What are the holiday customs in different countries?

English people like to go to church to listen to poetry classes at Christmas.

Today's Britain is a country with a history of more than two thousand years, during which it has experienced the invasion and integration of different foreign cultures. Therefore, many festivals with different sources and backgrounds were preserved within one year.

Some of these special days retain the celebrations of the Christian church, while others are regarded as pagan traditions. In addition, there are some anniversaries left over from historical events. Here are some festivals:

According to the tradition of the Christian church, the beginning of the church year is Advent 40 days before Christmas. So, we start from Christmas.

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 remove them on the night of 12, because people believe that keeping decorations beyond this time will bring bad luck.

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 this is true or not, many British people send Valentine's cards to their sweethearts on this day. But the tradition in Britain is that card issuers are not allowed to sign their own names, and they are not 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.

British festivals and customs (2)

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The yellow daffodil is the symbol of Wales.

The second part of the introduction to British festivals began in March. In the festival activities introduced here, we can also see the marks left by many cultural customs outside the Christian tradition.

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. Z This day is a festival in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Irish people in Britain and 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.

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Shakespeare's famous play A Midsummer Night's Dream describes a magical world.

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 looks chaotic, many people say that it is an unforgettable experience to watch the sun rise from the boulder on the summer solstice.

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Many actors repeat Guy? Fox's attack plot

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, people have maintained the tradition for hundreds of years, including the town of Lewis in East Sussex, South England. That night, they marched in the street with torches, and some even burned Guy? Fox and the Roman Catholic Pope Dummies.

Osaka Tsukuba held a traditional ceremony of scattering beans to exorcise ghosts.

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Osaka Tsukuba held a traditional ceremony of scattering beans to exorcise ghosts.

The picture shows Fu Niang, who is in charge of spreading beans, spreading beans on the top of Jin Pavilion to pray. The morning of 1 was taken in Su Lang District, Osaka City. (* * * News Agency)

* * * News Agency, February 1 Sunday: With the arrival of spring, the traditional ceremony of scattering beans to exorcise ghosts was held in Tsukuba, a landmark building in Su Lang District of Osaka. This year is 5 1 time in Tsutenkaku.

In the sound of "ghosts are outside, happiness is inside", people scattered peanuts with auspicious meanings from the top of the 100-meter-high observation deck.

Fujimoto, one of the "rich women" in charge of sowing beans, said: "When you sow peanuts in the bucket, you also sow the good wishes of happiness."

The grand opening of the Sapporo Ice and Snow Festival has overcome obstacles such as insufficient snow in warm winter.

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Sapporo Ice and Snow Festival Giant snow sculpture

At the "Sapporo Ice and Snow Festival" venue, animals inhabiting the Antarctic continent and the large Japanese Antarctic scientific research ship "Zonggu" are on display.

Many tourists gathered in front of snow sculpture. On the morning of the 6th, I filmed in Datong Park in the central area of Sapporo. (* * * News Agency)

* * * With the news agency on February 6 th, the Sapporo Ice and Snow Festival, known as Hokkaido's winter landscape poems, opened on the morning of the 6 th. In the exhibition areas such as Datong Park (located in the center of Sapporo), the main venue, about 300 snow sculpture and ice sculptures were made to overcome the lack of snow and the influence of rain caused by warm winter. The organizing committee predicts that the audience will exceed 2 million by the end of 12.

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Sapporo Ice and Snow Festival opens

In Datong Park, the main venue of Sapporo Ice and Snow Festival, due to insufficient snowfall and rain, the ground

The snow is not obvious, but the land is clearly visible. Photographed in downtown Sapporo on the morning of the 6th.

Valentine's Day: It originated in Europe and grew up in America.

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Love is not just human.

American lovers send millions of lovesickness cards, while Germans, Swiss and Spaniards are more accustomed to sending bouquets and chocolates to their lovers. In France, a country full of love, Valentine's Day is a day full of sweet feelings. Vouchers show that one in every two French young people is waiting for a gift from his lover. Only Brazil is special. Every February 14 is quiet. No wonder Brazilians own Valentine's Day is June 12.

