Festivals in the UK

Festivals in the United Kingdom

New Year

New Year

1 st  January – New Year’s Day

On New Year’s Eve (31 December), it is traditional to celebrate midnight with your friends or family and to sing ‘ Auld lang syne ’, a folk song with words by the Scottish poet Robert Burns. There are parties all over the country! Many people make ‘ New Year’s resolutions ’, promising to achieve a goal or break a bad habit in the coming year.

Burns’ Night

25 th  January – Burns’ Night (Scotland) Many Scottish people celebrate a special dinner on Burns’ Night, a celebration of Robert Burns, the famous Scottish poet, with toasts and readings of his poetry . Men might wear kilts , there may be bagpipe music, and people will almost certainly eat haggis

(the traditional Scottish dish)

with turnips and potatoes.

Pancake Day

9 th  February – Pancake Day

This is the day when people traditionally use up their eggs, milk and sugar by making pancakes. Some towns in the UK also hold ‘pancake races’!

Valentine’s Day

14 th  February – Valentine’s Day

Love is in the air! This is a celebration of romance. Many people in the UK go out for dinner with their sweethearts , and give them a Valentine’s card, chocolate or flowers. If you’re single, you might receive an anonymous card from a ‘secret admirer’!  

Mother’s Day

6 th  March– Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is a day to celebrate motherhood, and to thank mothers for everything they do throughout the year . Many people give their mothers a card or gift, treat them to a day out or cook a meal.

St Patrick’s Day

17 th  March –   St Patrick’s Day (Northern Ireland) This is a national holiday in Ireland, and is now celebrated by Irish people all around the world .

Many people this day go out with friends, wearing green with the lucky clover .

April Fools’ Day

St George’s Day

23 rd  April – St George’s Day (England)

The legend is that St George was a soldier who killed a dragon. He is now the patron saint of England, and this is England’s national day.

Shakespeare’s birthday

23 rd  April is also known as  William Shakespeare’s birthday , when events take place to honour the play- writer , and this year, 2016, will be the 400th anniversary of his death.

The Queen’s Official birthday

13 th  June – The Queen’s Official Birthday

The Queen’s real birthday is on the 21 st  of April, but it has been a tradition since 1748 to celebrate the king or queen’s birthday in June.

Halloween

31 st  October – Halloween

Children go trick-or-treating (knocking on neighbours’ doors to ask for sweets) or carve pumpkins . The important thing is to dress up as scary as you dare !  

Bonfire Night

5 th  November – Bonfire Night

‘ Remember, remember the 5th of November; gunpowder, treason and plot ’.

Guy Fawkes wanted to blow up the Parliament and kill King James I in 1605, but he failed. To celebrate it, there will be firework in many cities, and colourful parades, music, costumes and the traditional ‘guy’, made of straw or paper to burn on the bonfire.

Remembrance Day

11 th  November – Remembrance Day

Each year in the UK, November 11 is a memorial day to honour members of the armed forces, to remember those who lost their lives in battles.

People on the streets sells poppy flowers, symbols of memory, and there is a two-minute silence at

11 a.m.

Christmas

Christmas

25 th  December – Christmas

Most people in England celebrate Christmas. There will be Christmas trees, presents, carol singing , and if it snows, snowmen and snowball fights! The traditional Christmas dinner is a whole roast turkey with roast potatoes, vegetables, gravy and Christmas pudding for dessert.