Liceul Teoretic ‘’Ion Barbu’’

LUCRARE PENTRU SUSȚINEREA ATESTATULUI PROFESIONAL DE COMPETENȚĂ

LINGVISTICĂ LA LIMBA ENGLEZĂ

PROFESOR COORDONATOR:
DINICĂ ALINA ANDREEA

ELEV:
SPIREA BIANCA GEORGIANA
CLASA aXII-a F

Pitești, 2022

1
BRITISH HOLIDAYS, CELEBRATIONS AND TRADITIONS

SĂRBATORI SI TRADIȚII BRITANCE

2
 CONTENTS
1.Introduction....................................................................................4

2.Chapter 1: JANUARY HOLIDAYS.......................................................5

NEW YEAR.......................................................5

TWELFTH NIGHT..............................................6

3.Chapter 2: FEBRUARY HOLIDAYS………………………………………………….7

CANDLEMAS DAY………………………………………….7-8

VALENTINE’S DAY………………………………………….9

4.Chapter 3: MARCH HOLIDAYS……………………………………………………….10

ST DAVID’S DAY…………………………………………..10

ST.PATRICK’S DAY………………………………………..11

PANCAKE DAY……………………………………………..12

MAUNDY THURSDAY……………………………………12

EASTER…………………………………………………………13

5.Chapter 4: APRIL HOLIDAYS…………………………………………………………….14

APRIL FOOL’S DAY…………………………………………14

6.Chapter 5: MAY HOLIDAYS………………………………………………………………15

MAY DAY……………………………………………………..15

Origins………………………………………………………..15
7.Chapter 6: JUNE HOLIDAYS……………………………………………………………………………………..16

TROOPING THE COLOURS……………………………………………………16

SWAN UPPING…………………………………………………………………..17

8. Chapter 7: OCTOBER HOLIDAYS………………………………………………………………………………18

HALLOWEEN………………………………………………………………………18

9.Chapter 8: NOVEMBER HOLIDAYS……………………………………………………………………………19

BONFIRE NIGHT…………………………………………………………………..19

REMEMBERANCE DAY…………………………………………………………19-20

ST.ANDREW’S DAY……………………………………………………………..20

10.Chapter 9: DECEMBER HOLIDAYS……………………………………………………………………………21

 CHRISTMAS DAY………………………………………………………………….21-22

BOXING DAY………………………………………………………………………23

HISTORY OF AFTERNOON TEA……………………………………………23

11.Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………………………24

12.Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………………………………25
 INTRODUCTION
This essay tends to be an introductory survey of the historical
and social background of British holidays, celebrations and
traditions.
People of every culture celebrate holidays. Although the
word itself ‘’holiday’’ literally means ‘’holy day’’ most of the
American and British holidays are not related to religion.
Celebrations are a party or a special event at which you
celebrate something. For example: Christmas Day, Easter,
Halloween. Most English-speaking countries have similar
festivals and holidays which are important. However, there are
particular days which the others do not celebrate, such as
Independence Day in the United States.
The reason I choose this subject is that I am very found of
the British holidays, traditions and celebrations. Since I was
little I have loved and I used to imitate them when I played with
my dolls. The most frequent performed was the tea ceremony.
The cups, the kettle, the milk, the sugar, the lemon slices, the
biscuits, everything was at its place in perfect order. When the
tea was coming even the teddy bears were thrilled because they
knew that something wonderful was about to happen.
I think that these traditions and holidays define us as a
people, the love we each have for our country, thus preserving
them from generation to generation.

4
 CHAPTER 1
January holidays
NEW YEAR
New Year in United States is celebrated on January 1. The day was officially declared as New
Year’s Day in 1752. It is the time to ring our old year and bring the new one by merry making.
New Year is the much awaited celebration for the people of UK. They love to enjoy each
and every minute of the going year. Theme parties, salsa dance and live performances are the
some of the rocking events of New Year in UK. Another enthralling part of the New Year
festivities are the New Year cruises in England. These are the most unique and memorable part
of New Year in England. So, if you are planning to have an exciting New Year, England is all set
for one.

