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May: May Day

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. copyright of protectbritain.com

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

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April: Easter traditions

The Easter Bunny:

The Easter bunny has its origin in pre-Christian fertility lore. The Hare and the Rabbit were the most fertile animals known and they served as symbols of the new life during the Spring season. The bunny as an Easter symbol seems to have its origins in Germany, where it was first mentioned in German writings in the 1500s. The first edible Easter bunnies were made in Germany during the early 1800s. And they were made of pastry and sugar.

Easter Eggs:

Of all the symbols associated with Easter the egg, the symbol of fertility and new life, is the most identifiable.

Originally Easter eggs were painted with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring and were used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts. After they were colored and etched with various designs the eggs were exchanged by lovers and romantic admirers, much the same as valentines. In medieval time eggs were traditionally given at Easter to the servants. In Germany eggs were given to children along with other Easter gifts.
Nowadays, over one billion Easter eggs are hunted every year in America and the most popular (or at least the most televised) Easter egg hunt is the one held at the White House.

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March: St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and the Irish. St. Patrick was born about 385 A.D. in Northern Wales. He studied religion in Europe to become a priest and bishop. He then brought Christianity to the Irish by teaching in Ireland for 29 years. St. Patrick is most known around the world as driving all the snakes out of Ireland through trickery.

The symbol of shamrocks: An Irish tale tells of how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. He used it in his sermons and his followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day. Green is also associated with Saint Patrick's Day because it is the color of spring, Ireland, and the shamrock.

Today St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17th by the Irish as well as many North Americans, with parades, parties, wearing of green, Irish songs and jigs.

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February: Shrove Tuesday

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 (the period before Easter) 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.

Shrove Tuesday is celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday and is therefore the final day before the commencement of Lent, a Christian festival leading up to Easter Sunday (Easter Day).Why do Christians call the day 'Shrove Tuesday'?

The name Shrove comes from the old word "shrive" which means to confess. On Shrove Tuesday, in the Middle Ages, people used to confess their sins so that they were forgiven before the season of Lent began.

Would you like to try English pancakes? If this article has given you an appetite, go to recipes, click on pancakes and try! They're simply delicious.

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January: Twelfth Night celebrations

The actual date for Twelfth Night, that is on 5th January, has caused much confusion for years and still does today. This is because our modern understanding of the words 'eve' and 'night' mean something different to what our ancient ancestors considered them to be. It is only with our modern understanding of astronomy and time keeping that we start a new day in the middle of the night. To our ancient ancestors, the end of day was when the sun went down. The oncoming night was the beginning of the next day. Nights were actually part of the holiday i.e. part of the next day.
Long ago it was thought that leaving the decorations up would cause a disaster. People believed that tree-spirits lived in the greenery (holy, ivy etc) they decorated their houses with. The greenery was brought into the house to provide a safe haven for the tree-spirits during the harsh midwinter days. Once this period was over it was necessary to return the greenery back outside to release the tree-spirits into the countryside once again. Failure to do this would mean that vegetation would not be able to start growing again (spring would not return), leading to an agricultural disaster.
Today people still feel uneasy about leaving the Christmas decorations up after Twelfth Night. Despite decorations now being made of foil or paper, and even though the tree-spirits are long forgotten, the superstition still survives.
There many customs and traditions which take place on or around Twelfth Night. One of the most famous is the London celebration.is an annual seasonal celebration held on the Bankside by Shakespeare's Globe, in London. It is a celebration of the New Year, mixing ancient Midwinter seasonal customs with contemporary festivity. It is free, accessible to all and happens whatever the weather.