Czech, British and American holidays and customs

New Year´s day

- 1st January
- Family time, entertainment programs on TV usually enjoyed from the comfort of home

All Fool´s Day

- 1. April
- people play practical jokes and trick to the other
- successful tease shouts at the victim “April Fool!”
- In earlier das, 1. April looked very different. Servants become masters and on the contrary.
Masters used to have obey the servants. (UK)

Mother’s Day
- CR and US 9th May, UK 2nd Sunday in May
- gift for mothers

Czech
Christmas
- the 24th of December
- Before Christmas children write letters to baby Jesus, then they place those letters behing
the window
- preparation for Christmas four weeks before this day (“Advent”)
- Children have special calendars called “Christmas calendars”- it has 24 windows and every
day children open a window and find a piece of chocolate
- in Advent, Czech women clean the house and bake Christmas cookies and cakes
- iron, bronze, silver, gold Sunday
- 4 candles on Advent wreath: 3 purples, 1 pink
- day before Christmas or on the 24 the December a Christmas tree is decorated with some
ornaments, chocolate candies, gingerbread or candles
- If you don´t eat meat on this day, you will see a golden pig in the evening
- Christmas dinner starts around 6 pm. A traditional dish is fried carp with potato salad.
Someone hates fish and prefers schnitzel or sausages.
- After dinner people go to the Christmas tree and open presents.
- Some sings carols. Some go to church later in the evening for midnight mass.
- presents brings baby jesus
- Christmas carols are singed by the tree
- Christians go to church on Christmas Day
- superstition: throw a shoe over your shoulder on Christmas day = if the toe points towards
the door, you will be married soon
- superstition: lead pouring, you‘ll get some shapes

Easter
- christian celebration
- dye eggs, carabiners
- men beat women and girls with Easter Caroling wicker and say Easter carols
- As a reward, the receive painted eggs and a colored ribbon . Ribbons have a different color,
each color represents something different
 o Red - love and affection
o Blue - hope for something more
o Yellow – rejection
o Green - sympathy and popularity
- Girls and women can pour water or perfume on the men and boys after lunch. Traditional
lunch is chicken with stuffing. The presented eggs are made from egg spread

All Souls Day

- 1st November
- christian holiday, remember dead
- Families visit cemeteries where they lay candles and flowers.
 Holiday work - first May
 Day when the 2nd World War was ended - 8th May
 Day when Prince Wenceslas was murdered 28th September
 Day when the Czechoslovak state was formed 28th October
 Day when Freedom and Democracy were fought for 17th November
 The holidays which are Christian. The Christians go to mass.
 Remembrance of the coming of Christianity in Great Moravia, Cyril and Methodius 5th July
 Remembrance day when champion Jana Huse was burned 6th July

UK
Christmas
- 25th of December in England
- many traditions such as roasting turkey, decorating homes and churches with green leaves,
paper decorations and colourful electric lights and so on.
- Before Christmas children write letters to Father Christmas, then they throw these letters
into the fire.
- 24th Christmas Eve, spend time with family, talk and drink mulled wine and eat many sweets.
- 25th opening presents
- Father Christmas comes when everyone's asleep. Father Christmas is the British version of
Santa Claus. But in return for his generosity, some people leave out some biscuits and milk.
- On typical Christmas dinner we can find huge turkey which is roasted and served with a lot of
vegetables, like potatoes, turnips, cauliflower and broccoli, with the choice of gravy either
mint or cranberry sauce.
- dessert the Christmas pudding. You eat it hot, with a lot of sweet sauce - custard.
- December 26th is called Boxing Day, because in the past opprenticies and tradesmen collected money
in boxes
- People send x-mas cards to their relatives and friends
- mistletoe - kiss

Easter
- Easter is at a different time each year
- first Sunday after the first full moon after the first day of spring
 - decorate Easter eggs and parents tell their children that the Easter rabbit brings the eggs and
hides them in the garden. The kids then have to run around the garden with baskets looking
for these eggs. The one who finds the most is the winner (this is called Egg Hunt).
- On Easter are baked hot cross buns. Hot Cross buns are bread buns with currants and spices
and they have a cross on top (to represent the cross of Jesus).

