Holidays and traditions of great Britain

New Year and Christmas in English The British it is difficult to imagine Christmas in London without street illumination in the form of a crown of Her Majesty. Festive city is transformed: wears a garland lights and contains in itself the entire forest of Christmas trees, the main of which - the fur-tree in Trafalgar square - annually brought here from Norway as a gift.

Advent - the preparation for Christmas (1-24 December) One of the main traditions of the preparatory weeks - wreaths with candles. These wreaths are doing to the first Sunday, and consist of 5 candles - four red and one white. The tradition came from Catholicism and distributed in all of Europe. Every Sunday lit the new red candle. They are lit up in a time when the family gets together for prayer. A white candle lit in the evening before Christmas as a symbol of the fact that in the world Christ will come and light up the darkness.

St. Andrew"s Day (November 30) This is the Day of the patron Saint of Scotland. The severity and persistence of the Scottish character is the best and visual reflected in the emblem of the national flag of Scotland is the Thistle. There is a legend dates back to the times of the Vikings in Scotland.

Up-Helly-Aa (end of January) In the IX century Shetland Islands were attacked by the Vikings. This event is dedicated to the famous traditionally Scottish holiday Up Helly aa in the main city of the Shetland Isles Lerwick. People make 30-foot model of a Viking ship, dress up in costumes of the Vikings, are in the hands of the torches, and through the city bear the ship to the sea. On the coast it is burned - it is the custom of the Vikings, adopted for the funeral of the soldiers and leaders. I must say that the Scottish land quite a long time been subjected to raids of the Vikings, and therefore many of the traditional for the territory of the feasts bear the imprint of the Scandinavian culture. Today, the Scots are proud of this history, and the relationship with the famous Scandinavian pirates.

St. David"s Day (March 1) Saint David is the patron Saint of Wales. This holiday is very important for the inhabitants of Wales, who are in this day in buttonholes daffodils - the emblem of the country.

Hallowe"en (Hallows Evening) (31 October) Halloween was of great importance, in this time with the help of rituals were saying goodbye to the old, bad, unnecessary and met new. Ancient British in the gift of the gods of nature brought apples, autumn vegetables, flowers, leave them under the trees or buried in the ground with a request for assistance and support. In the night of 31 October was made to expose the plate with the fruit on the street for dead souls, so that they can come to the assistance of the living.

New year (1 January) New year in England note without gifts and not necessarily in the family circle. Traditional dishes for the celebration there. Usually English women cook Apple pie. In Scotland the New year is considered more important holiday than Christmas. New year-Scottish - is, first of all, General cleaning. No it should not remain uncompleted: the clock is wound socks darn, all the holes sewn up. From the first hours of stroke the head of the house open opens the door and holds it until the last stroke, so he lets the old year out of the house, and the new admits.

The festival of flowers in Chelsea The festival of flowers in Chelsea - not only the largest exhibition, in the last days here you can purchase the exhibited items, from small herbarium to spacious greenhouses. The first two days are reserved for members of the Royal horticultural society.