Feasts and Traditions
The calendar
April Fool's Day
April 1st is April's Fool's Day in Britain. This is a very old tradition from the Middle Ages. At that time the servants were masters for one day a year. They gave orders to their masters, and their masters had to obey.
Now April Fool's Day is different. It's a day on which children can play tricks on their elders, including their teachers, without fear of punishment.
Midsummer's Day
Midsummer's Day, June 24th, is the longest day of the year. On that day you can see a very old custom at Stonehenge, in Wiltshire, England. Stonehenge is one of Europe's biggest stone circles and it is believed to have some religious or astronomical purposes. The Druids, which were the priest in Britain 2,000 years ago, used the sun and the stones at Stonehenge to know the start of months and seasons. There are Druids in Britain today, too. And every June 24th a lots of them join for the annual assembly there at sunrise on Midsummer Day. On that morning the sun shines on one famous stone, the Heel stone.
Halloween
October 31st is Halloween, and you can expect to meet witches and ghosts that night. Halloween is an old word for "Hallows Evening", the night before "All Hallows" or "All Saints' Day".
On that one night of the year, ghosts and witches are free. That's the traditional story. A long time ago people were afraid and stayed at home on Halloween. But now it is time for fun. There are a lot of parties on October 31st. At these parties people wear masks and they dress as ghosts and witches, or as Dracula or Frankenstein's monster. And some people make special Halloween lamps from pumpkins.
First they take out the middle of the pumpkin. They cut holes for the eyes, nose and mouth. Finally they put a candle inside the pumpkin.
Guy Fawkes' Day
November the 5th is Guy Fawkes' Day in Britain. All over the country people build wood fires, or "bonfires", in their gardens. On top of each bonfire is a guy. That's a figure of Guy Fawkes. People make guys with straw, old clothes and newspapers. But before November 5th, children use their guys to make money. They stand in the street and shout "Penny for the guy". Then they spend the money on fireworks. But who was Guy Fawkes? Did he ever exist? Why do the British remember him on November 5th?
On November 5th 1605, Guy Fawkes tried to kill King James I. He and a group of friends put a bomb under the Houses of Parliament in London. But the King's men found the bomb —and they found Guy Fawkes, too. They took him to the tower of London and there the King's men cut off his head.
Christmas Day
In Britain the most important meal on December 25th is Christmas dinner. A twenty-first century British Christmas dinner is roast turkey with carrots, potatoes, peas, Brussels sprouts and gravy. There are sausages and bacon, too. Then after the turkey, there's Christmas pudding.
Crackers are also usual at Christmas dinner. These came to Britain from China in the nineteenth century. Two people pull a cracker. Usually there's a small toy in the middle. Often there's a joke on a piece of paper, too.
Boxing Day
December 26th is Boxing Day. Traditionally boys from the shops in each town asked for money at Christmas. They went from house to house on December 26th and took boxes made of wood with them. At each house people gave them money. This was a Christmas present. So the name of December 26th comes from the boys' wooden boxes. Now Boxing Day is an extra holiday after Christmas Day.
(Stephen Rabley. Customs and Traditions in Britain)