There are different legends about the origin of Valentine's Day. One version says that Valentine's Day can be traced back to the third century. At that time, Emperor Claudius II gave up all marriage promises in Rome in order to win enough carefree men to fight. A priest named Valentin secretly held a church wedding for young people who loved each other without following the imperial edict. After this incident was reported, Father Valentin was hanged on February 14. Around14th century, people began to regard February14th as lovers' day, and held corresponding celebrations on this day. Now the Chinese translation of "Valentine's Day" is Valentine's Day in a foreign language, in memory of the priest who made a decision for his lover. The first poem written on Valentine's Day originated from the Duke of Orleans in15th century. The Duke of Orleans was in prison at that time, and this love poem was written for his wife.

In the United States, the average gift that lovers buy is $97, but the whole market is waiting for a big business worth $654.38+03 billion. In the United States, Valentine's Day is not only used to miss lovers, but also the snowflakes of greeting cards will float to grandma, uncle, neighbor, teacher and other beloved people. The American Greeting Card Association estimates that 654.38 billion cards will be sold. 85% of the people who send greeting cards are women.

German Valentine's Day is a custom accepted by American occupation forces after World War II, with a short history. Nowadays, young people in Japan, China and other Asian countries that accept western lifestyles are also happy to celebrate Valentine's Day. In Japan, women give chocolate as a gift. The more complicated and exquisite the gift packaging, the more it can reflect the love of the giver.

India is also gradually accepting the western custom of celebrating Valentine's Day, but the local Hinduism is powerful and extremists are reluctant to introduce foreign influence. They think that western things will destroy the younger generation in India. They even publicly disperse couples and spray colors on their faces on this day.

Strange valentine's day

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Valentine's day favorite chocolate, made into a heart-shaped friendship.

Send roses every year, chocolate every year, and love becomes trouble.

This Valentine's Day, the fresh ways of showing love are colorful and eye-opening.

Viagra, which can be bought without a prescription, leaves no "carbon footprint" roses, adopts a giant panda and donates some money to the poor;

A famous international company advised men to have vasectomy to express their "most sincere love" for their wives. ...

Buy "green" roses?

Red roses are an indispensable scenery for Valentine's Day. But this year, more people are eyeing the "thorn" of roses: the environmental cost of imported roses.

Kenya is the second largest flower supplier in Britain. From Nairobi to Heathrow airport, the red rose needs to fly 4500 miles and be transported by truck for hundreds of miles before it can be delivered to the flower shop in front of your house.

Valentine's day rose

Britain sent 40 million red roses altogether.

90% are bought by men.

1.5 million adults will send flowers to their lovers.

-British Flower and Plant Association

A dozen roses may have a carbon footprint of only a few pence. However, the British Flower and Plant Association estimates that the British will send 40 million red roses this Valentine's Day alone.

The flower market in Britain is worth 2.2 billion pounds a year. In the past three years, flowers imported from Africa have increased by nearly 40%, reaching 1.76 million tons.

According to an article published in The Scotsman, according to the estimation of Edinburgh Carbon Management Center, flowers exported from Kenya to Britain may produce nearly 70,000 tons of carbon dioxide, and the environmental pressure organization Care for Climate said that it would cost 525,000 pounds to offset this scale of pollution.

Although environmental organizations are very worried about the so-called "flower mileage", many African countries can benefit from the flower economy. For example, in Kenya, planting flowers not only provides employment opportunities for some people who have no other livelihood, but also the economic benefits of exporting flowers are the fourth largest source of foreign exchange, second only to tea, coffee and tourism.

Adopt a giant panda?

I bought a rose to show my love. Who wants to feel guilty?

Greenpeace thinks that you can't have your cake and eat it. Worried about air transportation of roses polluting the environment, please choose local flowers. This year, the flower ordering website Interflora decided to compete with imported roses with daffodils and tulips from Britain.

Various other organizations have also launched their own "environmental gifts".

Carbon Neutralization Company's "Valentine's Day Green Gift Box" contains organic chocolate, recycled leather key chains and an 1000-mile "innocent" driving certificate. Your lover offsets 325 kilograms of carbon dioxide for you.

Lifelong Tree Planting suggests that lovers spend 15 to plant a pine tree for their lovers in a forest in Calidoni.

