Holidays and Anniversaries

HOLIDAYS IN GREAT BRITAIN: Public holidays = „Bank Holidays“ (banks, offices, schools, shops, factories are closed) - Good Friday, and Easter Monday, White Monday, August Bank Holiday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day. There are other days of the year which are not public holidays in England but the English people celebrate them in some way.

CHRISTMAS: 24th – Christmas Eve, 25th – Christmas Day, 26th – Boxing Day, 31st – New Year´s Eve = Hogmanay in Scotland, 1st January – New Year’s Day. Different from the Christmas in Slovakia, homes decorated with ivy, holy, mistletoe, electric lights and a Christmas wreath on the door. Christmas trees are decorated on Christmas Eve but they don’t celebrate Christmas Eve. Children put their socks at the foot of the bed. They believe that Father Christmas will come down through the chimney and will fill the socks with sweets. Parents put some presents under the tree and in the morning of Christmas Day they open the presents. After Christmas Dinner (roast turkey/goose with vegetables, Christmas pudding prepared long before Christmas) they watch the Queen’s Christmas Speech on TV. On the next day = Boxing day they organize parties with music and dancing. In the past people gave boxes with presents to servants, postmen, etc.

Easter: The British do not celebrate Easter like Slovaks. They have no willow canes, pouring perfumes and whipping traditions. On Easter Sunday - in the morning - people go to church for a special Easter service. People usually send Easter cards to their friends and relatives. Hot crossed buns can be bought in shops and supermarkets. They are a kind of bread bun with a white cross on their surface. It symbolizes the death of Christ on the cross. Hot cross buns are delicious when they are sliced in half, tasted and then spread with butter. Children receive big chocolate eggs on Easter morning. They are hollow inside and they contain a packet of sweets. The British have no special meal at Easter but they usually eat a "Sunday Roast" consisting of roast beef, turkey, lamb or pork with boiled vegetables, roast potatoes and gravy. The Friday before Easter Sunday is called Good Friday. Christ was crucified on this day. The day after Easter Sunday is called Bank Holiday Monday. All official premises are closed and no one has to go to school.
 
St. Valentine`s Day: 14th February, is the lovers feast. Friends and lovers send letters or greeting cards expressing their love and affection. They usually don’t sign the cards.
St. Patrick`s Day: 17th March, St. Patrick is the saint patron of Ireland. Green is one of the national colours of Ireland and also one of the signs of spring. On that day people wear green clothing or a shamrock, they also wear badges that say „Ireland forever“ or „Kiss me I’m Irish“.
 
All FooL´S DAY: April Fool – jokes and tricks
MOTHER´S DAY: 2nd Sunday in May – honours all mothers
2nd Saturday in June: the Queen’s birthday and in London is a celebration.
HALLOWEEN: 31st October, the beginning of winter, witches and ghosts.
 
Guy Fawkes Night: 5th November- Bonfire Night. In 1605 protestant King James I. was on the throne, but he was very unpopular with Roman Catholic. Some of them planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament on 5th November of that year when the king was going to open Parliament. Under the House of Lords they had stored gunpowder that were to be exploded by a man called Guy Fawkes. However one of the plotters told someone and Fawkes was discovered, arrested and later hanged. Since then, the British traditionally celebrate this day. Children make a dummy, made of straw and old clothes. Then they parade this around streets and ask passers- by for a penny for the guy. On the night there are „bonfire parties“ at which the „guy“ is burnt. Throughout the evening, there are many fireworks set off.

HOLIDAYS IN USA:
Christmas: Christmas in the United States of America is not a national holiday, because not all Americans are Christians, but it is a typical winter holiday and all shops are closed and people have a rest day on Christmas. All shops and streets are decorated with trees and lights. Christmas carols can be heard everywhere. Families decorate their houses inside and outside, too. They have a Christmas tree decorated in the living room. The President of the United States of America switches on the Christmas tree in the Rockefeller Center and after that people switch on other trees in the states. People like having a lot of presents under the tree. They sing carols and Santa Claus comes on Christmas Day and the children open their boxes with their presents and adults exchange presents, too. Christmas in the United States of America isn’t a family day. Families invite friends, they serve the traditional Christmas dinner – roast turkey and often give parties. On Boxing Day many shops are open although people don’t work. Just after Christmas big sales begin and large shops sell off their stock at low prices.

Easter: Easter in America is celebrated on a Sunday. The holiday has lost much of its religious significance. Instead of going to church, many Americans travel, go shopping or go to watch sporting events such as baseball. A popular activity for children is the painting of "Easter eggs". The children use many different colours and many of the eggs are quite beautiful. Also there is something called an  "Easter egg hunt". Parents hide the Easter eggs all over the house and reward the children with present of chocolate or candy when they find them.
 
