Calendar of holidays in the United Kingdom and the USA
January 1 New Year Day
(the USA, the UK)
New Year is not as popular as Christmas but though many people celebrate it.
On this day, families and friends meet for a meal. People usually make promises for the New Year, they say, “I will work harder” or “I won’t tell lies this year”, but they forget their promises very quickly.
In London people often go to Trafalgar Square where at midnight when the chimes of Big Ben strike, they join their hands and sing “Auld Lang Syne”. There is a funny tradition when somebody falls into the fountain.
In the USA there are big football games and parades on New Year’s Day.
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January, the 3rd Monday Martin Luther King's Day
(the USA)
Martin Luther King was an important black leader who fought for equal rights for black people in the USA and in the whole world. His work was very significant.
He was killed in 1968 and since then his birthday has become a public holiday.
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January 25 Burns' Night
(the UK)
Robert burns’ birthday is a national holiday in Scotland which is celebrated by reciting the great poet’s poems, listening to pipe-bags music, eating traditional Scottish Haggis. The poet’s admirers mark this day all over the world.
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February 2 Groundhog Day
(the USA)
It is believed that on this day you people watch the groundhog crawl out of his hole. His behavior can show the approach of spring. According to legend, if the day is overcast, groundhog does not see his shadow and quietly leaves the hole, it means that winter will soon end and spring will come early. If the day is sunny, the groundhog sees his shadow and hides back into the hole, it means there will be six more weeks of winter. In several cities and towns in the United States merry festivals are held on this day.
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February 14 St. Valentine’s Day
(the USA, the UK)
Nobody knows much about St. Valentine. People call him the saint of love. On this day people write their names on cards with hearts on them and give them to their boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands and wives. Some people don’t put their names at the end of the cards because they want their names to be a secret.
February, the 3rd Monday President's Day
(the USA)
On this day pupils and students read about George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and other American presidents. George Washington was the first President of the USA. He was also a good soldier and a very honest man.
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March 17 St.Patrick’s Day
(the UK, the USA)
St. Patrick was an Irish saint, and St. Patrick’s day is very popular in cities where there are many people from Ireland. The Irish always celebrate this day no matter where they live.
Green is the Irish colour and people often wear green on this day. If you don’t wear green someone may pinch you.
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April 1 April Fool’s Day
(the USA, the UK)
People make jokes on this day and have a lot of fun. People celebrate it in America in the same way they celebrate it in the UK. When you have made a joke on your friend you usually say “April fool”.
Nobody is sure when or why the tradition began. Some people believe it began in France in the 16th century. In 1564, the king of France decided to change the first day of the new year from April 1st to January 1st. some people didn’t like it and celebrated the New Year on the 1st of April. They were “April Fools”, and other people made fun of them and played tricks on them.
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April 21 The Queen's (real) birthday
(the UK)
The Queen usually spends her actual birthday privately, but the occasion is marked publicly by gun salutes in central London at midday: a 41 gun salute in Hyde Park, a 21 gun salute in Windsor Great Park and a 62 gun salute at the Tower of London.
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April 23 St. George's Day
(the UK)
St. George was the patron saint of England. He is honored for the fact that he killed a dragon that was terrorizing a few English villages. On this day they raise the flag of England, known as the "Cross of St. George". The British carry red roses, the emblem of England; they cook traditional English dishes such as roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, sausage in the dough etc. In addition, on this day they sing English folk songs.
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May, the 1st Monday May Day
(the UK)
In May in England May Day is celebrated be organizing the elite rock and folk festivals. Musicians, jugglers, stilt walkers, minstrels create here the atmosphere of medieval carnival.
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May, the 2nd Sunday Mother’s Day
(the USA)
Children usually spend the day with their parents. They give them cards, flowers and presents.
May, the last Monday Memorial Day
(the USA)
This is a special day for people to remember those who died in wars. Many people remember their dead relatives and friends on this day too. Many people pay special visits to graves of their relatives and friends and leave flowers there.
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June 14 Flag Day
(the USA)
The American flag is often called “Stars and Stripes”. It has 13 stripes (one for each colony) and 50 stars (one for each state).
In 1777 the “Stars and Stripes” became the official flag of the USA.
When it was the flag’s hundredth birthday Americans first celebrated Flag Day in 1877. The American flag is seen in many places on this day.
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June, the 3rd Sunday Father's Day
(the USA)
Children usually spend the day with their parents. They give them cards, flowers and presents.
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July 4 Independence Day
(the USA)
On July 4th 1776 the United States became independent from England. It was the beginning of a new life. Families and friends celebrate this day. Every town and every city has parades, games and sports with prizes. There are often picnics.
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September, the 1st Monday Labor Day
(the USA)
This is a day of rest for the workers. There are also parades on this day. This day is the end of the summer and the beginning of the school year.
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October, the 2nd Monday Columbus Day
(the USA)
You can see the American flag everywhere on Columbus Day to honour the manwho was the discoverer of their country.
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October 31 Halloween
(the USA, the UK)
This is one of the most favourite holidays. Children dress up, shout “Trick or treat”, get sweets, fruit, cakes and people have pumpkins with candles in their windows.
November 5 Bonfire Night/Guy Fawkes Day
(the UK)
In 1605, thirteen young men planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Among them was Guy Fawkes, Britain's most notorious traitor.
After Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603, English Catholics who had been persecuted under her rule had hoped that her successor, James I, would be more tolerant of their religion. James I had, after all, a Catholic mother. Unfortunately, James did not turn out to be more tolerant than Elizabeth and a number of young men decided that violent action was the answer.
The thing to do was to blow up the Houses of Parliament. In doing so, they would kill the King, maybe even the Prince of Wales, and the Members of Parliament who were making life difficult for the Catholics.
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November, the 4th Thursday Thanksgiving Day
(the USA)
Thanksgiving is a special day for families to get together and give thanks for different things. They usually do it in this way: “I give thanks for being here with my family and for being well”, or “I give thanks for a healthy year, a good job and for meeting my new friends”.
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November 30 St. Andrew's Day
(the UK)
St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland. St. Andrew was one of the Twelve Apostles and brother of Simon Peter (Saint Peter). He was a fisherman by trade, who lived in Galilee. Saint Andrew is also the patron saint of Romania and Russia.
The Scottish flag is the cross of St. Andrew. The blue stands for the sky.
St. Andrew 's Day marks the opening of Christmas Markets. Many Midwinter customs and folk superstitions are also connected with St. Andrew 's day. Around midnight on Nov 29th, the day before St Andrew's Day, it was traditional for girls to pray to St. Andrew for a husband. They would make a wish and look for a sign that they had been heard.
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December 25 Christmas Day
(the USA, the UK)
This is the biggest holiday of the year and many people enjoy it most of all. People send cards and decorate their houses. Almost every home has a Christmas tree. On Christmas Eve many people go to churches and sing Christmas carols. The heads of the states give their speeches on TV.
On Christmas Day people prepare a traditional l dinner of turkey with vegetables, salads, cookies, nuts, sweets and fruit. Santa Clause puts his presents for children into stockings.
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December 26 Boxing Day
(the UK)
According to the traditions of Christmas, in the night from 24 to 25 December, Santa Claus puts gifts under the Christmas tree. In the morning, when everyone wakes up, they begin to open the boxes in which there are holiday gifts. If the family is large and there are many children, the house are filled with empty boxes that children are not always in a hurry to take away, because their attention is focused on the content.That is why this day became known as "the day of boxes".
