord
Mayor's Show dates back more than six hundred years. It is always watched by
many || thousands of people, who crowd the streets of the City of London on the
second Saturday of November to see and admire its interesting procession. The
ceremony begins at the Guildhall, the seat of the municipal government in the
City of London. Starting from the Guildhall at about 11.30 a.m., the
newly-elected Lord Mayor travels in a gilded coach which dates from the
mid-eighteenth century. His body-guard is a company of Pikemen and Musketeers.
The long, colourful procession, made up of liveried footmen and coachmen, moves
along the narrow streets of the City. At about noon the Lord Mayor arrives at
the Royal Court of Justice, where he takes the oath before the Lord Chief
Justice and Judges of the Queen's Bench to perform his duties faithfully. The
bells of the City ring out as the festive procession leaves the Court of
Justice after the ceremony and heads for the Mansion House, the official
residence of the Lord Mayor. During the evening the traditional Banquet takes
place at Guildhall. The Banquet is attended by many of the most prominent
people of the country, and is usually televised. The Prime Minister delivers a
political speech, and a toast is proposed by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Changing of the
Guard.
The royal palace is tradi-tionally
guarded by special troops who wear colourf ul uniforms: scarlet tunics, blue
trousers and bearskin caps. The history of the Foot Guards goes back to 1656,
when King Charles II, during his exile in Holland, ''ecruited a small
body-guard. Later this small body-guard grew into a regiment of guards.
Changing o f the guard is one of the most popular ceremonies. It takes place at
Buckingham Palace every day at 11.30. The ceremony always attracts a lot of spectators
-Londoners as well as visitors— to the British capital.
The Ceremony Of The
Keys
Every night at 9.53 p. m. the Chief
Warder of the Yeomen Warders (Beefeaters) of the Tower of London lights a
candle lantern and then makes his way towards the Bloody Tower. In the Archway
his Escort await his arrival. The Chief Warder, carrying the keys then moves
off with his Escort to the West Gate, which he locks, while the Escort «present
arms». Then the Middle and Byward Towers are locked.
The party then return to the Bloody
Tower Archway and there they are halted by the challenge of the sentry. «Halt!»
he commands. «Who goes there?» The Chief Warder answers, «The keys.» The sentry
demands, «Whose keys?» «Queen Elizabeth's keys,» replies the Chief Warder.
«Advance, Queen Elizabeth's keys; all's well,» commands the sentry.
Having received permission to
proceed through the Archway, the party then form up facing the Main Guard of
the Tower. The order is given by the officer-in-charge to «Present Arms». The
Chief Warder doffs his Tudor-style bonnet and cries, «God preserve Queen
Elizabeth. «Amen», answer the Guard and Escort.
At 10 p. m. the bugler sounds the
«Last Post». The Chief Warder proceeds to the Queen's House, where the keys are
given into the custody of the Resident Governor and Major.
The Ceremony of the Keys dates back
700 years and has taken place every night during that period, even during the
blitz of London in the last war. On one particular night, April 16, 1941, bomb
blast disrupted the ceremony, knocking out members of the Escort and Yeomen
Warders. Despite this, the duty was completed.
Only a limited number of visitors
are admitted to the ceremony each night. Application to see it must be made at
least forty-eight hours in advance at the Constable's office in the Tower.
Visitors with permission are admitted at 9.40 p. m. and leave at 10 p. m.
Late Summer Bank
Holiday
On Bank Holiday the towns' folk
usually flock into the country and to the coast. If the weather is fine many
families take a picnic-lunch or tea with them and enjoy their meal in the open.
Seaside towns near London, such as Southend, are invaded by thousands of
trippers who come in cars and coaches, trains, motor cycles and bicycles. Great
amusement parks like Southend Kursaal do a roaring trade with their scenic
railways, shooting galleries, water-shoots, Crazy Houses, Hunted Houses and so
on.Trippers will wear comic paper hats with slogans such as «Kiss Me Quick» and
they will eat and drink the weirdest mixture of stuff you can imagine, seafood
like cockles, mussels, whelks, shrimps and fried fish and chips, candy floss,
beer, tea, soft drinks, everything you can imagine.
