Holidays, Festivals, Feastdays and Traditions

Holidays are events where people celebrate special occasions, commemorate special events, enjoy their free time, spend time with their family or friends, and receive or give gifts. There are 3 different of types of holidays. Personal holidays include birthdays, name days, weddings, or anniversaries. National holidays include, for example, Thanksgiving, Guy Fawkes Night, or Liberation day (celebrated on May 8^th, 1945, universally in the western world), Christmas, Easter, or New Year´s Eve. New Year’s holidays in the Czech Republic begin on the 31^st of December. They consist of New Year´s Eve and then New Year´s Day, where the Czechs organize parties, drink spirits, make fireworks, drink to each others’ health, and make resolutions. Easter usually takes place in April and has two different kinds of roots. On one hand, it is a Christian holiday which commemorates the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, it is also a celebration which welcomes spring. In the Czech Republic, boys thrash girls with a twig and it is typical to dye eggs. On the 1^st of May, it is May Day, a celebration of labor. May 8^th, Liberation Day, marks the end of WW2. In the Czech Republic, July 5^th marks the day on which Constantine and Methodius came from Solun and brought Christianity and the alphabet to the country. July 6^th is John Huss Day, which commemorates the thinker, preacher, and church reformer who was burned at the stake in Constance. September 28^th is St. Wenceslas´ Day. October 28^th is the day which commemorates the independence of Czechoslovakia, the day on which the independent Czechoslovakia came into existence. November 17^th is Students´ Day, marking when the Velvet revolution began in 1989. December 24^th is Christmas Eve and December 25^th is Christmas Day, celebrating when Jesus was born. Great Britain has some different holidays. Their Christmas consists of 3 days: Christmas Eve on which there is preparation for the following Christmas Day, and then Boxing Day, a work-free day. February 14^th is St. Valentine´s Day, a lovers’ holiday, marked by cards, flowers, gifts, and dinners. March 17^th is St. Patrick´s Day, an Irish holiday. The second Sunday in May is Mother´s Day. The first Saturday after June 9^th is the Queen´s official birthday. The third Sunday in June is Father´s Day. October 31^st is Halloween when pumpkins are carved and children dress up in costumes. November 5^th is Guy Fawkes Night. It came about when a man wanted to blow up the British parliament but his plot was discovered and he was executed. The holiday is celebrated by burning dummies and making bonfires. Many holidays in the USA are based on traditions in Great Britain. The third Monday in February is President´s Day when Presidents are honored (especially Washington and Lincoln). The 4^th of July is Independence Day, celebrating the say in 1776 on which the Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia. The fourth Thursday in November is Thanksgiving. It celebrates a time back in 1621 when the pilgrims settled and survived a severe winter, then had an enormously rich harvest and thanked God and the Indians for their help. Christmas is slightly different in various countries. Little Jesus brings presents in the Czech Republic, but Santa Clause brings them in the USA. In the US, gifts are opened on the morning of December 25^th, while in the Czech Republic it is done on the evening of December 24th. In the Czech Republic, potato salad and carp and Christmas cookies are eaten while in the US and the UK it is turkey with stuffing and Christmas pudding.