People who believe in eternal love may be more interested in Valentine's Day gifts from the World Land Foundation. 25 pounds, you can buy couples 1-2 acres of Brazilian rainforest; For 20,000 pounds, you and your wife will have a rainforest reserve named after them. In addition, you will receive exquisite gift boxes, including property certificates and fair trade chocolates.

Love and generosity

How about spending 35 pounds to adopt a tiger, a giant panda or a golden monkey for your lover from the World Wildlife Fund? Not only give gifts, but also show your lover the gentle side of caring for animals?

At the same time, charities have also launched various "intangible gifts": the giver donates money to some projects in developing countries in the name of the recipient.

Oxfam's 20-pound special gift box contains condoms and pamphlets promoting sexual safety knowledge for African countries;

The Salvation Army's "innovative and exquisite" gift includes a gardener's bag worth 20 pounds. Among them is a hoe, a kettle and a box of seeds. In this way, a family in Latin America can open up wasteland for farming, and the harvested products can be eaten by themselves or sold.

Valentine's day shows love. What could be more timely than donating money to the Heart Research Foundation to protect the heart? The Heart Foundation wants people to donate an hour's salary in the name of their partner, "to give a gift that can save lives."

The ultimate gift

Selective male ligation

Make your wife/girlfriend happy and secure.

10 minute operation is valid for life.

You can rest at home with peace of mind.

The elder brothers admire "you are so brave"

-Mary Stephen

So, who can take the crown of "the ultimate gift" this Valentine's Day?

Mary Stephen International, a world-renowned sexual and reproductive health service organization, provides an ingenious choice for men who have racked their brains and still can't figure out what gift to give their wives: vasectomy.

The regular price of Maristev Men's Day is 395. This year, they will give free Valentine's cards to interested men. A man gives a card to his wife on Valentine's Day, and the "congratulations" on the card says "I promise to book a holiday for myself".

It only costs 350 to use the holiday gift certificate included in the card. Mary Stephen suggested that the 45 pounds saved could be used to treat his wife to a candlelight dinner.

A spokesman for the organization said that this is not only the "ultimate gift" that a man can give his wife, but also your courage will impress your buddies!

psychologic equilibrium

On Valentine's Day, the air is full of love.

Lovers who are keen on festivals, please don't send love messages to the wrong people like a quarter of Britons; Don't be sad if you don't receive the flowers. Valentine's Day is like the Olympic Games. It is about participation.

Single friends who are looking forward to love and friendship, why not order a large bunch of flowers for themselves and send them to the office building? At least you don't have to put up with crocodile tears from girls at the next table.

Don't catch a cold? You can save money and worry more. Why not?

African flowers adorn Valentine's Day romance.

You can be more romantic this Valentine's Day. So, this Valentine's Day, you can be romantic. )

Hilary Benn

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On the eve of Valentine's Day, Hilary Benn, the British Secretary of State for International Development, said that lovers should decorate their romance with African flowers instead of choosing European flowers.

Ben said that African flowers are not cultivated in greenhouses, which is beneficial to environmental protection. He said: "Recent research shows that flowers flown from Africa consume less energy than flowers planted in Europe."

For example, the emissions from planting flowers in Kenya and airlifting them to Europe are only 1/5 planted in the Netherlands.

Social welfare

The minister also said that buying flowers produced in Africa is beneficial to "social justice" because it can make the poor in Africa live a good life.

"If we boycott goods shipped from Africa, we deprive the poor in Africa of their development opportunities and their rights to education and health."

Ben said that on a romantic Valentine's Day, sending a bunch of flowers made in Africa is not only environmentally friendly, but also gives social justice. Isn't this a more romantic Valentine's Day?

Other issues

However, Toine Zwitserlood, secretary general of the European Association of Professional Florists, said: "Ben's statement is very strange. He didn't see the whole thing. "

Toine said that this is not only an environmental problem, but also a problem of child labor and employee treatment.

He suggested that people who buy flowers on Valentine's Day should recognize the sign of "fair flowers, fair plants" because it not only considers the environment, but also considers the human rights of flower farmers.

Romantic Valentine's Day, what choice will you make?