The New Year´s Day Parade - January

More than 10,000 dancers, acrobats, cheerleaders, musicians and performers assemble in the heart of the city for a "celebration of nations." Starting as Big Ben strikes 12 Noon, the Parade takes the following route:
Parliament Square, Whitehall, Trafalgar Square, Pall Mall, Regent Street, Piccadilly Circus and then up to the junction of Berkeley Street on Piccadilly.

Shrove Tuesday - February

In the UK, Shrove Tuesday is also known as Pancake Day (or Pancake Tuesday to some people) because it is the one day of the year when almost everyone eats a pancake. Pancake Day (also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the last day before the period which Christians call Lent.

It is traditional on this day to eat pancakes. Lent is a time of abstinence, of giving things up. So Shrove Tuesday is the last chance to indulge yourself, and to use up the foods that aren't allowed in Lent. Pancakes are eaten on this day because they contain fat, butter and eggs which were forbidden during Lent.

Mother´s Day - March

A time for people living in the UK to think about their mothers.

People often give flowers or chocolates or organise a special day out for their mothers at this time, and send a special "Mother's Day" card.

St. George´s Day - April

St. George is the patron saint of England. His emblem, a red cross on a white background, is the flag of England, and part of the British flag. St George's emblem was adopted by Richard The Lion Heart and brought to England in the 12th century. The king's soldiers wore it on their tunics to avoid confusion in battle.

Interesting Facts

• Despite the fact that St. George has been the patron saint of England since the 14th century, only one in five people know that St. George’s Day falls on 23 April.
• More than a quarter of people living in England do not even know who their patron saint is!
• Shakespeare was born on 23 April 1564 and he died on the same day in 1616.

May Day - May

The first day of the month of May is known as May Day. It is the time of year when warmer weather begins and flowers and trees start to blossom. It is said to be a time of love and romance. It is when people celebrate the coming of summer with lots of different customs that are expressions of joy and hope after a long winter.

Traditional English May Day celebrations include Morris dancing, crowning a May Queen and dancing around a Maypole.

The Queen's Official birthday - Trooping the Colour - June

Each June, the Queen and other members of the Royal Family attend the Trooping the Colour ceremony on Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall in London. The Queen attends the ceremony to take the salute from thousands of guardsmen who parade the Colour (their regiment's flag).

It is only the Foot Guards of the Household Division that take part in the Queen’s Birthday Parade, with the exception of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, (based in St. John’s Wood). The Kings Troop, parade round with the Household Cavalry after the Foot Guards have trooped the Colour in slow and quick time.

The Queen's birthday parade is the biggest royal event of the year. In 1748, the celebration of the official birthday of the sovereign was amalgamated with the Trooping the Colour.
The Trooping the Colour is tradition going back to the days when the Colours was trooped in front of soldiers to make sure everyone could recognise their flag in battle.
The Colours today are trooped in front of the Queen troops of the Household Division.

St. Swithin's Day - July

A legend says that as the Bishop lay on his deathbed, he asked to be buried out of doors, where he would be trodden on and rained on. According to legend there was a heavy rain storm either during the ceremony or on its anniversary.

This led to the old wives' tale  that if it rains on St Swithin's Day (July 15th), it will rain for the next 40 days in succession.
However, according to the Met Office, this old wives' tale is nothing other than a myth.

Well-dressing - August

Well dressing (also once known as well flowering) is a summer custom practised in rural England in which wells, springs or other water sources are decorated with designs created from flower petals. The custom is most closely associated with the Peak District of Derbyshire and Staffordshire. It has been said to have originated in Tissington, Derbyshire in 1349.

Well dressing was celebrated in only one or two villages in Derbyshire by the 19th century, and in Buxton it wasn't introduced until 1840, "to commemorate the beneficence of the Duke of Devonshire who, at his own expense, made arrangements for supplying the Upper Town, which had been much inconvenienced by the distance to St Anne's well on the Wye, with a fountain of excellent water within easy reach of all". Similarly, well dressing was revived at this time in Youlgreave, to celebrate the supplying of water to the village "from a hill at some distance, by means of pipes laid under the stream of an intervening valley", largely due to the support of a "Miss Bowman"

With the arrival of piped water the tradition was adapted so that, not only wells but also taps were decorated, although the resulting creations were still advertised as well dressings.

Harvest Festival – September

Harvest Festival is a celebration of the food grown on the land.
Thanksgiving ceremonies and celebrations for a successful harvest are both worldwide and very ancient. In Britain, we have given thanks for successful harvests since pagan times.

We celebrate this day by singing, praying and decorating our churches with baskets of fruit and food in a festival known as 'Harvest Festival', usually during the month of September.

Harvest Festival reminds Christians of all the good things God gives them. This makes them want to share with others who are not so fortunate. In schools and in Churches, people bring food from home to a Harvest Festival Service. After the service, the food that has been put on display is usually made into parcels and given to people in need.

Hallowe’en Night - October

On October 31st, we celebrate Halloween, thought to be the one night of the year when ghosts, witches, and fairies are especially active, it is an American celebration. What we do know for sure is that Halloween is on the eve of a major Catholic festival, All Saints (1st November) and the eve of the pagan Celtic festival known as Samhain.

The three days between 31st October and 2nd November see pagan and Christian celebrations intertwined in a fascinating way and is a perfect example of superstition struggling with religious belief. Currently, it is widely thought that Halloween originated as a pagan Celtic festival of the dead related to the Irish and Scottish Samhain, but there is no evidence that it was connected with the dead in pre-Christian times.

Stir-up Sunday - November

Stir-up is an informal term in Anglican churches for the last Sunday before the season of Advent.

The term comes from the opening words of the collect for the day in the Book of Common Player of 1549.

This is the Sunday before Advent Sunday, and is traditionally the day on which in the UK, Christmas puddings are made for those in the USA Christmas pudding is a rich fruit cake full of nuts.

Christmas Day - December

Every year in December we celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ. That is why we call this time of year 'Christmas'. We celebrate the 'Mass', or church service, for Christ.

Christmas is a truly magical season, bringing families and friends together to share the much loved customs and traditions which have been around for centuries. Most people are on holiday in the UK and stay at home with their family on Christmas day, the main day for Christmas celebrations in Britain.