New year Traditions in Britain

A very old custom of ‘first footing’ is still followed in Britain with sincerity. It is said that the first
male visitor to the house on the New Year’s day brings good luck. A blonde, a red-haired or a woman is
not allowed to enter the house first as they are supposed to bring bad luck. The male visitor usually
brings money, bread or coal as these are considered auspicious gifts. At some places, there is a tradition
of gifting the holy mistletoe. It is believed to bring prosperity for the recipient. Another tradition which is
popularly celebrated is the ‘’burning of the bush’’. It symbolizes burning of all past events.

New Year Celebrations in Britain

New Year celebrations in Britain is a colorful affair. New Year is celebrated as the most important
festival in United Kingdom. Midnight parties, lavish meals, champagnes, music, dance and fireworks are
the important parts of New Year in England. It is the biggest night-out of the year.

Apart from parties and meals, another important part of New Year celebrations in UK is the biggest
New Year parade. The parade starts at noon walking down the streets via Whitehall, Pall Mall and
finishing in Berkley square. Musicians, dancers, acrobats, drums and other entertainers do a splendid job
to make the event most distinguished one. Everyone present at Berkley is openly invited to join the
carnival and enjoy the festive occasion.
5
 TWELFTH NIGHT

‘’Twelfth Night’’ is defined by the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary as ‘’the evening of the fifth of
January, preceding Twelfth Day, the eve of the Epiphany, formerly the last day of the Christmas
festivities and observed as a time of merrymaking’’. However, there is currently some confusion as to
which night is Twelfth Night: some count the night of Epiphany itself (sixth of January) to be the Twelfth
Night. One source of the confusion is said to be the Medieval custom of starting each new day at sunset,
so that Twelfth Night precedes Twelfth Day. In some cases the 25 December is the first day of Christmas,
so therefore 5 January is the 12th day. It is erroneous to count the Christmas season as the 12 days after
Christmas Day, making 6 January the Twelfth Day, as 6 January is the Epiphany, and church season do
not overlap. A recent belief in some English-speaking countries holds that it is unlucky to leave
Christmas decorations hanging after Twelfth Night, a belief originally attached to the festival of
Candlemas which celebrates the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (2 February).

Origins and history

In medieval and Tudor England, the Twelfth Night marked the end of a winter festival that
started on All Halows Eve-now more commonly known as Halloween. The Lord of Misrule symbolizes
the world turning upside down. On this day the King and all those who were high would become the
peasants and vice versa. At the beginning of the Twelfth Night festival, a cake that contained a bean was
eaten. The person who found the bean would rule the feast. Midnight signaled the end of his rule and
the world return to normal.

6
 CHAPTER 2
FEBRUARY HOLIDAYS
Candlemas Day
Candlemas Day is also named ‘’The Cristian festival of
lights’’ and it is celebrated on 2nd February. This ancient festival
marks the midpoint of winter, halfway between the shortest
day and the spring equinox. Candlemas is a traditional Cristian
festival that commemorates the ritual purification of Mary forty
days after the birth of her son Jesus. On this day, Cristian’s
remember the presentation of Jesus Christ in the Temple. Forty
days after the birth of a Jewish boy, it was the custome to take
him to the temple in Jerusalem to be presented to God by his
thankful parents. In pre-Christian times, this day was known as
the ‘’Feast of Lights’’ and celebrated the increase strength of
the life-giving sun as winter gave way to spring.
How did the 2nd February come to be called
Candlemas?
It was the day of the year when all the candles, that were used in the
church during the coming year, were brought into church and a blessing
was said over them-so it was the Festival Day of the Candle. Candles
were important in those days not only because there was no electric
lights. Some people thought they gave protection against plague and
illness and famine. For Christians they were and still are a reminder of
something even more important. Before Jesus came to earth, it was as
if everyone was ‘in the dark’. Christians often talk to Jesus as ‘’the light
of the world’’ and candles are lit during church services to remind
Christians of this.

7
 Candlemas is a day which holds many different customs.

The Romans has a custom of lighting candles to scare away evil spirits in the winter. One of the
most interesting custom took place in Scotland. In the olden days, Candelmas was the day when children
brought candles to school so that the classrooms could have lights on dull days. As time went on, gas
lighting took over from candle light. The children took money to the teacher who was supposed to
spend it on sweets and cakes for the childrento eat. The boy the girl taking in the most money were
declared Candelmas King and Queen and they ‘ruled’ for six weeks. They had the power to make one
whole afternoon a week a playtime and they could also let anyone they wished of punishment.

