Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Traditional culture - What are the western festivals?

What are the western festivals?

Western festivals refer to the festivals of the year in western countries. Including Christmas, Carnival, Halloween, Easter, Valentine's Day, American Independence Day, April Fool's Day and Mother's Day.

New Year's Day: the first day of July in the Jewish calendar; The first day of the first month of the Islamic calendar; Gregorian calendar, solar calendar or solar calendar.

It was named in memory of Pope Gregory XIII's adoption of this calendar in 1582. According to the solar or Gregorian calendar, the New Year begins at 1( 1 year 1 month). On New Year's Day, people bid farewell to the old and welcome the new.

In western countries, although Christmas is the biggest festival, the New Year still plays an irreplaceable role in people's minds. The New Year's Eve party is an important activity to celebrate the arrival of the New Year. People in western countries like to spend the last night of the year happily in cheerful music and gorgeous brilliance.

St. Valentine's Day: It is a very important festival in Britain, America and other countries, and the time is 14 every February. There are many different explanations about the origin of Valentine's Day, most of which cannot be verified. Among them, the popular saying is that it was established in memory of St. Valentine, a Roman Christian martyr.

According to legend, before being beheaded in February of 14, he used his persistent magic of love to make his blind daughter see the light again. It is worth noting that Valentine's Day is not only a festival for young people, but also a festival for the masses.

Thanksgiving Day: It is an ancient festival created by the American people, and it is also a festival for American reunion. At first, there was no fixed date for Thanksgiving Day, which was decided temporarily by American states. It was not until 1863 after the independence of the United States that President Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday.

194 1 year, the US Congress officially designated the fourth Thursday in June 1 1 as "Thanksgiving Day". Thanksgiving holiday usually lasts from Thursday to Sunday.

Christmas, also known as Christmas and Jesus' birthday, is a traditional festival in the west, which originated from Christianity and falls on February 25 of the Gregorian calendar every year. Mass is a church service. Christmas is a religious festival, because it is celebrated as the birthday of Jesus, hence the name "Christmas".

Most Catholic churches will hold midnight mass on Christmas Eve on February 24, 65438+, that is, in the early morning of February 25, 65438+, while some Christian churches will hold a good news party and then celebrate Christmas on February 25, 65438+. Another branch of Christianity, the Orthodox Church, celebrates Christmas every year on 65438+1October 7th.

Halloween: Carnival, usually a feast and carnival before Lent, was originally extended from the main priest to the day before Lent, and now it is usually limited to a few days before Lent. Prevalent in Europe and America. ?

Many countries have traditional carnival, featuring masquerade, float parade, masks and banquets. It originated from non-Christian festivals, such as bacchanalia, Saturnalia and Animal Festival in ancient Rome, and Celtic religious ceremonies. It is usually held in February and March.

Easter: This is an important festival in the west, which falls on the first Sunday after the full moon at the vernal equinox every year. Christians believe that Easter symbolizes rebirth and hope, to commemorate the day when Jesus Christ was resurrected on the third day after he was crucified between 30 and 33 AD.

American food at Easter is also very distinctive, mainly mutton and ham. Easter eggs are designed to bring happiness to people. These eggs are beautiful and decorative. They represent people's good wishes and share the joy of changing seasons with you.

Mother's Day: Mother's Day is a festival set up in Britain, America and other countries to show respect for mothers. The date is the second Sunday in May every year. Mother's Day originated in the United States from 65438 to the 1960s.

On Mother's Day, children will give their mothers Mother's Day cards, flowers and beautiful gifts that their mothers like. At the same time, fathers will lead their children to do housework on this day so that mothers can have a rest.

Father's day (father's? Father's Day was proposed by Mrs. John Bruce Dodd. With the development and change of society, the divorce rate in the United States is rising, and the number of single-parent children is increasing. In many families, the responsibility of the father is obviously strengthened.

On the other hand, with the increase of women's employment, fathers must also undertake more housework. In this case, children's attachment to their father has been increasing, and this festival has gradually spread to the whole country.

April Fool's Day (April? A fool? Day): April 1 day every year is the happiest day for people in some western countries. On this day, people can give full play to their imagination and try to make up some sensational lies to make fun of. Coax, tease and fool others.

As long as it is before 12 midnight, no matter how outrageous and unscrupulous you are, you will not bear any legal and moral responsibilities. Moreover, if you can create ridiculous "news" and make people believe that you can also win the "noble crown" of deception. This day is the world-famous April Fool's Day.

Extended data:

Santa Claus: Santa Claus.

The prototype of Santa Claus does have real people in history. He is the Bishop Saint Nicholas who lived in Milla (present-day Turkish territory) in the 4th century. Nicholas was born in patara in Asia Minor in the 4th century. His family is very rich and his parents are very enthusiastic Catholic friends. Unfortunately, his parents died young.

When Nicholas grew up, he donated all his wealth to the poor, became a monk himself, and devoted his life to the church and served the society. Nicholas later became a priest and was promoted to bishop.

In his life, he has done a lot of charity work, and he likes to help the poor in secret. Santa Claus was his later nickname, which came from the story that he secretly sent money to help three girls.

Nicholas was honored as a saint after his death. He is an old man with a white beard, wearing a red robe and a red hat. Every Christmas, he comes from the north in a sleigh pulled by deer, enters every house through the chimney, puts Christmas presents in socks and hangs them on the children's beds or in front of the stove.

Baidu encyclopedia-western festivals

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