4th July, Independence Day: is the most important public holiday in America, called a birthday of the USA. It celebrates independence of American colonies from the British. It is the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
 
Thanksgiving Day: In September 1620 a group of English pilgrims arrived after 66 dangerous days across the Atlantic Ocean to their new home New England. Sometimes the Pilgrims fought with the Indians but they also learned a lot from them. The Indians showed them how to grow and cook new kinds of fruit and vegetables. The first winter was difficult. Many of the Pilgrims died because it was very cold and they had little food. In the spring they started to grow food, helped by some friendly Indians, and in the autumn of 1621 they celebrated their first harvest. The pilgrims wanted to give thanks, not only for the harvest, but for their new home, new life and new friends. The date of Thanksgiving Day in the USA has changed three times, but it is now the fourth Thursday in November. Most Americans have dinner with their families. The traditional dinner is turkey and pumpkin pie.
 
COLUMBUS DAY: October 12th, anniversary of the discovery (1492)
 
Halloween: 31st October - the day before All Saints' Day. Children prepare their costumes (witches, fairies, devils, monsters and other scary beings) and pumpkins, which are hallowed out and a face is cut into the pumpkins skin. Inside a candle is placed the tight of which shines out through the face. Such a pumpkin is called a Jack Lantern. Children go „trick or treat“ in their costumes. This is when they go from house to house performing a little song or rhyme for sweets.

HOLIDAYS IN SLOVAKIA:
Christmas: We decorate houses with a Christmas wreath and candles. Everybody runs from the shop to the shop and looks for presents. We send Christmas cards to our friends and relatives. On Christmas Eve, in the morning, we decorate a Christmas tree and we put some presents under the tree. We don’t eat anything all day, but the Christmas Dinner is very rich (special Christmas waffles, honey, nuts, sour cabbage soup with mushrooms / lentil, fried fish fillet and potatoe salad). After the dinner we unwrap the presents and we listen to Christmas Carols. At midnight we go to Midnight Mass.
 
1.1.1993: split of Czechoslovakia, 6.1.: Three Kings – comes from Bible, 8.3.: International Women Day
Easter: There are a lot of traditions connected with Easter of the coming of spring. Boys chase girls and they whip them with a willow cane. Some of them have water in a bucket or a bottle and they splash girls with it. Some boys also spray girls with perfume. When they are finished, boys are rewarded with painted eggs and money. The favourite colourt for eggs was red – the colour of blood and life.

1.4.: All Fool’s day
1.5.: Labour day
8.5.: Day of fight against fascism
2nd Sunday in May: Mother’s Day
1.6.: International children day
5.7.: Arrival of St. Cyril & Methodius
29.8.: Slovak national uprising SNP
1.9.: Slovak constitution
15.9.: Patronage of Slovakia –
  Virgin Mary – Our Lady
1.11.: All Saints Day
6.12.: St. Nicolas Day

FAMILY CELEBRATIONS:
Birth: When mother and child arrive home from the hospital, relatives and friends will visit them. English women often give babies presents before their birth at a party called a Baby Shower. The Czech custom is that the husband gives the wife a present after the child is born. It’s very common for the husband to be with his wife in the delivery room and experience the blessed event.

Birthdays and Name days: Children’s birthdays are celebrated. There is always a cake with candles and the birthday child gets presents. Adults also have parties and celebrations, but in the States, friends and relatives throw party’s for the birthday person. They don’t have name days in the USA.

Weddings: Americans don’t eat, drink, sing, or dance as much as Czechs do at weddings. They wear the same clothing as we do. American women never rent a wedding gown. It is traditional for the bride to wear something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. The groom often rents his tuxedo. They have a maid of honour and a best man too. They don’t break plates at the restaurants and the groom doesn’t carry the bride inside. He carries her across the threshold of their home for the first time as husband and wife and the best man makes the first toast. Wedding receptions in the USA usually last four or five hours. Other wedding customs include: cutting the cake, throwing the garter and the bouquet of flowers, and decorating the new couple’s car. First, the bride sits down and the groom lifts up her skirt while the band play striptease music. Then the groom takes off her garter and he tosses the garter over his shoulder towards all the bachelors, who try to catch it. Whoever catches the garter will be the next one to get married. The bride throws her bouquet and whoever catches it sits down and the garter catcher lifts her skirt and puts the garter on her leg. The higher he places it, the better the marriage will be. Americans usually decorate the car with shaving cream and tie cans on the back bumper so that they drag behind the car and make lots of noise. They don’t put a doll on the front of the car. Death

American and British people don’t have a special day during the year when they visit their relatives´ and friends´ graves. They wear black only on the day of the funeral. When a person dies family and friends meet at a funeral parlour to pray and take one last look at the deceased. This is called a wake and usually lasts two or three days.

The funeral: takes place one day after the wake. More people are choosing cremation, but the majority prefers burials. After the ceremony family and close friends meet for a light meal.
 
+ My Ribbon ceremony (stužková slávnosť)