Guy Fawkes Night

Traditions in England have been around for centuries. British traditions are famous worldwide. When one thinks of Britain, you imagine people drinking tea, wearing bowler hats and gorging on fish and chips. Sports, food and music, are tightly knit traditions in Britain.

Guy Fawkes Night
Guy Fawkes Night is celebrated on the 5th of November each year. Guy Fawkes was the mastermind of the Gun Powder Plot in 1605, which failed when he attempted to destroy the House of Parliament.

These night traditions celebrated famously in East Sussex, and Lewes commemorates this fail by having firework displays, bonfires, torch-lit processions and pagan rituals.

Daylight Savings Time
It is a tradition observed by England. Clocks are moved back one hour and takes place one week ahead of daylight savings time in America.

Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day

If America is famous for its Mardi Gras, England is known for Shrove Tuesday. Shrove Tuesday takes place before the start of Lent and is celebrated by Christians across the country by making pancakes. Pancakes are similar to crepes in England accompanied by golden syrup, sugar or lemon.
Christmas
Christmas celebrated on 25th December is a big holiday for the British people.

The season is lovely, and since Thanksgiving is not an occasion for celebration in England, Christmas comes early for the British people. Nativity plays and carols are traditional along with City centres everywhere decorated with Christmas trees. The most famous Christmas tree can be found lit in all its glory at Trafalgar Square in London. Santa Claus is called Father Christmas and will appear in the night, on Christmas Eve. Traditional food left for Father Christmas includes mince pies and sherry or brandy.

Christmas lunch or dinner served on Christmas Day consists of roast turkey, baked potatoes, carrots, parsnip, mini sausages, Brussels sprouts and Yorkshire pudding. Christmas crackers are another tradition with each guest or family member receiving one.
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is the day after Christmas and almost like an extension of the main holiday. People spent time with their families and loved ones, as many are tired or off from work.

Typical traditions include watching sports, playing games, hunting, going for walks and eating Christmas leftovers. People also love to shop on Boxing Day.

New Year’s Eve
The largest celebration of fireworks explodes at midnight over the London Eye. Big Ben chimes and rings in the New Year and British people sing Auld Lang Syne. Crowds gather at Trafalgar Square or Piccadilly Circus.

Poppy Day or Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day pays homage to the men and women who died during World War I and World War II. It is a commemoration held in November with people wearing red poppies.

In the United Kingdom, public holidays are days on which most businesses and non-essential services are closed. Many retail businesses (especially the larger ones) do open on some of the public holidays.

There are restrictions on trading on Sundays and Christmas Day in England and Wales and on New Year's Day and Christmas Day in Scotland. Public holidays defined by statute are called bank holidays, but this term can also be used to include common law holidays, which are held by convention. The term "public holidays" can refer exclusively to common law holidays.

There is no automatic right to time off on these days, but banks close an

and the majority of the working population is granted time off work or extra pay for working on these days, depending on their contracts.

There are eight bank holidays a year in England and Wales, nine in Scotland and ten in Northern Ireland. Additional days have been allocated for special events, such as royal weddings and jubilees. There are seven bank holidays common to all jurisdictions: New Year's Day, Good Friday, the early May bank holiday,

the Spring bank holiday, the Summer bank holiday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Easter Monday is a bank holiday in both England & Wales and Northern Ireland but not in Scotland. In Northern Ireland, St Patrick's Day and Orangemen's Day are also bank holidays. In Scotland, 2 January and St Andrew's Day are bank holidays. The Summer bank holiday varies according to jurisdiction: in Scotland, it is on the first Monday in August, and in the rest of the United Kingdom, it is on the last Monday in August.The UK is a country with a beautiful tradition.

Many festivals and holidays in Britain are centuries old. Every town, village and hamlet in Britain has its own traditions, some involving months of careful planning and preparations of costumes and choreography, others requiring simply a worrying desire to make a complete and utter fool of oneself.

The 2012 calendar below contains the most important and well known festivals and popular events in Britain. If you are looking for the date of a particular holiday or festival in the UK.

The Queen's birthday, also known as the Queen's Official Birthday, is usually celebrated on the second Saturday in June in the UK.

Is Queen's Birthday a Public Holiday?
Even though Queen's Birthday falls on Saturday, 11 June 2022, it is a working day. Most businesses follow regular opening hours in United Kingdom.
What Do People Do?
On her official birthday, the Queen makes a public appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

Her Majesty watches the spectacular Trooping the Colour parade, also known as the Queen's Birthday Parade, in London with other members of the Royal Family. The parade moves between Buckingham Palace, The Mall, and Horseguards’ Parade.

Some years the Queen presents the orders herself. Other years, a viceregal representative acts as the presenter. Honours have been awarded on the sovereign's birthday since at least 1885 when Queen Victoria was on the throne.
Long Weekend
In British diplomatic missions, the Queens Official Birthday is treated as the UK's National Day. Although it is not a public holiday in the UK, some civil servants are given a ”privilege day” at this time of year. This is often merged with the Spring Bank Holiday on the last Monday in May to create a long weekend.
Actual Birthday in April
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary of the House of Windsor was born on April 21, 1926. In 1952, when her her father, King George VI, died, Elizabeth succeeded to the throne, and today she is known as Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen celebrated her 60-year reign in 2012 with a Diamond Jubilee Bank Holiday.

English festivals are the Christian and secular festivals that are traditionally celebrated in England. Most festivals are observed throughout England but some, such as Oak Apple Day, Souling, Rushbearing, Bawming the Thorn, and Hocktide are local to certain regions.

New Year's Day
Valentine's Day
Mother's Day (Mothering Sunday)
Easter
April Fools' Day
St. George's Day
May Day
Oak Apple Day
Rushbearing
Lammas festival
Harvest festival
Halloween
Bonfire Night, Christmas