Bank Holiday is also on occasion for
big sports meetings at places like the White City Stadium, mainly all kinds of
athletics. There are also horse race meetings all over the country, and most
traditional of all, there are large fairs, with swings, roundabouts, coconut
shies, a Punch and Judy show, hoopla stalls and every kind of side-show
including, in recent years, bingo. These fairs are pitched on open spaces of
common land, and the most famous of them is the huge one on Hampstead Heath
near London. It is at Hampstead Heath you will see the Pearly Kings, those
Cockney costers (street traders), who wear suits or frocks with thousands of
tiny pearl buttons stitched all over them, also over their caps and hats, in
case of their Queens. They hold horse and cart parades in which prizes are
given for the smartest turn out. Horses and carts are gaily decorated. Many
Londoners will visit Whipsnade Zoo. There is also much boating activity on the
Thames, regattas at Henley and on other rivers and the English climate being
what it is, it invariably rains.
Holidays.
New Year. New Year is not such an
important holiday in England as Christmas. Some people don't celebrate it at
all.
Many people have New Year parties. A
party usually begins at about eight o'clock and goes on until early in the
morning. At midnight they listea to the chimes of Big Ben, drink a toast to the
New Year and Sing Auld Lang Syne.
In London crowds usually gather
round the statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus and welcome the New Year.
February 14th
When all the fun of Christmas and
New Year is over, there's a feeling of anti-climax. The rest of January is
dreary and cold. But before long the empty shops seem to come to life once
again with displays of attractive and brightly coloured «I love you» Valentine
cards.
St. Valentine was a priest who lived
in Rome and died for his faith in A.D. 170. His feast happens to fall on
February 14th -the traditional day for lovers. But this is mere coincidence. He
was not noted for helping lovers in distress and was not therefore the true
patron saint of lovers.
There was in early times a strong
belief that on this day birds choose their mates. To some extent this might
explain why lovebirds seem to be such popular motifs on Valentine cards. A
fourteenth-century poet wrote: «On Valentine's Day all the birds of the air in
couples do join». And Shakespeare carried on the tradition when Theseus says in
«A Midsummer Night's Dream»:
St. Valentine is past:
Begin these wood-birds
but to couple now?
But antiquarians maintain that St.
Valentine's Day celebrations are a continuation of a Roman festival of Pan and
Juno.
There used to be a custom in England
(and probably in other countries) on St. Valentine's Day, mentioned by Chaucer,
Shakespeare and Pepys: the names of young, unmarried men
and girls were mixed up and drawn
out by chance. The person of the opposite sex whose name came out after yours
was your chosen «Valentine» for the year.
Just over a century ago it became
fashionable to send pretty lace-edged cards. Earlier, ludicrous and sometimes
vulgar cartoons were sent to friends and strangers on this day.
In our own time, too, the Valentine
tradition has undergone a sort of revival in Britain. There seems to be no
limit to the variety of cards on sale for this celebration. They are happy or
sad, romantic or humorous, serious or ridiculous. The card manufacturers, realising
they're on to a good thing, cater for all tastes — including the vulgar. You
can pay anything from 10p to 10 pounds, depending on the depth of your love and
the depth of your pocket! If you really want to get rid of some money you can
always use the St. Valentine's Day Greetings Telegram — a service put on
specially for February 14th by the Post Office, for the really love-sick.
Of all the Valentine cards on the
market the humorous variety seem to be the most popular, but some of them are
so cruel you would have to be quite heartless to send them, even to your worst
enemy. Anonymity is, of course, part of the thrill of sending Valentine cards
-- you must not say who you are. The person receiving it must be left to
wonder. You can send cards to anyone you like, or, for that matter, even people
you don't like. There are cards specially printed to My Wife, My Husband,
Mother, Father, Sweetheart, and, would you believe it, Grandmother and
Grandfather. At least it is good to know that in this troubled world love is
still living and spreading a little happiness, especially in dreary February.
Easter. Easter is a Christian
holiday in March or7 April, when Christians remember the death of Christ and
his return to life. The holiday is marked by going to church and then having a
celebration dinner. Easter is connected in people's minds with spring, with the
coming to life of the earth after winter. The most popular emblem of Easter is
the Easter egg: a hard-boiled egg painted in different colours. Easter eggs are
traditional Easter presents for children. Nowadays Easter eggs are usually made
of chocolate. Children get chocolate Easter eggs, and also chocolate Easter
rabbits. They are either hollow or have a filling, and are usually covered with
brightly coloured silver paper.
