Chapter 4
Customs and traditions
The patron saints and their days, the main Christian and other religious festivals, the UK's other traditional days, and bank holidays.
By the end you should know
- Match each nation to its patron saint and saint's day
- Describe the main Christian festivals and which days are public holidays
- Know the main festivals of other faiths
- Know the dates and meaning of other traditional days such as Bonfire Night and Remembrance Day
- Explain what a bank holiday is
Patron saints
Each of the four nations has its own national saint, called a patron saint, and each saint has a special day. Events are held across the UK on these days, particularly where many people have Scottish, Northern Irish or Irish heritage.
Which patron saint belongs to each nation, and on what day?
Key factSt David — Wales — 1 March · St Patrick — Northern Ireland — 17 March · St George — England — 23 April · St Andrew — Scotland — 30 November
Which nations have their patron saint's day as an official holiday?
Key factOnly Scotland and Northern Ireland. The days are still celebrated in England and Wales with parades and small festivals, but they are not public holidays there.
Memory aid — in calendar order: David (1 March, Wales), Patrick (17 March, Northern Ireland), George (23 April, England), Andrew (30 November, Scotland). The national flowers (rose, thistle, daffodil, shamrock) are sometimes worn on these days.
The main Christian festivals
Christmas is usually spent at home with a special meal. People give presents, send cards, decorate their homes and often put up a Christmas tree. Young children believe that Father Christmas, also called Santa Claus, brings presents during the night before Christmas Day.
When are Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and what do they mark?
Christmas Day, 25 December, celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Boxing Day, 26 December, is the day after. Both are public holidays.
Many Christians go to church on Christmas Eve (24 December) or Christmas Day. A traditional meal includes roast turkey, Christmas pudding and mince pies.
Easter falls in March or April. Before it comes Lent, a period of reflection. On Shrove Tuesday people eat pancakes — traditionally a way of using up eggs, fat and milk before the fast. On Ash Wednesday some Christians are marked with a cross of ash on the forehead, a sign of death and sorrow for sin. Many people who are not religious also celebrate Easter.
What does Easter mark and which Easter days are public holidays?
Easter (in March or April) marks the death of Jesus Christ on Good Friday and his rising from the dead on Easter Sunday. Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays.
Chocolate Easter eggs are given as a symbol of new life.
What is Lent, and which days come at its start?
Lent is the 40 days before Easter, a time for reflection when people traditionally fasted. The day before it is Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day); Lent begins on Ash Wednesday.
Festivals of other faiths
What is Diwali and who celebrates it?
The five-day 'Festival of Lights', usually in October or November, celebrated by Hindus and Sikhs. It celebrates the victory of good over evil and the gaining of knowledge.
Leicester holds a famous Diwali celebration.
What is Hannukah?
An eight-day Jewish festival in November or December remembering the Jews' struggle for religious freedom. A candle is lit each day on an eight-candle stand called a menorah.
What do Eid al-Fitr and Eid ul Adha mark?
Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, a month of fasting. Eid ul Adha remembers the prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son when God ordered him to.
The date of Eid al-Fitr changes every year. In Britain, any animal sacrificed for Eid ul Adha must be killed in a slaughterhouse.
What is Vaisakhi and when is it celebrated?
A Sikh festival (also spelled Baisakhi) celebrating the founding of the Sikh community called the Khalsa. It is held on 14 April each year with parades, dancing and singing.
Exam tip: Diwali is celebrated by Hindus AND Sikhs; Vaisakhi is Sikh only; Hannukah is Jewish; both Eids are Muslim. Hannukah lasts eight days, Diwali five.
Other festivals and traditions
How is New Year celebrated, and what is Hogmanay?
1 January is a public holiday; people celebrate on New Year's Eve, 31 December. In Scotland 31 December is called Hogmanay, and 2 January is also a public holiday.
For some Scottish people Hogmanay is a bigger celebration than Christmas.
When are Valentine's Day and April Fool's Day?
Valentine's Day is 14 February (lovers exchange cards and gifts). April Fool's Day is 1 April (people play jokes until midday).
When are Mothering Sunday and Father's Day?
Mothering Sunday (Mother's Day) is the Sunday three weeks before Easter. Father's Day is the third Sunday in June.
When is Halloween and where does it come from?
31 October. It is an ancient festival rooted in the pagan festival marking the start of winter. Young people dress up to play 'trick or treat' and people carve pumpkin lanterns.
On Valentine's Day some people send unsigned cards to someone they secretly admire. On April Fool's Day newspapers and television often carry joke stories. At Halloween people give treats to children so that they won't play tricks on them.
Bonfire Night and Remembrance Day
Two November dates recall historic events. On Bonfire Night people in Great Britain set off fireworks at home or go to organised displays. Remembrance Day honours the war dead; the red poppy is worn because poppies grew on the battlefields of the First World War.
When is Bonfire Night and what does it remember?
Key fact5 November. It recalls 1605, when a group of Catholics led by Guy Fawkes failed in their plot to kill the Protestant king with a bomb in the Houses of Parliament.
What happens on Remembrance Day?
Key factOn 11 November people remember those who died fighting for the UK and its allies — originally the dead of the First World War, which ended on 11 November 1918. People wear red poppies, there is a two-minute silence at 11.00 am and wreaths are laid at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London.
Don't confuse 5 November (Bonfire Night, the 1605 Gunpowder Plot) with 11 November (Remembrance Day, the end of the First World War in 1918). Halloween is 31 October.
Bank holidays
What are bank holidays and when are they?
Public holidays with no religious significance, when banks and many businesses close: early May, late May or early June, and August. Northern Ireland also has a holiday in July for the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne.
- Public holidays named in the handbook: New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, plus the bank holidays
- Scotland also: 2 January and St Andrew's Day (30 November)
- Northern Ireland also: St Patrick's Day (17 March) and the Battle of the Boyne anniversary in July