Festivities:

Christians have celebrated the birth of Jesus since about 400 AD. The story of the birth of Christ can be found in the Bible, in the books of Matthew and Luke – chapters 1 and 2. It relays the events surrounding Mary and Joseph and the arrival of Jesus in Bethlehem and talks of the presence of the shepherds and three wise men that came to visit the young Christ. Over the centuries Christmas has become increasingly commercialised so that much of its religious significance has been overshadowed by the legend of Father Christmas and the associated gifts.

Father Christmas (or Santa Claus) has now become the face of Christmas; a white bearded old man in red is now seen plastered all over cards, wrapping paper, billboards and all over the media in the run up to the festive season. The legend of Santa Claus is based on a real person, St. Nicholas, who was a Christian leader from Myra (modern day Turkey). Legend has it that in the 4th century he dropped a purse of money down the chimney of a house and it landed in a stocking placed at the fireplace by a little girl.

Ever since, generations of children have gown up believing that Father Christmas climbs down the chimney and leaves presents in stockings. In Britain at Christmas time towns and cities are lit up with festive lights and houses with decorated Christmas trees. Cards and gifts are also exchanged and the climax is reached at midday on Christmas day with a large feast (consisting of turkey, roast potatoes, vegetables, Christmas pudding).

Easter has its origins in prehistoric times as the celebration of the renewal of spring and the word ‘Easter’ is said to have been derived from the pagan festival of ‘Eostre’ (the Anglo-Saxon Goddess of Dawn). The Easter bunny also originates from this theory as the hare was sacred to the Goddess. Easter is the celebration of Christ’s resurrection from the dead and falls between March 22 and April 25. In Britain many people attend special Easter services at Church and those that are not regular Church-goers receive communion.

Ostentatious outfits and elaborately decorated bonnets are associated with the celebrations and are worn at Easter parades throughout the county. The climax of Easter is reached on Easter Sunday (when most people attend church services) and Easter Monday usually hosts funfairs and activities around Britain. The festival has traditionally been a time of feasting, coming after the period of Lent.

The classic British Easter food is the egg, which has since ancient times been the symbol of spring’s re-awakening and was adopted by Christians as one representing the resurrection of Christ. In Britain chocolate eggs are exchanged at Easter time.

This is celebrated on 26 March every year and dates back to Victorian times when children worked away from home and were allowed to send flowers and gifts to their mother’s on one day each year. In modern day Britain it’s an opportunity for mother’s to put their feet up and let their children spoil them.

This marks the beginning of the Juvenile calendar and is an opportunity for Britons to play practical jokes and pranks on each other.

Halloween:
Celebrated on 31st October, in the past people believed this was a day when spirits of dead people appeared. In recent times children dress up as witches and ghosts (amongst other things) and go ‘trick or treating’ at people’s doors, where they’re usually met with sweets as a treat.

Also known as Guy Fawkes Night, this commemorates the time when Guy Fawkes tried and failed to blow up the houses of Parliament using gunpowder in the 17th century. It is celebrated on 5th November by letting off fireworks and lighting huge bonfires. Every year there are countless firework displays throughout the country.

This festival is celebrated throughout the world and is named after St. Valentine who was executed on February 14, 269 AD by the Romans. Legend has it that Valentine died leaving a note to his jail keeper’s daughter, ending ‘your Valentine’.

Today people all over the world send similar love notes and/or roses to their partners as gestures of their affections. Traditionally in Britain, women pinned four bay leaves to the corners of their pillow and ate salted egg whites. This would then help them to dream of their husbands. Women would also write their lover's names on pieces of paper and put it in clay balls which they would drop into the water. They believed that whichever paper came up first, that man would be their future husband.