Seasons and Celebrations

SEASONS AND CELEBRATIONS

CALENDAR

start

seasons and celebrations

index

january

july

february

august

march

september

april

october

may

november

june

december

January

2024

10

11

12

13

14

16

17

18

19

20

21

15

23

24

25

26

27

28

22

30

31

29

New Year

Australia Day

february

2024

30

31

29

10

11

13

14

15

16

17

18

12

20

21

22

23

24

25

19

27

28

29

26

Waitangi Day

Saint Valentine's Day

Pancake Day

Ash Wednesday

march

2024

27

28

29

26

10

12

13

14

15

16

17

11

19

20

21

22

23

24

18

26

27

28

29

30

31

25

Saint David

Saint Patrick's Day

Easter Sunday

Good Friday

Easter Monday

april

2024

10

11

12

13

14

16

17

18

19

20

21

15

23

24

25

26

27

28

22

30

29

April Fools Day

Saint George's Day

ANZAC/ Veterans Day

May

2024

29

28

10

11

12

14

15

16

17

18

19

13

21

22

23

24

25

26

20

28

29

30

31

27

Mother's Day

june

2024

28

29

30

31

27

11

12

13

14

15

16

10

18

19

20

21

22

23

17

25

26

27

28

29

30

24

Father's Day

Honey moon

Summer solstice

Multiculturalism Day

july

2024

10

11

12

13

14

16

17

18

19

20

21

15

23

24

25

26

27

28

22

30

31

29

Independence Day

Canada Day

august

2024

30

31

29

10

11

13

14

15

16

17

18

12

20

21

22

23

24

25

19

27

28

29

30

31

26

september

2024

27

28

29

30

31

26

10

11

12

13

14

15

17

18

19

20

21

22

16

24

25

26

27

28

29

23/30

october

2024

30

10

11

12

13

15

16

17

18

19

20

14

22

23

24

25

26

27

21

29

30

31

28

Thanksgiving Day (Canada)

Halloween

november

2024

29

30

31

28

10

12

13

14

15

16

17

11

19

20

21

22

23

24

18

26

27

28

29

30

25

Remembrance Day

Guy Fawkes Night

Thanksgiving Day (USA)

Saint Andrew's Day

december

2024

27

28

29

30

31

26

10

11

12

13

14

15

17

18

19

20

21

22

16

24

25

26

27

28

29

23

Boxing Day

Christmas Day

Christmas Eve

New Year's Eve

30

31

THANK YOU FOR YOUR

ATTENTION

BACK TO THE COVER

Carlos Recio Sánchez 4th D ESO

Saint David

Saint David (Dewi Sant in the Welsh language) is the patron saint of Wales. David and his followers lived quietly in Wales. They didn't eat meat and they only drank water. David became a famous teacher and a very important man in the church in Wales. He died in 589. The Welsh love music and singing, so there are many concerts around the country on this day.

Remembrance Day

On 11 November 1918, the First World War came to an end, and now, 11 November has become Remembrance Day.An Australian man called Edward George Honey wrote to th London Evening News in 1919. He said that he wanted people to stop one day and think about the soldiers who died in the war.King George the Fifth agreed, so he asked everyone to stop working and remember the death and in the UK or other countries people are silent for two minutes at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, even in schools, streets, shopping centres and airports. The nearest Sunday to 11 November is Remembrance Sunday. In towns and cities soldiers young and old walk together in parades to remember the soldiers who died in wars. In London, the Queen and the Prime Minister put flowers on the big war memorial (the Cenotaph). Many people also wear red paper flowers called poppies, because during the First World War, hundreds of thousands of soldiers died on the Fields of Flanders and later, poppies grew in the same fields.

Saint Patrick's Day

It's a big day in Ireland and also in North America. Saint Patrick was born in about 385. He travelled all over Ireland talking to people about Christianity. He also built lots of schools and churches there. He died on 17 March 461.On this day there are parades, church services and festivals in Dublin, Belfast and many other Irish towns and cities. It is also an important day in the USA. In the 9th century a lot of Irish people moved to the USA to begin a new life. Saint Patrick's Day was very important to them, because it was a day to remember Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day parade in New York is now one of the biggest parades in the world. There are parties in other places over the USA and Canada too. Some people wear green clothes, some drink lots of beer (some even drink green beer!)

