Holidays and festivals

On Easter Sunday children hunt for eggs all around the house, garden or even in parks. There is a tradition of “egg roll” in Britain and the USA. You stand on the top of a hill and roll the eggs down. The winner is the person whose egg reaches the bottom of the hill first. There is a traditional Easter Egg Roll in front of the White House in Washington on Easter Monday.

The British eat Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday. They have young lamb, spring peas, new potatoes and eggs for Easter Sunday diner.

Mother´s Day

It is celebrated on the second Sunday in May in America and in Britain. On this day all children, young and old, try to show how much they love their mothers. Some children give their mothers gifts which they have made themselves or bought in the shops. Adults give their mothers cards and flowers.

Father´s Day

This holiday which honours all fathers is celebrated both in Britain and the USA on 3rd Sunday in June.

Independence Day

Independence Day is celebrated on 4th July because this is the day when Declaration of Independence was issued (1776). Every July 4th Americans have a holiday from work. People have barbecues with friends and family. They eat hamburgers, hot dogs and baked beans. There are parades and afternoon fun activities. One of the most popular activities is the three-legged race. There are American flags everywhere and in the evening big fireworks displays in the cities.

Halloween

Halloween is celebrated on October 31. Among the old Celts it was the last day of the year and the beginning of winter when witches and ghosts were supposed to celebrate their rites. When the pagans were Christianized, the holiday was converted to the Eve of All Saints ´Day when the Christian Church honours the memory of the dead. Halloween is celebrated in the north of England and in Scotland. It is generally celebrated in the USA and Canada. Children celebrate it by dressing up in Halloween costumes with masks over their faces. Carrying baskets or bags they go their friends’ and neighbours´ houses, they knock at the door or ring the bell. When people come to the door, the children say: “Trick or treat”, which means “Give us a treat or we will play a trick on you.” The people treat the children with sweets, fruit or money. The most common trick is soaping the windows of houses and cars (i.e. drawing pictures on the windows with soap). A favourite custom is to make a jack-o´- lantern from a pumpkin which is scraped out and in which eyes, a nose and a mouth are cut and then a candle is lit inside. People sometimes give parties on Halloween. The guests wear fancy costumes and masks and the rooms are decorated with paper moons, witches and ghosts.

Guy Fawkes Day

This festival is celebrated in Britain on November 5th and it is the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot from 1605. Guy Fawkes was an English conspirator who, with other Catholics, attempted to blow up James I and the Parliament. The plot was discovered and the conspirator and his friends were executed. Some days before Bonfire Night, as the 5th November is called, many children make a guy (Guy Fawkes) from old clothes, stuffed with newspapers. The children carry the guy around the streets to show people and ask “A penny for a guy”. This is the way of collecting money for fireworks. At night there are bonfire parties, where the guy is burnt. People roast potatoes in the gardens. There is a rhyme about Guy Fawkes Day: Remember, remember, The fifth of November, Gunpowder, treason and plot.