Guy Fawkes
- 5th of November
- Guy Fawkes was leader of a group of men, who tried blow up the British House of Parliament
in 1605. But the Gunpowder Plot was discovered in last time and there was not explosion. G.
Fawkes was arrested and executed. Since then, November 5th has become known as Bonfire
Night. The event is commemorated every year with fireworks and burning effigies of Guy
Fawkes on a bonfire.
- -Children usually make "Guys" with straw, old clothes and newspapers before November 5th
and they use them to collect money for fireworks. Children stand with their ”Guys" in busy
streets or outside shops and ask people for ”a penny for the guy"

Halloween
- 31st October is a night of traditional fun and games
- for old Celts Halloween (Samhain) was the last day of the year and the beginning of winter
- children dress on Halloween costumes and go from house to house knocking at the door and
saying “Trick or treat!”
- People give then some sweets or money. But if the children are not treated, they soup the
windows of house and car or sprite the water to owners face.
- some people cut the face in the pumpkin and put candle inside = jack-o´-lantern - also many
parties are held

St. Valentine’s Day

- 14. February
- a lover´s day
- young people send valentines (Valentine´s cards), which may include poem or message
- they are mostly anonymous
- lovers exchange small gifts such as plush animals
- St. Valentine secretly wedded soldiers, who were banned of marrying, because of what he
was beheaded

St. Patrick´s day

- 17th March
- St. Patrick was the Irish saint and became the patron of Ireland
- people often wear something green and some pubs sell green beer

St. Andrew’s day

- November 30th, the patron saint of Scotland

Midsummer´s Day
- 24.June
- at Stonehenge is held very old ceremony during the sunrise
- In Scotland and Cornwall are somewhere lit the fires to give the sun the strength
Remembrance Day
- 11th November
- WWII dead

New Year´s Eve

- They have family parties and at twelve o´clock they sing Auld Lang Syne. People gather
/shromažďují/ in squares, link arms and sing.

Official birthday
- In June the Queen’s official birthday is celebrated. It is a great ceremony with a parade of the
Queen’s guards and soldiers and ceremony of Trooping the colour at the gorse guards parade in
London

May day
- is celebrated with dancing around Maypoles, the political parties of the left hold processions
and public meetings

USA
Christmas
- Unlike Czech Republic, Christmas in the USA is not family holiday. Families invite friends to
join them at Christmas dinner.
- Americans are even known thanks to massive Christmas decoration. Beside the trees they
decorate even their houses and gardens with garlands and electric coloured light inside and
outside the house.
- Santa Claus, who bring presents, goes into the house throw the chimney. They open presents
at 25th at the morning. The day before is called Christmas Eve. For the Christmas dinner they
have turkey with cranberry sauce

Easter
- Easter is celebrated on first Monday after the first full moon.
- dye eggs and hide them. Children go to find these eggs.
- On Sunday they go on Mass or services.

Thanksgiving Day
- first 1621, to commemorate the harvest after a harsh winter
- In that year Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving
- The colonists celebrated it as a traditional harvest feast, to which they invited the Indians.
- President Abraham Lincoln has looked for ways to unite the nation. And in 1941 Congress
passed and ordered the celebration of Thanksgiving Day on the fourth Thursday of
November, where it remains.
- During this celebrate all family will come together.
- roast turkey, apple or pumpkin pie
- The second day is Black Friday. On Black Fridays are a big discounts in the stores.

Independence Day
- 4th July
- It is the biggest national holiday
- symbolizes the adoption of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain in
Philadelphia in 1776
 - People organize picnics , parades, the at American flag hangs at every house and there are a
lot of fireworks in the evening.

Columbus Day
- 2nd Monday in October, This day commemorates Columbus landing in the New World

Veteran’s day
- November 11th

Memorial day
- It is celebrated 4th Monday in May. The American honour the dead of all wars

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