Saint George's Day

Saint George is the patron saint of England. He was a Christian and a soldier in the Roman army in the third century. When the Roman Emperor Diocletian said that people could not follow the Christian religion anymore, George said that he wouldn't stop being a Christian. Diocletian was very angry, and told his soldiers to torture and then kill George, and he died in the year 303. A famous history about him is that he killed a dragon that ate people.Saint George became the patron saint of England in the 14th centuryin the time of King Edward the Third. In 1348 King Edward shouted 'Saint George for England' when he took his men to war. In the city of Salisbury there has been a parade on Saint George's Day since King Edward's time.

Summer Solstice

The summer solstice is the longest day of the year. The word 'solstice' come from two Latin Words: 'sol' means sun and 'sistere' means stand still. Summer solstice is a time of sun, light, food, love and hot weather; so people come from all over England to Stonehenge and Avebury on 21 June to celebrate.Some visitors are Druids, some are travellers and some just want to stay up all night and then watch the sun come up in a very famous, old and interesting place.

Christmas Day

In Christmas day, children usually wake up very early. They look in their stockings to see the presents that Santa put there for them. After breakfast, they open their other presents around the tree.Christmas dinner is in the afternoon and is the biggest meal of the day. Before starting to eat, people pull crackers. They make a loud noise and have a small game and paper hat inside. They usually eat turkey with winter vegetables and a Christmas pudding. At three o'clock many people in Britain turn on their televisions because the Queen says 'Happy Christmas' to everyone. People usually go for a walk or play their new games. In the evening, people eat cold meat and Christmas cake but they are usually not very hungry because of their big dinner

Father's Day

Many people wanted to thank their fathers for all their hard work, help and love too. The first Father's Day was in the USA in 1910. In 1966, American President Lyndon Johnson said that the third Sunday in June would be Father's Day across the USA. It is the same day in Britain and Canada, but in Australia and New Zealand it is the first Sunday in September. On Father's Day people often like to take their father out, for example, for a meal or to watch or do some sport.

Good Friday

On this day, the Romans killed Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, about two thousand years ago. Christians think that Jesuscame back to life two days later, on Easter Sunday

Multiculturalism Day

This day is celebrated in Canada. It has celebrations about the food, music and dance of many immigrant groups all across the country. In the USA, there are many African-American festivals, and Spanish speakers from Latin American countries have started Hispanic American Festivals. Most big cities in the USA have Chinatowns where a lot of Chinese immigrants live. San Francisco's Chinatown is the biggest outside of Asia. There are great places to eat Chinese food and see colourful celebrations of Chinese New Year parades, dragons and fireworks. And in Auckland, New Zealand they have the Azia: NZ Lantern Festival. This celebrates both Chinese New Year and cultures of many immigrants who came to New Zealand from Asia.

Thanksgiving Day (Canada)

In Canada, they celebrate earlier Thanksgiving Day because the winter is longer and harvest is earlier there. The date of Thanksgiving Day is the second Monday in October, for the Canadian people.

See Thanksgiving in the USA for more information (November)

New Year

Is a holiday for most people. Many people stay at home and rest on that day. They also make a New Year's resolution: They decide to do something different to try to be a different person. After holiday the shops are very busy with January sales (at sale time thing in the shops are cheaper) When people go out, they usually say 'HappyNew Year!' when they see friends and family for the first time in January.

Independence Day

On 4 July 1776, the US government in Philadelphia agreed to the Declaration ofIndependence. It said that the US was a free, or independent country, and that George the Third was not its king anymore, so now it was a war. The British and the Americans fought each other until 1781, when the Americans won, so the United States of America was born in 1783. The first Fourth of July celebration was in Philadelphia in 1777, during the war, and now, on every year's Fourth of July, Americans celebrate Independence Day. In many towns, there are parades through the streets with loud music and lots of bright colours. The red, white and blue American flags fly everywhere. Independence Day usually ends with lots of fireworks. It's like one big party.