Other names for Candlemas Day.

Candlemas’s Day also has two other names. One is the ‘’Presentation pf Jesus Christ in the
Temple’’. The other is the ‘’Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary’’. Both these names come from
special events in the life of baby Jesus.

Candlemas Day Weather-lore, beliefs and sayings

People believe that Candlemas Day predicted the weather for the rest of the winter. The weather
proverbs express the idea that a fine bright sunny Candlemas Day means that there is more winter to
come, whereas a cloudy wet stormy Candlemas Day means that the worse of winter is over.

8
 Valentine’s Day

Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's

Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is
celebrated annually on February 14.It originated
as a Christian feast day honoring one or two
early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine
and, through later folk traditions, has become a
significant cultural, religious, and commercial
celebration of romance and love in many
regions of the world.
This celebration was deleted from the
General Roman Calendar of saints in 1969 by
Pope Paul VI, Modern Valentine’s Day symbols
include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the
figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th
century, handwritten valentines have given way
to mass-produced greetings cards.
 9

CHAPTER 3
March holidays
St David’s Day
Saint David’s Day is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales,
st
and falls on the 1 of March each year. The first day of march was chosen in
remembrance of the death of Saint David. Tradition holds that he died on that day
in 589. The date was declared a national day of celebration within Wales in the
th
18 century.

The significance of St. David’s DAY

St David was born towards the end of the fifth century. He was a scion of
the royal house of Ceredigion, and founded a Celtic monastic community at Glyn
Rhosin (The Vale of Roses) on the western headland of Pembrokeshire (Sir
Benfro), at the spot where St David’s Cathedral stands today. David’s fame as a
teacher and ascetic spread throughout the Celtic world. His foundation at Glyn
Rhosin became an important Christian shrine, and the most important centre in
Wales. The date of Dewi Sant’s death is recorded as 1 March, but the year is
uncertain-probably 588.
For centuries, 1 March has been a national festival. St David was recognized
as a national patron saint at the height at Welsh resistance to the Normans. St
David’s day was celebrated by Welsh diaspora from the late middle ages. Saint
David’s Day is not a national holiday in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland. Similarly in the United States of America, it has regularly been
celebrated, although it is not an official holiday. It is invariably celebrated by
Welsh throughout the world with dinners, parties, eisteddfodau.
 10

St. Patrick’s DAY

Saint Patrick’s Day or the Feast of Saint Patrick is a cultural and
religious holiday celebrated on 17 March. It commemorates
Saint Patrick, the most commonly recognized of the patron
saints of Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. It is
observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglian Communion, The
Eastern Orthodox Church and Lutheran Church. Saint Patrick’s
Day was made an official feast day in the early seventeenth
century, and has gradually become a celebration of Irish culture
in general. The day is generally characterised by the attendance
of church services, wearing of green attire, public parades and
processions, and the lifting of Lenten restrictions on eating, and
drinking alcohol, which is often proscribed during the rest of the
season.
Saint Patrick’s Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland,
Northern Ireland, Newfoundland and Labrador and Montserrat.
It is also widely celebrated by the Irish diaspora, especially in
places such as Great Britain, Canada, the United States,
Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand, among others. Today, St.
Patrick’s Day is probably the most widely celebrated saint’s day
in the world. According to legend, St. Patrick used the 3-leaved
 shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish people.

11

Pancake Day
Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Tuesday,
Pancake Day, Mardi Gras, and Fat Tuesday) is the day preceding Ash
Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Shrove Tuesday is observed
mainly in English speaking countries, but is also observed in the
Philippines and Germany. Shrove Tuesday in linked to Easter, so its
date changes on an annual basis. In most traditions the day is
known for the eating of pancakes before the start of Lent. Pancakes
are eaten as they are made out of the main foods available, sugar,
fat, flour and eggs, the consumption of which was traditionally
restricted during the ritual associated with Lent.

Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday (also known as Holy Thursday, Covenant
Thursday, Great and Holy Thursday, Sheer Thursday and Thursday of
Mysteries) is the Christian feast, or holy day, falling on the Thursday
before Easter. It commemorates the Maundy and Last Supper of
Jesus Christ with the Apostles as described in the Canonical
gospels. It is the fifth day of Holy Week, and is preceded by Spy
Wednesday and followed by Good Friday.
The date is always between 19 March and 22 April
inclusive, but these dates fall on different days depending on
whether the Gregorian or Julian calendar is used liturgically. Eastern
churches generally use the Julian calendar, and so celebrate this
feast throughout the 21st century between 1 April and 5 May in the
more commonly used Gregorian calendar.

