What are the traditional festivals in Britain and Germany?

Christmas day

Every year, 65438+February 25th is the Christmas of the Christian Church, which is the day to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. However, some scholars believe that the root of this festival is the day when ancient humans celebrated the end of winter and looked forward to the return of spring. This statement is based on the fact that the day with the shortest day and the longest night every year-winter solstice-is on 65438+February 2 1 or 22.

The traditional Christmas begins on February 25th, 65438 and ends on the so-called "12 night" on October 6th, 65438. During this period, many British people will decorate their homes with lanterns and decorations to celebrate. Now many British people may buy Christmas trees and other decorations at home in early February, but according to the ancient tradition, decorations are only placed at home on Christmas Eve.

Many readers may think that the Christmas tree is a product of Britain, but it is actually a tradition of continental Europe, especially Germany, which was introduced by Queen Victoria's German husband Prince Albert in the19th century.

Another Christmas tradition is to hang mistletoe branches indoors. This is a plant parasitic on apple trees and other numbers, which was considered to have unusual magic power in ancient England. However, the tradition in Britain is that under the mistletoe, boys can kiss girls.

Or because of this tradition, many English literary works mention mistletoe. For example, at the end of 18, the famous poet Walter Scott wrote in his work Mamion:

The girl put on her shiny dress.

The hall is decorated with holly green

Happy people went to the forest.

Gathered on mistletoe.

Traditionally, many British people attend church services or other religious ceremonies on Christmas Eve, including the so-called "midnight mass" held by the Roman Catholic Church at midnight to welcome Christmas and commemorate the birth of Christ.

Christmas decorations will be kept until the beginning of the following year, but people usually take them off on "12 night" because people believe that,

It will bring bad luck to keep the decoration longer than this time.

Pancake Day is no longer just a religious festival. Many people will hold pancake competitions.

New Year's Day

The New Year is usually a continuation of Christmas celebrations. Many British people will have a holiday from before Christmas until after the New Year.

In London, it has been a practice for many years to provide free public transport on New Year's Eve to facilitate people to welcome the New Year. On the eve of midnight, many people will gather in front of the Parliament Building on the Thames in central London, waiting for Big Ben to ring the bell at 0: 00 on June 65438+1 October1day. Many people will bring champagne and raise their glasses to welcome the New Year.

In the park under Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, people will also get together to celebrate the arrival of the New Year. In Scotland, the celebration of the New Year is called Hogmanay, which is a very important celebration in Scotland.

Valentine's day

February 14 every year is the so-called Valentine's Day. Now this festival has become a day that young people eagerly look forward to, giving them the opportunity to celebrate a beautiful day with their sweetheart. However, this day is actually the anniversary of a saint in the church, commemorating St. Valentine. This saint is regarded as a figure in the 3rd century A.D., and he was later martyred in Rome. Legend has it that he tried his best to help some lovers get married before his death, so he took his anniversary as the so-called Valentine's Day.

Whether it is true or not, many British people send Valentine's cards to their sweethearts on this day, but the British

Traditionally, card issuers are not allowed to sign their own names, nor are they allowed to leave any marks that can show their identity, so as not to bring bad luck.

Pancake days holy ash festival

The real name of Pancake Festival is Confession Tuesday. This day is actually the last day of the Christian church's "fasting" 40 days before suffering. During fasting, some devout believers will regularly "fast" to commemorate the death of Jesus Christ. To this end, in ancient times, people would clean up or use up "delicious" food at home on Tuesday of confession. Because eggs, sugar and butter were once rare "delicious", people used these raw materials to make pancakes for enjoyment, which later became a tradition in Britain.

When it comes to pancakes, there are actually many food cultures. Ordinary pancakes are pancakes, but if they are beautifully made, thin and big, they are called crepe. When eating pancakes, some are coated with ordinary syrup and some with maple syrup. However, some people like to sprinkle lemon juice and baby candy. Even more extravagant, put crepe silk in hot orange juice and brandy for a while before tasting.

St David's Day

March 1 is St. David's Day every year. According to Christian tradition, St. David is the so-called "patron saint" of Wales, that is to say, people think that he takes special care of Wales. It commemorates David, a monk who preached in Wales in the second century, rather than King David in the Bible.

This day is an important holiday in Wales, and many companies and offices are on holiday.

On this day and around this day, many people will see a yellow daffodil on their skirts in the streets of England, because the symbols of Wales are daffodils and leeks. Of course, it's not nice to put a handful of leeks in the skirt!

St. Patrick's Day

March 17 is the anniversary of St. Patrick's Day, the patron saint of Ireland. This day is a festival in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Irish people in Britain and even in other parts of Europe and America will warmly celebrate this day to commemorate their traditional patron saint.

St Patrick was a figure who lived in the west of England or Scotland in the 5th century. He was captured by gangsters at the age of 16 and sold to Ireland as a slave. He later fled to Europe for education and became a missionary. At the beginning of the fifth century, he returned to Ireland to start missionary work. In a short period of 10, he built transportation in many places on the island and successfully encouraged people to believe in Christianity.

The legendary St. Patrick explained the concept of God as a "trinity" in Christianity with the leaves of a three-leaf clover. Therefore, people still use the leaves of clover as the symbol of Ireland today.

On this day, people will organize parades in places where Irish people live in concentrated communities to commemorate it. Individual pubs also provide customers with green beer, because the leaves of Oxalis are bright green, and green is also a symbol of Ireland.

"Mother's Day"

The so-called "Mother's Day" in Britain is completely different from that in America. In the United States, the second Sunday in May is Mother's Day, but the so-called Mother's Day in Britain is the fourth Sunday of the fasting period before the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, which is called Mothering Sunday.

It is reported that according to ancient church tradition, this day is the day when believers return to their mother church. Therefore, the so-called "mother" does not mean a mother. However, in the17th century, people began to include "mothers" and their own mothers, and later it evolved into the so-called "Mother's Day".

On this day, many people in Britain still prepare a cake called "Simnel Cake" according to tradition and take it home to their mothers, or send it to the church to enjoy with other members.

According to the tradition left by the Victorian era, this cake made of dried fruits, nuts, spices, wine and eggs has a layer of almond jelly on it, and there are 1 1 balls made of this jelly on it to commemorate other1/disciples of Jesus Christ except Judas. According to the Bible, Judas betrayed Jesus, humiliated him at the hands of Jews, and finally died on the cross.

"Holy Thursday"

This is the last Thursday before Good Friday every year, the so-called "Last Supper", which is called Maundy sudday in Britain. On this day, Roman Catholicism has a ceremony in which priests, senior clergy are believers and junior priests stamp their feet for believers, imitating the practice of Jesus stamping his feet for his disciples on this day. However, another most well-known tradition on this day is that the British monarch gives money to some selected poor or needy people on this day. Of course, now in Britain, a country with a social welfare system, this is mainly for symbolic significance. However, the British monarch will still distribute silver coins to selected people. Although these silver coins are also negotiable currencies, they have become treasures that collectors are eager to get.

Easter

As a Christian country, Easter, which commemorates the resurrection of Jesus after suffering, is of course an important festival in Britain. According to the tradition of western Christian church, this day is usually between March 2 1 day and April 25. This is because Easter, like other independent church festivals, is calculated according to the lunar calendar. Easter is indeed the Sunday after the first full moon on or after March 26th, 2 1 year.

In addition to church celebrations, there are different activities or customs in Britain to commemorate this day, among which "eggs" often appear. For children, of course, it is the so-called "resurrection egg". These are usually made of chocolate. Simple ones can also be bought in supermarkets, but in Britain, many high-end restaurants and cafes will launch their own special "Easter eggs" at this time of year, which are made of dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate and almond candy. In addition to the general egg design, there are many animals, flowers, cartoon characters and so on. , diverse styles. Even people who are not interested in eating "Easter eggs" can feast their eyes on the windows outside these restaurants and shops.

Besides eating Easter eggs, many places in Britain hold Easter-related activities every year. For example, some charitable organizations and tourist agencies in Britain will hold Easter egg hunting activities in some famous gardens or gardens of big houses at this time. The most interesting thing is the "fuck off" competition held on the hillside in some places. Participants brought their own raw eggs, and when they reached the top of the mountain, they "rolled" the eggs down the hill. Everyone will put forward their own ideas and hope to win.

April Fools' Day

April 1 is April Fool's Day every year. The exact origin of this festival is not clear, but some data show that a similar tradition existed in France in the 6th century. In any case, there are similar customs all over Britain now.

On this day, people can fool people around them at will, but in the end it is harmless. However, if you read English newspapers or listen to the rooftop broadcast on this day, you must be careful when you hear or see any special news, so as not to be fooled.

St George's Day

According to the tradition of the Christian church, April 23rd is St George's Day. If you go to England on this day, you will see a white flag with the Red Cross hanging outside churches, bars and even cars. This is the flag of St. George. For example, whenever the English football team plays or returns home in triumph, this flag will appear more frequently on and off the court.

From about14th century, St. George became the patron saint of England. Before that, the guardian saint of England was St. Edward the Confessor. St George is considered to be a Christian living in the Near East during the Roman Empire. He was deeply loved for successfully killing a poisonous dragon and left a legacy to the local people. Now in many parts of Britain, you can see a knight riding on horseback wearing armor to kill the dragon. This is St. George.

Midsummer night

Although the annual summer solstice, that is, the longest day and the shortest night, is June 2 1 day in the solar calendar, Britain celebrates midsummer night on the evening of June 22. June 23rd is the midsummer festival. According to English legend, people will have strange experiences on this night and may enter the magical world. Perhaps it is for this reason that the great English writer Shakespeare wrote a famous play A Midsummer Night's Dream. There is such a sentence:

Why, it's very midsummer madness.

Anthropologists say that people who lived in Britain in ancient times would hold a wizard ceremony on the solstice in summer to welcome this special day. Some megalithic buildings left over from the Stone Age in England are thought to be related to this celebration. It is said that the famous Stonehenge in southwest London and the nearby Avebury Stone Circle, which is bigger than Stonehenge, are examples. Many so-called "New Age believers" travel long distances every year and gather at Stonehenge to celebrate before the summer solstice. Due to the large number of people, the British police need to dispatch or even implement measures to restrict access to maintain order. Although this scene seems a little confusing, many people say that it is unforgettable to see the sun rising from the boulder on the summer solstice.

Halloween (1 1 month 1 day)

June 365438+1October 3 1 every year is the so-called Halloween. In fact, it is Halloween, which is a traditional festival for Christian churches to commemorate all saints and martyrs. It is June 65438+1 October1. People believe that on this night, the dead will come out of the grave and witches and ghosts will haunt everywhere.

In ancient times, people liked to keep vigil on this night accompanied by red flames. Of course, today, this tradition no longer exists. Instead, it is an American custom from the other side of the Atlantic, that is, let children dress up as witches and monsters, knock on neighbors' doors everywhere and ask for candy money. This is called trick-or-treating, which means that if you don't give them something delicious or give them some money, they may tease you.

Guy? Fox day

Guy? Fox day-guy fox day. This is not Saint's Day, but a plot in 1605. That year, a group of guys? People led by Fox conspired to plant explosives under the British Parliament and assassinate Protestant James I in an attempt to restore the power lost by Roman Catholics in the English Reformation. However, the plot was exposed and the conspirators were sentenced to death. Later, people held activities on165438+1October 5 to celebrate this event. Activities include watching fireworks. However, including the town of Lewis in East Sussex in southern England, people have maintained the tradition for hundreds of years. That night, they marched in the street with torches, and some even burned Guy? Fox and the Roman Catholic Pope Dummies.