Halloween

The pagans who lived in Britain two thousand years ago, celebrated their New Year in 1 November. Then, the Christians came and people celebrated Hallowmas (a three day festival 31 Oct.-2 Nov.) 31 October was called All Hallow's Eve and changed slowly to Halloween.Hundreds of years ago, people thought that bad spirits came in winter. They wanted them to go away so they made fires outside and made jack o'lanterns. They also dressed like witches and ghosts. We still do this nowadays. We often put up decorations and play games, like 'bobbing for apples'. In Canada and the USA, and in other English-speaking countries, children go 'trick-or-treating': They dress as witches or ghosts and go, in a small group, to the houses of the people who live near them. They say 'Trick or treat?', and the person in the house decides between giving them a treat (usually candy) or letting them play a trick on them (frequently throwing an egg or some flour to the house)

Saint Valentine's Day

Saint Valentine's Day started more than two thousand years ago, as a winter festival, on the 15th February. On that day, people asked their gods to give them fruit and vegetables, and strong animals.When the Cristians came to Britain, they came with a story about a man called Saint Valentine. The story is that Valentine was a Christian who lived in Rome in the third century. Claudius the Second (the Roman Emperor at the time) was not a Christian. He said that married soldiers didn't make good soldiers, so he told his soldiers that they mustn't marry. Valentine worked for the church and he helped a soldier who wanted to marry. Claudius said that Valentine had to die and he sent him to the prison. Then Valentine fell in love with the daughter of a man who worked there. Before he died, he sent a note to this woman. At the end of the note he wrote 'Your Valentine'. He died the 14th February, so the date changed from 15 to 14 February. In the early 19th century, people started to give Valentine's cards to the person they loved on 14 February. They had pictures of birds and flowers on them.

New Year's Eve

In many places, people go to parties or restaurants with friends in the evening. Sometimes they meet outside. In New York thousands of people go to Times Square, in Sydney they go down by the sea, in London they go to Trafalgar Square.Just before midnight, people look at the clock, and together they count the last ten seconds before the New Year begins. At midnight they stand in a circle, hold hands and sing an old song called Auld Lang Syne. A Scottish man called Robert Burns wrote the words of this song about two hundred years ago. It says that is good to remember old friends. Then, many people drink a glass of champagne, light some fireworks or dance until the sun comes up. In Scotland, this day is called Hogmanay. There is a tradition called first-footing: The first person to come into the house is the 'first-foot': if he is a tall man with dark hair he will bring good luck to the house. He must carry some food, some money, or a piece of coal for the fire.

Thanksgiving Day (USA)

Most fruit and vegetables grow through the summer and then autumn commes, it is time to bring them in from the trees and fields. This time is called harvest. After this, many people want to say thank you for all the food. There are lots of vegetables, fruit, flowers and bread in the church, and people also sing special songs.This tradition started hundreds of years ago.In September 1620. a group of English people called the Pilgrim Fathers sailed from Plymouth, England across the Atlantic Ocean, in a ship called the Mayflower to Cape Cod, in North America. They wanted to make a new life in a new country because they didn't agree with the religion in England. They sailed fot 66 dangerous days across the Atlantic Ocean. When they arived, they called their new home New England, but there weren't the first people to live there. The Wampanoag were. The Wampanoag taught them to live from their new land, and to grow and cook new kinds of fruit and vegetables. The first winter was very difficult and some Pilgrim Fathers died because of it. So, in the Spring started growing food, and in the autumn of 1621 they celebrated their first harvest. They gave thanks for the harvest, for their new home, their new life and their new friends.

ANZAC/Veterans Day

In Australia and New Zealand it's called ANZAC day while in the USA it's called Veterans Day. It's a day dedicated to the remembrance (similar to Remembrance Day (November, UK))On this day in 1915 a big group of soldiers from Australia and New Zealand (called the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) arrived in Gallipoli in Turkey. About 11,000 of them dead there and all this soldiers are dead now, but there are still services on ANZAC Day early in the morning. When the sun comes up, people remember the young ANZAC soldiers at Gallipoli, and other soldiers who have died in wars.

Guy Fawkes Night

The story of Guy Fawkes Night begins in 1605. At that time, James the First was King of England.Some people didn't wanted him to be king, so some of them (Guy Fawkes and his friends) made a plot to kill King James and his government at the Houses of Parliament, London, 5 November 1605.They put 36 boxes of gunpowder in a room underneath the Houses of Parliament because they wanted to kill a lot of people. But about midnight on 4 November, the King's soldiers found Guy Fawkes and the gunpowder. They tortured him, but he didn't wanted to say the names of his friends, but five days later, he said them. So, every year, on 5 November, people build a big fire outside (a bonfire). And children push newspaper into old clothes to make something that looks like a man. It's called 'guy', after Guy Fawkes. Sometimes they carry it through the streets and say 'Penny for the guy' to ask people for money for the fireworks.

