A) British holidays and festivals.

Every country and every nation has its own holidays, customs and traditions. The British people are very proud of their traditions, cherish them and carefully keep them up, because many of them are associated with the history and cultural development of the country. Speaking about British traditions we should distinguish bank, or public holidays, annual festivals, celebrations and pageant ceremonies.

The term “bank holiday” dates back to the 19th century when the Bank Holiday Acts of 1871 and 1875 declared certain days to be bank holidays, that is days on which banks were to be closed. Today their observance is no longer limited to banks only. Post offices, most factories and shops are closed too. There are 8 bank holidays: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, May Day Bank Holiday, Spring Bank Holiday, August (or Summer) Bank Holiday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. All public holidays, except New Year’s Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day are movable, that is they do not fall on the same day each year.

Most of bank holidays are of religious origin, and meant holy days. But for the greater part of the population they have long lost their religious significance and are simply days on which people relax, eat, drink and make merry.

Christmas Day, which is the 25th of December, is the most widely celebrated and the most colourful and merry of all bank holidays. People travel from all parts of the country to be at home for Christmas.

On Christmas Eve everything is rush. Offices close at one o’clock, but the shops stay open late. The last preparations and purchases are made. Christmas trees are decorated, Christmas cards are arranged on shelves and tables, stockings are hung over the end of the bed, a carrot for the reindeer is left on the mantelpiece.

On Christmas Day many people go to churches, open their Christmas presents, eat a Christmas dinner of roast turkey and Christmas pudding. Many people watch the Queen’s Christmas broadcast on TV. This day is a traditional family reunion and a special day for children. They wake up early to find the stocking on their bed full of small presents. Other presents, opened when everyone is together, are arranged around the Christmas tree, which is usually decorated with multicoloured lights. Christmas meal is really traditional: stuffed turkey, boiled ham, mashed potatoes to be followed by plum pudding, mince pies, tea or coffee and cakes.

Boxing Day on the 26th of December is the day of visiting friends, of giving Christmas boxes or gifts of money to servants. Many people still give a Christmas gift to paperboys and papergirls. But most people sit in front of TV recovering from Christmas Day.

New Year’s Day is on January 1. In England New Year is not as widely observed as Christmas. Some people even ignore it, but others celebrate it in one way or other. The most accepted type of celebration is a New Year party. Traditional parties and dances are held on New Year’s Eve. Most people see the old year out and the New Year in with their friends and relations. At midnight on New Year’s Eve when Big Ben is chiming everybody join hands and sing Robert Burns’s poem “Auld Lang Syne” (“The good old days”, “The days of long ago”). The most famous celebration is round the statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus, where people sing, dance and welcome the New Year.

In Scotland the New Year’s Eve is called Hogmanay and it is a very special time for merrymaking and exchange of presents. There and in the North of England people go first-footing¹. To symbolise good luck the visitor carries a piece of coal and a glass of water.

On New Year’s Day people make New Year’s resolutions. They decide to do something to improve their lives, for example, to give up smoking or go to the gym once a week at least.

Good Friday is the Friday before Easter when the church marks the death of Christ. On this day people eat hot cross buns — small sweet rolls marked on top with a cross. On Easter people give each other chocolate Easter eggs. Easter Monday is a traditional day for the start of the summer tourist season, as schools close for two weeks.

May Day Bank Holiday is the first Monday after May 1 (May Day). May Day which is not a bank holiday is a celebration of the coming of spring. Different outdoor events are held, and May-queen, the most beautiful girl of the celebration, is selected. In villages throughout Britain children dance and sing round the maypole to celebrate the end of winter and welcome summer.

Spring Bank Holiday falls on the last Monday in May. Summer (August) Bank Holiday is held on the last Monday in August. These two bank holidays are great days for excursions. In Britain people generally make a beeline for the coast. Throngs of cars take to the road to get the family to some seaside resort for a bathe or a game on the beach. On these days the beaches are crowded with visitors from inland. On the last weekend in August there is a big carnival at Notting Hill in West London. People who take part in it dress up in fabulous costumes. Bands play African and Caribbean dance music people dance and blow whistles. It is the biggest carnival outside Brazil.

Besides bank, or public, holidays there are festivals, anniversaries and celebration days on which certain traditions are observed, but unless they fall on a Sunday, they are ordinary working days. They are: St. Valentine’s Day, Pancake Day, April Fool’s Day, Bonfire Night (or Guy Fawkes’ Night), Remembrance (or Poppy) Day, Hallowe’en and many others including Royal Ascot — the biggest horse race in Britain, the Proms — a series of classical music concerts, the London Marathon, Harvest Festival, Dog Shows and so on.

The British people are also proud of pageants and ceremonies of the national capital — London. Many of them are world famous and attract numerous tourists from all over the world. They include daily ceremonies and annuals. Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace at 11.30 a.m., Ceremony of the Keys at 10 p.m. in the Tower, Mounting the Guard at the Horse Guards square are most popular daily ceremonies. Of those which are held annually the oldest and the most cherished are: the glorious pageantry of Trooping the Colour, which marks the official birthday of the Queen (the second Saturday in June); Firing the Royal Salute to mark anniversaries of the Queen’s Accession on February 6 and her birthday on April 21; Opening of the Courts marking the start of the Legal Year in October; and the Lord Mayor’s Show on the second Saturday in November, when the newly elected Lord Mayor is driven in the beautiful gilded coach pulled by 6 white horses to the Royal Court of Justice where he takes his oath of office and becomes second in importance in the City only to the Sovereign.

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