THE UK

ST PATRICKS DAY
St Patrick´s day is the national holiday of Ireland. It is celebrated on the 17th of March – it is
the date when the saint Patrick died. St Patrick was born in the fourth century and he
brought Christianity to the Irish.
On St Patrick´s day, people usually wear green clothes. Children usually pinch those who don
´t wear green.
The traditional symbols are the shamrock, the harp and the leprechaun. Leprechauns are
small Irish fairies who live in the forests. They make shoes and they have lots of gold, but
they are unfriendly.
The traditions foods are corned beef and cabbage.

TROOPING THE COLOUR

Trooping the colour is Queen´s Elizabeth official birthday celebrated on the Saturday after
9th of June. Although the Queen´s birthday is in April, the birthday of UK monarchs have
been celebrated in June since 1748. It takes place at Whitehall with Horse Guard´s parade.
On that day and aslo on New Years day the Queen awards honorous to important people.
Boxing day
Boxing day is celebrated on the 26th of December. Though it originated as a holiday to give
gifts to poor people, today, Boxing Day forms part of Christmas celebrations, with many
people choosing to take advantage of Boxing Day sales.
Today some people give money to charity. Lots of people go visiting their friends and family
on this day.
Remembrance day
Remembrance day is celebrated on the 11th of November or the nearest Saturday. A
ceremony is held at the Cenotaph in London. There is a two-minute silence to remember
those who were killed in two world wars.

THE USA
HALLOWEEN
Halloween is a holiday celebrated each year on October 31. Halloween is famous as a holiday
full of spooky legends and ghosts stories. It i salso known for its many unique traditions, such
as dressing up in costumes, trick-or-treating or carving jack-o-lanterns.
Nowadays, Halloween is mainly celebrated in the US and in Canada, but it started more than
2000 years ago with the Celts. At the end of each October, the Celts held a festival called
Samhain (saw wen), which signified the end of summer and biginning of winter. To prepare
for the long dark winter ahead, the Celts slaughtered animals, harvested their crops and
stocked up on food. Many historicans and anthropologists believe the modern Halloween
comes from Samhain.
Nowadays, childern celebrate Halloween by dressing up in costumes with masks over their
faces. They dressing up as ghosts, witches or skeletons. They carry baskests or bags and they
go to their freinds´ and neighbours´ houses and they knock on the door. When people open
the door, children say trick-or-treat. People usually give children sweets or money.
People decorate their houses with paper witches, cobwebs ar with pumpinks. For this
reason, another popular tradition is carving jack-o-lanter. It is the most famous symbol of
Halloween. It is a pumpkin with a face carved into it and candle inside.

THANKSGIVING
Thanksgiving day is celebrated on the last Thursday of November and it´s the second most
important holiday of the year after Christmas. When Pilgrim fathers settled in America in
1620 they suffered a lot during the first winter and half of them died. The next year the
Native Americans taught them how to plant corn and other crops like pumpkins, barely,
beans and so one , so in the autumn of 1621 they celebrated their Thanksgiving day for the
first time.
Nowadays, many Americans enjoy a four-day holiday. Family members often travel long
distances to see their relatives. The Americans eat roast turkey, pumpkin pie, squashes and
cranberries.
This is the day of gifts, charity and food for poor people.

INDEPENDENCE
Independence day is celebrated on the 4th of July. This day is the leading American national
celebration because it commemorates the day the USA proclaimed its freedom from Britain
with the Declaration of Independence in 1776. The authors of the declaration of
independence were Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Fanklin, John Adams and more.
Very early in its development the holiday was an occasion for fanfare, parades, fireworks,
patriotic music and speeches celebrating American freedom and American life.
People usulally have a barbecue.
THE CZECH REPUBLIC
LIBERATION DAY
The Czech Republic celebrates May 8th as a Liberation Day – it is a public holiday. This day
celebrates the end of the Second world was in Europe. On this day, Chechoslovakia, which
until that date, was under German occupation, was leberated by Russian and American amry
units. Prague was liberated in the morning on 8 of May 1945 by the Soviet army.
This ended the worst and the most destructive war in moderne European history.
In some parts of the world, however, the second world war continued. The us army was still
fighting with Japan.

CZECH STATEHOOD DAY

Czech statehood day is on September 28. This day is also known as St Wenceslaus day. On
this public holiday we celebrate the main patron of the Czech Republic. Wenceslaus was one
of the early Premyslid dukes of Bohemia. He was born in 907 and he was the son of Bořivoj I.
and Drahomíra. In 921 Wencelsaus become the duke of Bohemia and ruled until his death on
28th of September in 935 when he was murdered by his younger brother Boleslav I. He is the
first Czech ruler to suffer a martyr´s death and many legends were created afterwards.
St Cyril and Methodious day
This day is celebrated on the 5 of July. It is a public holiday to remember Cyril and
Methodious, two Byzantine Greek brothers who came to Great Moravia in 863 to spread
Christianity.
Jan Hus day
Jan Hus day is celebrated on the 6 of July. This public holiday celebrates the religious
reformer Jan Hus who was burned at the stake in Kostnice on 6 of July 1415.

EASTER
Easter is celebrated on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday and the dates vary every year. It is
the most important Christian holiday. Christians remember the death and resurrection of
Jesus Christ. Jesus was crucified on the cross on Good Friday and came back to life on Easter
Sunday.
It is celebrated all over the world and many countries have their own traditions and I would
like to mention some of them.
People in the UK usually eat hot cross buns – which are spiced sweet buns often made with
fruit and marked with a cross on the top. Then, very popular is easter egg hunt – which is the
tradition where children have to find easter eggs which are hidden by easter bunny.
And lastly some Czech´s traditions. In the Czech Republic easter is a mixture of Christian and
pagan traditions. On the morning of Easter Monday, boys and men whip girls and women on
their bottoms with a pleated willow stick decorated with colourful ribbons to make sure that
they stay healthy for the rest of the year. As a reward girls and women give them hand-
painted or chocolate eggs. Some families buy or bake a lamb cake.

CHRISTMAS
ČR
We celebrate Christmas on the 24th of December.
In the Czech Republic, Christmas officially starts with Advent, which is the period beginning
four Sundays before Christmas. Czech either buy or make their own advent wreath with four
candles and light one candle every Sunday. Czech children have chocolate advent calendars.
Czech Christmas is celebrated on the evening of 24th of December. People fast to see the
golden pig. Most Czechs eat fried carp with potato salad and pea or fish soup for Christmas
dinner.
After dinner, they patiently wait for the baby Jesus to bring them presents under the
Christmas tree.

UK
People in the UK celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December. Before children go to bed on
Christmas Eve on the 24th of December, they hang up Christmas stockings on the fireplaces
and believe that Father Christmas rides through the air on a sledge drawn by reindeer and
comes down the chimney and fills up the stockings with presents.
People make mince pies and a Christmas cake. The next day is called Christmas day. In the
morning, children unwrap their presents and at midday Christmas dinner is served. Many
families have roast turkey with chestnut stuffing and roast potatoes and vegetables.