12

Easter
Easter is a Christian festival and holiday celebrating the
resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion
at Calvary as described in New Testament. Easter is preceded by
Lent, a forty-day period of fasting, prayer and penance. The last
week of Lent is called Holy Week, and is contains the days of
the Easter Triduum, including Maundy Thursday,
commemorating Maundy and Last Supper, as well as God
Friday, commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus.
Easter is followed by a fifty-day period called Eastertide or the
Easter Season, ending with Pentecost Sunday. The festival is
referred to in English by a variety of different names including
Easter Day, Easter Sunday, Resurrection Day and Resurrection
Sunday.
Easter is a moveable feast, meaning it is not fixed in
relation to the civil calendar. The date of Easter therefore varies
between 22 March and 22 April. Eastern Christianity bases its
calculations on the Julian calendar whose 21 March
corresponds, during the 21st century, to 3 April in the Gregorian
calendar, in which the celebration of Easter therefore varies
between 4 April and 8 May. Easter is linked to the Jewish
Passover by much of its symbolism, as well as by its position in
the calendar. Easter customs vary across the Christian world, but
attending sunrise services, exclaiming the Paschal greeting,
clipping the church and decorating Easter eggs, a symbol of the
empty tomb, are common motifs. Additional customs include
egg hunting, the Easter Bunny, and Easter parades, which are
observed by both Christians and some non-Christians.

13

CHAPTER 4
April holidays
April Fool’s Day is celebrated in different countries on
April 1 every year. Sometimes referred to as All Fools’ Day,
April 1 is not a national holiday, but is widely recognized
and celebrated as a day when people play practical jokes and
hoaxes on each other.
In France and Italy, children and adults
traditionally tack paper fish on each other’s back as a trick
and shout ‘’april fish!” in their local language.
The earliest recorded associations between April
1 and foolishness can be found in Chaucer’s Canterbury
Tales (1392). Many writers suggest that the restoration of
January 1 as New Year’s Day in the 16th century was
responsible for the creation of the holiday, but this theory
does not explain earlier references.

14

CHAPTER 5
May holidays
May day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a
public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures.
May Day is related to the Celtic festival of Beltane and the Germanic
festival of Walpurgis Night. May Day falls exactly half a year from November 1,
another cross-quarter day which is also associated with various northern European
pagan and the year in the Northern hemisphere, and it has traditionally been an
occasion for popular and often raucous celebrations. As Europe became
Christianized the pagan holidays lost their religious character and either changed
into popular secular celebrations, as with May Day, or were merged with or
replaced by new Christian holidays as with Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and All
Saint’s Day. In the twentieth century, many neopagans began reconstructing the
old traditions and celebrating May Day as a pagan religious festival again.
Origins
The earliest May Day celebrations appeared in pre-Christian times, with the
festival of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers, and the Walpurgis Night
celebrations of the Germanic countries. It is also associated with the Gaelic
Beltane. Many pagan celebrations were abandoned or Christianized during the
process of conversation in Europe.
The day was a traditional summer holiday in many pre-Christian European
pagan cultures. In the Roman Catholic tradition, May is observed as Mary’s month,
and in these circles May Day is usually a celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In this connection, in works of art, school skits, and so forth, Mary’s head will
often be adorned with flowers in a May crowning. Finding in popularity since the
late 20th century is the giving of ‘’May baskets’’, small baskets of sweets and
flowers, usually left anonymously on neighbours doorsteps.

