7C English celebrations

✂
Bonfire Night
1 When is Bonfire Night?
2 Who was Guy Fawkes?
3 Who did he try to kill and why?
4 What happened to Guy Fawkes?
5 What happens on Bonfire Night in England?

✂
Boxing Day
1 When is Boxing Day?
2 Do people go to work on Boxing Day?
3 How did the day get its name?
4 What’s another name for Boxing Day?
5 What happens on Boxing Day in England?

✂
St George’s Day
1 When is St George’s Day?
2 Who was St George?
3 St George’s emblem is the flag of England. What does it look like?
4 What did St George do?
5 How do people celebrate St George’s Day in England?

✂
Shrove Tuesday
1 What’s another name for Shrove Tuesday in England?
2 When is Shrove Tuesday?
3 Where does the name come from?
4 What do people eat on this day?
5 Why do they eat that food?

Solutions 2nd edition  Pre-Intermediate © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS • PHOTOCOPIABLE

 7C English celebrations
Aims  To expand students’ knowledge about English
celebrations. To give students the opportunity to work in a
group to do research and present the findings to the class.
Time  20 minutes
Materials  1 handout cut into four; students will require the
Internet or access to other resources with information about
celebrations in England
• Divide the class into four groups and tell them that each
group is going to find out information about a celebration
in England.
• Give each group a handout with the name of the
celebration and five questions; they must use the Internet
or available resources to find the answers.
• When time is up, get each group to tell the class what
they found out about their celebration.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE CELEBRATIONS
Bonfire Night
1 5th November
2 An English Catholic and one of a group of plotters who
attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605.
3 King James I and the English Parliament. Fawkes felt
King James I treated Catholics very unfairly.
4 Soldiers discovered him with barrels of gunpowder, in
the cellar under the Houses of Parliament. He was taken
to the Tower of London, tortured and questioned about
the other plotters. He was later hanged.
5 There are huge bonfires and firework displays. Effigies
of Guy Fawkes are burnt.
Boxing Day
1 26th December
2 Most people don’t work. It’s a public holiday.
3 Traditionally, 26th December was the day to open the
Christmas Box and share the contents with the poor.
4 St Stephen’s Day.
5 Usually families spend time together, eating, playing
games and watching sports. Nowadays, a lot of sales
begin on Boxing Day, so many people go shopping.
St George’s Day
1 23rd April
2 Patron saint of England
3 Red cross on a white background.
4 He protested against the Romans’ torture of Christians
and he died for his beliefs. One of the best-known
stories about St George is that he killed a dragon!
5 Most people don’t! Many people don’t even know when
St George’s Day is. It’s not a public holiday.
Shrove Tuesday
1 Pancake Day
2 The last day before Lent (the period leading up to
Easter) begins.
3 From the old word shrive which means to confess.
People used to confess their sins, so they were forgiven
before Lent began.
4 Pancakes (a thin, flat cake made with batter and fried in
a pan). Often eaten with lemon and sugar on top and
rolled up.
5 Because people wanted to eat foods like fat, butter, and
eggs, which were forbidden during Lent.

Solutions 2nd edition  Pre-Intermediate © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS