United Kingdom A very famous day in United Kingdom (as in whole world) in New Year´s Day . In Scotla

United Kingdom A very famous day in United Kingdom (as in whole world) in New Year´s Day . In Scotland celebration of the New Year is called Hogmanay and it is believed that on New Year´s Day (1st January) the first across the threshold weekend getaways and short cruises ( práh ) must be a dark man. On New Year´s weekend getaways and short cruises Eve (31st December) people have parties at midnight. weekend getaways and short cruises In London people go to Trafalgar Square. There is singing and dancing and some enthusiasts traditionally swim in the fountain. On 14th February, St Valentine´s Day , many people send a card to the one they love or someone whom they have fallen in love with. People do not usually sign these cards and a lot of time is spent trying to guess who has sent them. The dates of Shrow Tuesday (Pancake Day), Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday and Good Friday depend on The date of Easter Sunday which is variable - from mid-March to mid-April, and fixed according to the moon. On Pancake Day people eat lots of pancakes. Some towns also hold pancake races on that day. People run through the streets holding a frying pan and tossing ( házející ) the pancake in the air. If they drop pancake, they lose the race At Easter time, the British celebrate the idea of new birth by giving each other chocolate Easter eggs which are opened and eaten on Easter Sunday. On Good Friday bakers sell hot cross buns which are toasted weekend getaways and short cruises and eaten with butter. Easter weekend getaways and short cruises Monday is a holiday and many people travel to the seaside for the day or go and watch one of the many sporting events, such as football or horse-racing. As summer comes, Britain likes to celebrate the end of the winter. On 1st May ( May Day ) children may be seen dancing round the Maypole on village greens, weaving their brightly coloured ribbons ( stuhy ) into a beautiful pattern ( vzor,tvar ). Halloween means the eve of All Saints´Day or All Hallows Day and takes place on 31st November. Originally it was the Celtic New Year´s Eve because the Celtic New Year started on 1st November, the beginning of winter. Although it is a much more important festival in the United States than in Britain, it is celebrated by many people in the UK. It is particularly connected with witches and ghosts. At parties people dress up in strange customes and pretend weekend getaways and short cruises they are witches. They cut horrible faces in pumpkins and other vegetables and put a candle inside, which shines through the eyes. People may play difficult plays for fun, such as trying weekend getaways and short cruises to eat an apple from a bucket of water without using their hands. In recent years children dressed in white sheets knock on doors at Halloween and ask if you would like a "trick" or "treat". If you give them something weekend getaways and short cruises nice, a "treat", they go away. However, if you don´t, they play a "trick" on you, such as making weekend getaways and short cruises a lot of noise or spilling flour on your front doorstep. This is an American tradition. 5th November, or Bonfire Night, commemorates ( připomenout ) Guy Fawkes´attempt to blow up Parliament in 1605 (the Gunpowder Plot). The plot was discovered, weekend getaways and short cruises Fawkes was arrested and later hanged. Since that day the British traditionally celebrate 5th November - Guy Fawkes Night - by burning a dummy, made of straw ( sláma ) and old clothes, on a bonfire ( hranice, vatra ). This dummy is called a "guy" (like Guy Fawkes) and children can often be seen on the pavements ( chodník ) before 5th November saying: "Penny for the guy." If they collect enough money, they can buy some fireworks. Fireworks are set off to recall the explosions that should have taken place in Parliament. Today many bonfires and firework displays are organized by the local councils to avoid the danger of accidents. For most British families the most important festival of the year is Christmas Day , 25th December. It combines the Christian celebration of the birth of Christ with the traditional festivities ( slavnosti ) of winter. Going home for Christmas is a custom and no distance is too great for anybody to join the family weekend getaways and short cruises circle for the holiday. Most families decorate their houses with brightly-coloured paper, holly ( cesmína ) and mistletoe ( jmelí ), and they usually have a Christmas weekend getaways and short cruises tree in the corner of the front room. The Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square in London is an annual ( každoroční ) gift from Norway. On almost every front door a red and green symbol of the Christmas season hangs - a wreath ( věnec ) of green holly with its red berries weekend getaways and short cruises and red bow ( oblouk ) with the letters MERRY CHRISTMAS. There are a lot of traditions connected with Christmas, but perhaps the most important one is the giving of presents. People usually do their Christmas shopping several weeks before Christmas. But you can buy your Christmas presents on Christmas Eve as well. Children leave a long sock or stocking at the end of their bed on Christmas Eve , 24th December, hoping that Father Christmas will come down the chimney during the night and bring them small presents, fruit and nuts. Most families open their Christmas presents, found under the Christmas tree, on 25th December at breakfast time. For lunch they have roast turkey and roast potatoes weekend getaways and short cruises and other vegetables, Christmas pudding (a type of rich dark brown cake made well ahead before Christmas and containing a coin, a thimble and a ring to bring wealth, work and wedding), mince pies (pastry filled with a mixture of fruit and nuts), nuts, fruit and sweets. At teatime they have have Christmas cake. The next day is called Boxing Day (26th December), also a public holiday. It is still a custom to give a present of money to the tradesmen - the milkman, the postman... years ago the money was put in a box first and given on 26th December. People usually go to a pantomime on that day. This is a show which is always based on a traditional fairy tale. People of all ages enjoy pantomime, especially children. The stories come from all over the world. The Sleeping Beauty was a Persian fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood was written by the brothers Grimm of Germany, etc. Boxing Day is also the time to visit friends and relatives. People sing carols at Christmas. Carols are Christmas songs, some of the best-known being Good King Wenceslas, Silent Night, or Jingle Bells . People like to send Christmas cards to their frinds, weekend getaways and short cruises wishing them "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year". Some other special days: Bank Holidays - public holidays when banks, post offices, shops and some attractions are closed. Bank Holidays remain constant each year, i.e. they always occur on a Monday, but the date changes. Twelfth Night (6th January) - Večer tříkrálový April Fool´s Day (1st April) Mother´s Day or Mothering Sunday (second Sunday in May) Father´s Day (third Sunday in June) On Midsummer Day (24th June - the feast of St John the Baptist) ceremonies in honour of the Sun have been held from earliest times. Midsummer Day ( letní slunovrat ) is preceded by Midsummer Night ( svatojánský večer ) when supernatural beings are said to wander about.