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday is the day when Lent begins. Lent are the forty days before Easter. During Lent, some Christians stop eating a favourite food, like sugar or chocolate. In the past, people traditionally stopped eating eggs and milk. Just before Lent began, they took all their eggs and milk and made thin round cakes called pancakes. They eat pancakes in different waysin different countries, but in Britain they usually have them with lemon juice and sugar.

Waitangi Day

Waitangi Day is New Zealand's national day. On the 6th February 1840 people from the British government met a group of Maori chiefs in Waitangi (the north of New Zealand).They put all their names on an important paper called the Treaty of Waitangi. It said that New Zealand became a British colony. Every year, on the 6th February there are lots of celebrations, concerts and festivals in other places. Not all Maori are happy about the Treaty of Waitangior the celebrations

Christmas Eve

The Christmas holiday begins on this day. People stop working early and have a drink together, or finish their Christmas shopping. They put special Christmas paper on the presents and leave them under the tree, and children leave a stocking for Santa Claus (Father Christmas in Britain) when they go to bed.Children also leave a drink and a mince pie for Santa and some vegetables for his animals. Many people go to church at midnight. They listen to the Christmas story and sing carols

Easter Monday

Easter Monday is holiday for most people, so many watch some sport or go out for the day. Children usuallu have one or two weeks' holiday from school around Easter.

Saint Andrew's Day

Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland. Saint Andrew was probably a fisherman in Galilee and took Christianity to Greece.A story says that the Romans killed him there. Someone took his body to Istambul in Turkey and then to Scotland. They left the body in a city that is now called Saint Andrews

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday is the day when Christians think that Jesus came back to life.The word Easter comes from 'Eostre' (the old name for the goddess of spring. Easter Sunday is the sunday after the first full moon after the first day of Spring (21 March) Many animals and birds are born in the spring, so when people started sending Easter cards, usually, baby sheep, rabbits or chickens were drawn on this cards. Eggs are an important part of Easter (they mean spring and new life). On Easter Sunday, people give chocolate eggs as presents.Some dads tell their children that the Easter Rabbit brings the eggs and hides them in the garden, so the children must go there and look for them. Many people also eat hot cross buns at Easter. They are a kind of bread, made with fruit and spices, and they have a white cross on the top. You can also eat them hot with butter.

Australia Day

On the 26th January 1788 the first British ships arrived in a place that is now called Sydney. The Australia Day Regatta (a celebration with a lot of sailing races) began in 1837 and it's still celebrated in Sydney every year. Not everyone is happy about Australia Day. Many Aboriginal Australians don't celebrate the day.

Mother's Day

This day's origin is an American woman called Anna Jarvis who had a special service in her church to remember her mother when she died. She wanted to have a special day for mothers, and many people agreed that it would be a good thing. Anna's mother died on the second Sunday in May, and Anna wanted that day to be Mother's Day. She talked to business people and people in the government about her plan for a special day all over the USA.In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson said that the second Sunday in May would be Mother's Day across the USA. It is also that day in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Children try to do things to say 'thank you' to their mothers on that day, for example, give them breakfast in bed, take them out for a meal or give them a present.

April Fools Day

Until the middle of the 16th century, France celebrated the new year on 1 April. Then in 1564, King Charles the Ninth decided to change this (the new year began on 1 January. The message about this change travelled through the country very slowly, so some people didn't know about it or simply, didn't like it. When this people tried to give new year presents on 1 April, other people laughed at them and called them 'fools' or stupid people. 1 April was called All Fool's Day, and later April Fool's Day. In many countries it became a day to play jokes on people and laugh at them.

Canada Day

People remember the day in 1867 when the British North America colonies became the Dominion of Canada, on this day.There are celebrations all over the country with pancake breakfasts, parades, barbecues, music and fireworks.The biggest celebrations take place in Ottawa, home of the Canadian government: it's a great day to visit the city!

Honey moon

Summer was always a good season for people because it was easy to find food and also sweet honey, so the first full moon in June is called the honey moon.Many men and women marry in June, and the holiday that peopletake after they marry is still called the honeymoon.

Boxing Day

Boxing Day is also called Saint Stephen in Ireland. It's holiday for many people, but a lot of shops are open on this day. In the 9th century, rich people gave boxes of presents to the workers on Boxing Day. Now people enjoy eating, drinking and watching television at home, or going out to watch some sport.