settlers some seeds of Indian corn and the first harvest was very good.
Later, Thanksgiving Days following harvest were celebrated in all the
colonies of New England, but not on the same day. In October 1863 President
Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving. In 191, the US Congress
Named fourth Thursday of November a Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving Day is a
“day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with
which Canada has been blessed”. Regular annual observance began in 1879.
Since 1957 Thanksgiving Day has been observed on the second Monday in
October.
St. Andrew’s Day
In some areas, such as Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire,
and Northamptonshire, St Andrew was regarded as the patron saint of lace-
makers and his day was thus kept as a holiday, or “tendering feast”, by
many in that trade. Thomas Sternberg, describing customs in mid-19th-
century Northampton shire, claims that St Andrew’s Day Old Style (11
December) was a major festival day “in many out of the way villages” of the
country: “… the day is one of unbridled license- a kind of carnival;
village scholars bar out the master, the lace schools are deserted, and
drinking and feasting prevail to a riotous extent. Towards evening the
villagers walk about and masquerade, the women wearing men’s dress and the
men wearing female
Holidays and traditions in English – speaking countries.
attire, visiting one another’s cottages and drinking hot Elderberry wine,
the chief beverage of the season …”. In Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, a
future of the day was the making and eating of Tandry Wigs. A strange
belief reported Wright and Lones dedicate that wherever lilies of the
valley grow wild the parish church is usually to St Andrew.
CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS
Christmas Day is observed on the 25th of December. In Britain this day
was а festival long before the conversion to Christianity. The English
historian the Venerable Bede relates that “the ancient peoples of Angli
began the year on the 25th of December, and the very night was called in
their tongue modranecht, that is ‘mother’s night’. Thus it is not
surprising that many social customs connected with the celebration of
Christmas go back to pagan times, as, for instance, the giving of presents.
Indeed, in 1644 the English puritans forbade the keeping of Christmas by
Act of Parliament, on the grounds that it was а heathen festival. At the
Restoration Charles II revived the feast.
Though religion in Britain has been steadily losing ground and
Christmas has practically no religious significance for the majority of the
population of modern Britain, it is still the most widely celebrated
festival in all its parts except Scotland. The reason for this is clear.
With its numerous, often rather quaint social customs, it is undoubtedly
the most colourful holiday of the year, and, moreover one that has always
been, even in the days when most people were practising Christian, а time
for eating, drinking and making merry.
However, despite the popularity of Christmas, quite а number of
English people dislike this festival, and even those who seem to celebrate
it wholeheartedly, have certain reservations about it. The main reason for
this is that Christmas has become the most commercialized festival of the
year. The customs and traditions connected with Christmas, for example
giving presents and having а real spree once а year, made it an easy prey
to the retailers, who, using modern methods of advertising, force the
customer to buy what he neither wants nor, often, can reasonably afford.
It is not only children and members of the family that exchange
presents nowadays. Advertising has widened this circle to include not only
friends and distant relations, but also people you work with. An average
English family sends dozens and dozens of Christmas cards, and gives and
receive almost as many often practically useless presents. For people who
are well off this entails no hardship, but it is no small burden for
families with small budgets. Thus saving up for Christmas often starts
months before the festival, and Christmas clubs have become а national
institution among the working class and lower-middle class. These are
generally run by shopkeepers and publicans over а period of about eight
weeks or longer. Into these the housewives pay each week а certain amount
of money for their Christmas bird
Holidays and traditions in English – speaking countries.
and joint, their Christmas groceries and so on, the husband as а rule
paying into the club run by the local pub, for the drinks.
As much of this spending is forced upon people and often means that а
family has to do without things they really need, it inevitably leads to
resentment towards the
festival. Needless to say that it isn’t the old customs and traditions that
are to blame, but those who make huge profits out of the nationwide
spending spree which they themselves had boosted beyond any reasonable
proportion.
The Christmas Pantomime
А pantomime is а traditional English entertainment at Christmas. It is
meant for children, but adults enjoy just as much. It is а very old form of
entertainment, and can be traced back to 16th century Italian comedies.
Harlequin is а character from these old comedies.
There have been а lot of changes over the years. Singing and dancing
and all kinds of jokes have been added; but the stories which are told are
still fairy tales, with а hero, а heroine, and а villian. Because they are
fairy tales we do not have to ask who will win in the end! The hero always
wins the beautiful princess, the fairy queen it triumphant and the demon
king is defeated. In every pantomime there are always three main
characters. These are the “principal boy”, the “principal girl”, and the
“dame”. The principal boy is the hero and he is always played by а girl.
The principal girl is the heroine, who always marries the principal boy in
the end. The dame is а comic figure, usually the mother of the principal
boy or girl, and is always played by а man.
In addition, you can be sure there will always be а “good fairy” and
а “bad fairy” — perhaps an ogre or а demon king.
Pantomimes are changing all the time. Every year, someone has а new
idea to make them more exciting or more up-to-date. There are pantomimes on
ice, with all the actors skating; pantomimes with а well-known pop singer
as the principal boy or girl; or pantomimes with а famous comedian from the
English theatre as the dame. But the old stories remain, side by side with
the new ideas.
BOXING DAY
This is the day when one visits friends, goes for а long walk or just
sits around recovering from too much food — everything to eat is cold. In
the country there are usually Boxing Day Meets (fox- hunting). In the big
cities and towns tradition on that day demands а visit to the pantomime,
where once again one is entertained by the story of Cinderella, Puss in
Boots or whoever it may be — the story being protracted
Holidays and traditions in English – speaking countries.
and elaborated into as many spectacular scenes as the producer thinks
one can take at а sitting.
ELECTING LONDON’S LORD MAYOR
One of the most important functions of the City’s eighty-four Livery
Companies is the election of London's Lord Mayor at the Guildhall at 12
noon on Michaelmas Day (September 29th). The public are admitted to the
ceremony. It provides one of the many impressive and colourful spectacles
for which London is famed. The reigning Lord Мауоr and Sheriffs, carrying
posies, walk in procession to the Guildhall and take their places on the
dais, which is strewn with sweet-smelling herbs. The Recorder announces
that the representatives of the Livery Companies have been called together
to select two Aldermen for the office of Lord Мауоr of London. From the
selected two, the Court of Aldermen will choose one. The Мауоr, Aldermen
and other senior officials then withdraw, and the Livery select their two
nominations. Usually the choice is unanimous, and the Liverymen all hold up
their hands and shout “All!”. The Sergeant-at-Arms takes the mace from the
table and, accompanied by the Sheriffs, takes the two names to the Court of
Aldermen, who then proceed to select the Mayor Elect. The bells of the City
ring out as the Мауоr and the Mayor Elect leave the Guildhall the state
coach for the Mansion House.
II. Customs, Weddings, Births and Christenings.
GETTING ENGAGED
In Britain the custom of becoming engaged is still generally retained,
though many young people dispense with it, and the number of such couples
is increasing. As а rule, an engagement is announced as soon as а girl has
accepted а proposal of marriage, but in some cases it is done а good time
afterwards. Rules of etiquette dictate that the girl’s parents should be
the first to hear the news; in practice, however, it is often the couple’s
friends who are taken into confidence before either of the parents. If а
man has not yet met his future in-laws he does so at the first opportunity,
whereas his parents usually write them а friendly letter. It is then up to
the girl’s mother to invite her daughter’s future in-laws, to а meal or
drinks. Quite often, of course, the man has been а frequent visitor at the