Each year, on Easter Sunday, London
greets spring with a traditional spectacular Easter Parade in Battersea Park.
The Parade is a great procession of many richly decorated floats, that is large
moving platforms on wheels, on which actors and amateurs perform shows. The
most beautifully decorated float moves at the back of the procession and
carries the Easter Princess and her attendants.
May Spring Festival. The May Spring
Festival, which is celebrated on the 1st of May, has to some extent retained
its old significance -that of a pa gan spring festival. Nowadays it is
celebrated by children and young people in many schools in different parts of
Britain. It is celebrated with garlands of flowers, dancing and games on the
villag green, where they erect a maypole - a tall pole decorated with flowers
and ribbons. The girls put on their best summer dresses, put flowers in their
hair and round their waists, and wait for the crowning of the May Queen. The
most beautiful girl is crowned with a garland of flowers. After this great
event there is dancing, and the dancers wear fancy costumes representing
characters from the Robin Hood legends. Spring Bank Holiday. Spring Bank
Holiday is celebrated on the last Monday in May. It is an official holiday,
when all the offices are closed and people don't go to work. Many people go to
the country on this day and have picnics.
Late Summer Bank
Holiday
On Bank Holiday the towns' folk
usually flock into the country and to the coast. If the weather is fine many
families take a picnic-lunch or tea with them and enjoy their meal in the open.
Seaside towns near London, such as Southend, are invaded by thousands of
trippers who come in cars and coaches, trains, motor cycles and bicycles. Great
amusement parks like Southend Kursaal do a roaring trade with their scenic
railways, shooting galleries, water-shoots, Crazy Houses, Hunted Houses and so
on.Trippers will wear comic paper hats with slogans such as «Kiss Me Quick» and
they will eat and drink the weirdest mixture of stuff you can imagine, seafood
like cockles, mussels, whelks, shrimps and fried fish and chips, candy floss,
beer, tea, soft drinks, everything you can imagine.
Bank Holiday is also on occasion for
big sports meetings at places like the White City Stadium, mainly all kinds of
athletics. There are also horse race meetings all over the country, and most
traditional of all, there are large fairs, with swings, roundabouts, coconut
shies, a Punch and Judy show, hoopla stalls and every kind of side-show including,
in recent years, bingo. These fairs are pitched on open spaces of common land,
and the most famous of them is the huge one on Hampstead Heath near London. It
is at Hampstead Heath you will see the Pearly Kings, those Cockney costers
(street traders), who wear suits or frocks with thousands of tiny pearl buttons
stitched all over them, also over their caps and hats, in case of their Queens.
They hold horse and cart parades in which prizes are given for the smartest
turn out. Horses and carts are gaily decorated. Many Londoners will visit
Whipsnade Zoo.There is also much boating activity on the Thames, regattas at
Henley and on other rivers and the English climate being what it is, it
invariably rains.
Guy Fawkes. Night. Guy Fawkes Night
is one of the most popular festivals in Britain. It commemorates the discovery
of the so-called Gunpowder Plot, and is widely celebrated all over the country.
The story goes that there was a plot
to destroy the Houses of Parliament and kill King James I during the ceremony
of opening Parliament on November 5, 1605. The plot was organized by a group of
Roman Catholics. In 1604 the conspirators rented a house near the House of
Lords. From this house they dug a tunnel to a vault below the House of Lords
and put into the vault 36 barrels of gunpowder. The plot was discovered because
one of the conspirators wrote a letter to his relative, a member of the House
of Lords, warning him to stay away from the House of Lords on the 5th of
November. On November 4, a search was made of the parliament vaults, and the
gunpowder was found, together with Guy Fawkes, who was to set off the
explosion. Guy Fawkes was hanged.
The historical meaning of the event
is no longer important, but this day is traditionally celebrated with fireworks
and a bonfire, on which the figure of a man called Guy is burnt.
November 5 is a day on which
children are allowed, under proper supervision, to let off fireworks, to make a
bonfire and to burn on it a guy made of old clothes, straw and — if possible —
one of father's old hats. On 5 he days before November 5, one may see groups of
children going about the streets with their faces blackened and wearing some
fancy clothes. Sometimes they have a little cart with a guy in it. They ask the
passers-by to give them a penny for the guy. With this money they buy fireworks
for the festival.
Christmas. Christmas is the main
public holiday in Britain, when people spend time at home with their families,
eat special food and drink a lot. Christmas is a Christian festival to remember
the birth of Jesus Christ.