15

CHAPTER 6
June holidays
Trooping the colors
Trooping the Colors is a ceremony performed by regiments of the
British and Commonwealth armies. It has been a tradition of British
infantry regiments since the 17th century, although the roots go back
much earlier. On battlefields, a regiment’s colors, or flags, were used as
rallying points. Consequently, regiments would have their Ensigns
slowly march with their colors between the soldiers’ ranks to enable
soldiers to recognize their regiments’ colors.
Since 1748 Trooping the Color has also marked the official
birthday of the British sovereign. It is held in London annually on a
Saturday in June on Horse Guards Parade by St. James’s Park, and
coincides with the publication of the Birthday Honours List. Among the
audience are the Royal Family, invited guests, ticketholders and the
general public. The colorful ceremony, also known as ‘’The Queen’s
Birthday Parade’’, its broadcast live by the BBC.
 The music is provided by the massed bands of the foot guards
and the mounted bands of the Household Cavalry, together with a
Corps of Drums, and occasionally pipers, totaling approximatively 400
musicians.
Buckingham Palace, from where the Queen watches a further
march-past from outside the gates. Following a 41-gun salute by the
King’s Troop in Green Park, she leads the Royal Family on to the palace
balcony for a Royal Air Force flypast.

16

Swan upping
Swan Upping is a annual ceremonial and practical activity in
Britain in which mute swans on the River Thames are rounded up,
caught, marked, and then released.
Traditionally, the Monarch of the United Kingdom retains the
right to ownership of all unmarked mute swans in open water, but only
exercises ownership on certain stretches of the River Thames and its
surrounding tributaries. This date from the 12th century, during which
time swans were a common food source for royalty. Swan upping is a
means o established a swan census, and today also serves to check the
health of swans.
Swans upping occurs annually during the third week of July.
During the ceremony, the Queen’s, the Vintners’, and the Dyers’ Swan
Uppers row up the river in skiffs. Swans caught by the Queen’s Swan
Uppers under the direction of the Swan Marker remain unmarked, those
caught by the Dyers’ are ringed on one leg, and those caught by the
Vintners are ringed on both legs. Originally, rather than being ringed, the
swans would be marked on the bill-a practice commemorated in the pub
name The Swan with Two Necks, a corruption of the term ‘’The Swam
with Two Nicks’’.
 CHAPTER 7
October holidays

Halloween( a shortening of All Hallows’ Evening) also

known as Halloween or All Hallows’ Eve, is a yearly holiday
observed around the world on October 31, the night before
All Saints’ Day. Much like Day of the Dead celebrations, the
Christian feast of All Hallows’ Eve, according to some
scholars, incorporates traditions from pagan harvest festivals
and honoring the dead, particularly the Celtic Samhain;
other scholars maintain that the feast originated entirely
independently of Samhain. Typical festive Halloween
activities include trick-or-treating (also known as ‘’guising’’),
attending costume parties, carving jack-o’-lanterns, lighting
bonfires, apple bobbling, visiting haunted attractions,
playing pranks, telling scary stories, watching horror films, as
well as the religious observances of praying, fasting and
attending vigils or church services.

18

CHAPTER 8
November Holidays

Bonfire Night
Bonfire Night is a yearly event dedicated to bonfires,
fireworks and celebrations. Different traditions celebrate Bonfire
Night on different days. Some of the better known Bonfire
Nights are: 5 November in the Great Britain and some
Commonwealth countries (sometimes also called Guy Fawkes
Night); 11 July in Northern Ireland, where it is also called
Eleventh Night, precursor to The Twelfth; 23 June in the
Republic of Ireland, sometimes known as St John’s Eve, a
bonfire tradition which also survives in parts of Scandinavia; in
Australia, the Queen’s Birthday. Several other cultures also
include night-time celebrations involving bonfires and
fireworks.
Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day or
Armistice Day) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth
countries since the end of World War I to remember the
members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty.
This day, or alternative dates, are also recognized as special days
for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries.
Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to
recall the official end of World War 1 on that date in 1918;
hostilities formally ended ‘’at the 11th hour of the 11th day of
the 11th month’’ of 1918 with the German signing of the
Armistice (‘’at the 11th hour’’ refers to the passing of the 11th
hour, or 11:00 a.m).
The day was specifically dedicated by King George
V on 7 November 1919 as a day of remembrance of members of
the armed forces who were killed during World War I. This was
possibly done upon the suggestion of Edward George Honey to
Wellesley Tudor Pole, who established two ceremonial periods
of remembrance based on events in 1917.

St. Andrew’s Day

St. Andrew’s Day is the feast day of Saint Andrew. It is

celebrated on November 30 in Scotland. Saint Andrew is
the patron saint of Scotland, and St. Andrew’s Day is
Scotland’s official national day. In 2006, the Scottish
Parliament designed St. Andrew’s Day as an official bank
holiday. Although most commonly associated with
Scotland, Saint Andrew is also the patron saint of Greece,
Romania, Russia, Ukraine and the Ecumenical
Patriarchate of Constantinopole.

