1. Holidays, Festivals and Celebrations in the USA and UK

2. January 1
The speech of the queen for the Commonwealth of Nations

3. Saint Valentine‘s Day February 14
Saint Valentine- the priest who used to wed people despite the fact that it was forbidden. He died around a year 269 as a martyr.
Celebrating- sending cards, flowers and gifts, going out with our love ones

4. Easter The first Sunday after the first fullmoon in spring
Celebration of Jesus Christ coming back to life
( Jesus Christ‘s resurrection from the dead)
Week before christmas = Holy week- Mardi Gras, Maundy Thursady, Good Friday
Origin in Pagan Festival

5. Easter The way of celebrating: going to church activities for children
decorating the house
colouring eggs
Symbols : baby animals
spring flowers- Tulips, Daffodils
eggs
candies, chocolate
trees, flowers that start to blossom

6. St. Patrick‘s Day March 17 Saint Patrick- the patron saint of Ireland
- he is said to have brought Christianity to Ireland
Stories- Driving snakes from the Ireland
- Being carried off by the pirates and spending six years in slavery

7. St. Patrick‘s Day Symbols: drinking Guiness( national Irish dark beer)
wearing green,colouring rivers,beers,..
shamrocks
The way of celebrating: parades,..

8. Queen's Official Birthday
There is a selected day on which the birthday of the monarch of the Commonwealth of Nations is officially celebrated.
Around the end of May or the start of June
The first birthady of the sovereign was officially marked in the UK in 1748.

9. Queen's Official Birthday
The Queen's Official Birthday is now celebrated on the first or the second Saturday in June.
The way of celebrating: Not a day off, but it is a National Day of the UK
-Trooping the colour

10. Halloween October 31 The way of celebrating: trick or treat
decorating houses,..
costume party
Symbols: scary figures,jack-o-lantern, pumpkins, bats, spiders,black cats, candies,

11. Guy Fawkes Day= Bonfire Night
November 5
The celebration of the discovery of a plot organised by the Catholics to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London in 1605.
It also celebrates the fact that the King James I survived the plot.
Guy Fawkes was guarding the explosives druring the plot and he was punished for that.

12. Guy Fawkes Day
The way of celebrating: Bonfires,parades, fireworks

13. Remembrance Day November 11
During this festival people wear a red poppy in memory of those who sacrifised their lifes for us during wars.

14. Christmas December 25 The celebration of Jesus Christ‘s birth
Although many aspects of this holiday have pagan origins

15. Christmas
The way of celebrating: finding gifts in a stocking and under the christmas tree
- decorating houses, garden, streets, supermarkets, roofs
- singing Christmas carols
- Christmas dinner
- lightening candels,lights
- kissing under the mistletoe bushes

16. Christmas Symbols: Father Christmas berries and leaves from holy trees
Christmas tree
candles, small lights
mistletoe bushes, holy trees, pine trees
presents, stocking
robin the red breast

17. New Year‘s Eve Big celebrations, parties Midnight firework
Family reunions- playing games
- watching TV

18. Special celebrations in the USA

19. May 1
After the national convention, which was held in Chicago in 1886, eight hours shall constitute a legal day's labor.
That day more than 300,000 workers across the US walked off their jobs.
This day is supposed to be an International Worker's Day

20. May 1 Nowadays this day is for most people a day of romance and love.
The way of celebrating in UK: Morris dancing
-crowning a May Queen
- Maypole

21. The Independance Day July 4 Federal holiday in the USA
Celebration of the acceptance of the Declaration of Independence in 1776
The way of celebrating: fireworks,carnivals, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions,
Decorations: the colours of the American flag

22. Thanksgiving The fourth Thursday of November
The first Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest.
The feast lasted 3 days and there were 90 Native Americans and 53 Pilgrims together.

23. Thanksgiving The way of celebrating nowadays:
- Family reunion and Feasting
- Parades
- Football Games
Food: Turkey
Cranberry sauce
Pumpkin pie
Corns

24. Veteran‘s Day November 11
This day honors people who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, also known as veterans.