Long before Christmas time shops
become very busy, because a lot of people buy Christmas presents. A lot of
money is spent on the presents, but many people enjoy it. Every day television
and newspapers say how many days are left before Christmas. People also buy
Christmas cards to send to their friends and relatives. The cards have the
words Merry Christmas and pictures of the birth of Christ, Santa Glaus, a
Christmas tree, a robin, or scenes of old-fashioned Christmases.
In churches people sing Christmas
carols - special religious songs. Sometimes groups of people walk about the
streets and sing carols at the doors of houses. One of the well-known carols is
"Silent Night".
Houses are usually decorated with
lights and branches of needle-leaf trees. Many people have a decorated
Christmas tree in their houses.
Young children are told that Santa
Claus will bring them presents if they are good. Before going to bed on
Christmas Eve the children hang stockings at the back of their beds, for Santa
Claus to put the presents in when he comes in the middle of the night through
the chimney.
On Christmas Eve (the 24th of
December) some people go to a special church service called Midnight Mass which
starts at 12 o'clock at night.
Christmas is the day when people
stay at home, open their presents and eat and drink together. The most
important meal is Christmas dinner. The typical meal consists of turkey with
potatoes and other vegetables, followed by a Christmas pudding. Other
traditional foods include a special Christmas cake and mince pies — small round
cakes filled with a mixture of apples, raisins and spices.
The day after Christmas, the 26th of
December, is also a public holiday. It is called Boxing Day. The name goes back
to the old tradition: some time before Christmas, boxes were placed in churches
for the people to put some money or presents for the poor. On the day after
Christmas, the 26th of December, the priest opened the box and gave the
contents away to poor people.
April Fools' Day
Children throughout the
English-speaking countries look forward to April 1st, April Fools' Day. By
tradition it is the day on whi jokes are played. The children might decide to
wake their parent with the news that the house is on fire, or that some other
disaster has occurred. When they see the looks of alarm on victims' faces, they
shout, «April Fool!»
At school serious work is
practically forgotten as the c try to pin notices on one another's backs. The
notices say things like «Kick Me», or «I'm a Fool». Teachers have to be
particularly careful or they too might find themselves walking around wit silly
sign on their backs.
On this day of national good humour,
the television service joins in the fun.
Once they told the story of a
building that had been upside down by mistake. They showed an example of mo
architecture, which actually did look better when it was ti the other way. Many
people must have been fooled, and pe the architect himself was given food for
thought.
Pancake Day
Pancake Day is the popular name for
Shrove Tuesday — the day preceding the first day of Lent.
In medieval times the day was
characterised by merrymaking and feasting, a relic of which is the eating of
pancakes. Whatever religious significance the day may have possessed in the
olden days, it certainly has none now.
The origin of the festival is rather
obscure, as is the origin of the custom of pancake eating.
The most consistent form of
celebration in the old days was all over town ball game or tug-of-war in which
everyone let rip before the traditional feast, tearing here and tearing there,
struggling to get the ball or rope into their part of the town. It seems that
several dozen towns kept up these ball games until only a few years ago. Today
the only custom that is consistently observed throughout Britain is pancake
eating, though here and there other customs still seem to survive. Among the
latter, Pancake races, the Pancake Greaze custom are best known.
Remembrance Day
(Poppy Day)
Remembrance Day is observed
throughout Britain in commemoration of the million or more British soldiers,
sailors and airmen who lost their lives during the two World Wars. On that day
special services are held in the churches and wreaths are laid at war memorials
throughout the country and at London's Cenotaph, where a great number of people
gather to observe the two-minute-silence and to perform the annual Remembrance
Day ceremony. The silence begins at the first strike of Big Ben booming 11
o'clock, and is broken only by the Crash of distant artillery and perhaps by
the murmur of a pawing jet. When the two-minute silence is over, members of the
Royal Faintly or their representatives and political leaders come forward to
lay wreaths at the foot of the Cenotaph. Then comes the march past the memorial
of ex-servicemen and women, followed by an endless line of ordinary citizens
who have come here with their personal wreaths and their sad memories.
On that day artificial poppies a
symbol of mourning, are traditionally sold in the streets everywhere, and
people wear them in their buttonholes. The money collected in this way later
used to help the men who had been crippled during the war and their dependants.
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