20

CHAPTER 9
December holidays
Advent
Advent, anglicized from the Latin word adventus meaning ‘’coming’’, is a
season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant
waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at
Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences
on Advent Sunday, called Lovavi. The Eastern churches equivalent of Advent
is called the Nativity Fast, but it differs both in length and observances and
does not begin the church year, which starts instead on September 1. The
progression of the season may be marked with an Advent calendar a practice
introduced by German Lutherans. At least in the Roman Catholic, Anglican,
Lutheran, Moravian, Presbyterian and Methodic calendars, Advent starts on
the fourth Sunday before December 25, the Sunday from November 27 to
December 3 inclusive. Latin adventus is the translation of the Greek word
Parousia, commonly used in reference to the Second Coming of Christ. For
Christians, the season of Advent serves as a reminder both of the original
waiting that was done by the Hebrews for the birth of their Messiah as well
as the waiting of Christians for Christ’s return from Heaven where he now
sits at the Right Hand of God.
Christmas Day
Christmas or Christians Day is an annual commemoration
of the birth of Jesus Christ, celebrated generally on December 25 as a
religious and cultural holiday by billions of people around the world.
The original date of the celebration in Eastern Christianity was
January 6, in connection with Epiphany, and that is still the date of the
celebration for the Armenian Apostolic Church and in Armenia, where it is a
public holiday. As of 2012, there is a differences of 13 days between the
modern Gregorian calendar and the older Julian calendar. Those who
continue to use the Julian calendar or its equivalents thus celebrate
December 25 and January 6 on what for the majority of the world is January
7 and January 19. For this reason Ethiopia, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, the
Republic of Macedonia, and the Republic of Moldova celebrate Christmas on
what in the Gregorian calendar is January 7; all the Greek Orthodox
Churches celebrate Christmas on December 25.
 22

Boxing day
Boxing Day is traditionally a day following Christmas when people
in the United Kingdom would box up their presents. Today, Boxing Day
is better known as a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December,
or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on
national or regional laws. It is observed in the United Kingdom,
Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and some other Commonwealth
nations. In South Africa, Boxing Day was renamed Day of Goodwill in
1994. In Ireland it is recognised as St. Stephen’s Day or the Day of the
Wren. In the Netherlands, ‘Latvia, Lithuania, Austria, Germany,
Scandinavia and Poland. 26 December is celebrated as the Second
Christmas Day. In Canada, Boxing Day takes place on 26 December and
is a federal public holiday. In Ontario, Boxing Day is a statutory holiday
where all full-time workers receive time off with pay.

History of Afternoon Tea

Tea consumption increased dramatically during the early
nineteenth century and it is around this time that Anna, the 7th
Duchess of Bedford is said to have complained of ‘’having that sinking
feeling’’ during the late afternoon. At this time it was usual for people
to take only two main meals a day, breakfast, and dinner at around 8
o’clock in the evening. The solution for the Duchess was a pot a tea and
a light snack, taken privately in her boudoir during the afternoon.
Occasionally you see hotels serving a ‘’high tea’’.
Traditionally, the upper classes would serve a ‘’low’’ or ‘’afternoon’’ tea
around four o’clock, just before the fashionable promenade in Hyde
Park. The middle and lower classes would have a more substantial
‘’high’’ tea later in the tables on which the meals are served, high tea
being served at the dinner table.
23

CONCLUSION
To sum up, public holidays are those holidays when the majority
of the population who are not employed in essential services
usually receive an extra pay for these days. The United States
bank holiday refers to those special cases when the banks should
be closed because of executive orders as a remedy for financial
crises.
Even though all those holidays, celebrations and
traditions are well known by everyone on the world, I think that
the origin of every human being means the home where we feel
best and the traditions and holidays are the definition of each of
us, the pure origin that we must not forget and always keep in a
special place of our soul.
 24

Bibliography
1. http://en.wikipedia.com

2. http://www.learnenglish.com

3. http://www.projectbritain.com

4. http://www.woodlands.junior.kent.sch.uk

5. http://holidaygirl.hubpages.com

6. http://www.happywink.org
7. http://www.afternoontea.co.uk

25