Leisure activities, festivals and holidays

HCMC COLLEGE OF ECONOMICS
Subject: British studies
Teacher: Ms.Minh
Student: Tran Thi Minh Hanh
Topic: leisure activities, festivals and holidays
I) Leisure activities
What do British people like doing at the weekend?
The weekend are time for families in Britain





Saturday is a busy time for shops with many families going shopping

Sunday is a very special day of the week in Britain



Popular leisure activities on
Sunday are going to church
And doing jobs around the home such as gardening and DIY
How do people spend their free time?
1) Indoor activities:
The most common leisure activity in the UK is watching television
The average viewing time is 25 hours per person per week
Radio:
People in Britain listen to an average 15 hours and 50 minutes of radio each week
Digital Devices:
In January to April 2006, 56 percent of household in Great Britain had a desktop computer, 30 percent had a portable or laptop computer, and 7 percent had a handheld computer
2) Outdoor activities:
A) Visiting or entertaining friends or relations
Mum & Dad go out and visit friends at least once a week. Sometime me and my brother go too
B) Cinema ( Movie house):
Britons made 123 million visits to the cinema in 1998 making it the most popular cultural activity in the UK
C) Eating out:
British people spending in 1999 an average of 5.63 dollar per person per week on food (excluding alcohol)
We go to McDonalds at least once a week. Sometime we have pizza delivered to our home. Occasionally we will go to a restaurant
D) Sports and physical recreation:
Local governments provide cheap sport and leisure facilities such as swimming pools, tennis courts, parks and gold courses
People go to watch other people play sports like football or take part in sports themselves.


II) Holidays:

1) Traditional holidays:
The traditional British holiday is a seaside holiday
Children used to watch a Punch
and Judy show (puppets)
And ride donkeys
along a beach
2) Holidays abroad:
Europe is the most popular destination for UK residents, accounting for 80 per cent of visits abroad. Spain has been the most popular country to visit since 1994, with 13.8 million visits in 2005. France was second in popularity, with 11.1 million visits.
III) Festivals:
January
New Year (1st)
Bank Holiday
Twefth night (5th)
Plough Monday
February
Candlemas Day
(1st)
St Valentines Day
(14th)
March
St David`s Day
(1st) (Wales)
St Patrick`s Day
(17th) (Ireland)


April
April Fool`s Day (1st)
St George`s Day (23rd) (England)
Special Days that move each year (February/March/April)
Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day)
Lent
Mothering Sunday
(UK Mothers Day)
Easter
May
May Day
(1st)
Rochester Sweeps Festival
Two Bank Holidays
Whistun
June
Trooping of the Colour
Fathers` Day
Wimbledon Tennis Championship
July
August
Edinburgh Festival
Notting Hill Carnival
Bank Holiday
September

Harvest Festival

October
Halloween (31st)
November
Bonfire Night (5th)
Remembrance Day (11th)
St Andrew`s Day (30th)
Advent
December
Advent
Christmas (25th)
Boxing Day (26th)
1)Bank holidays
British bank holidays are public holidays and have been recognised since 1871.
Bank holidays are public holidays in the United Kingdom, when banks and many other businesses are closed for the day.
The expected dates of bank and public holidays in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are shown below:

2)Shrove Tuesday:
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
In 2010 Pancake Day is on Tuesday 16 February
Pancakes are eaten on this day because they contain fat, butter and eggs which were forbidden during Lent
3) St. David`s Day (The National Day of Wales )
St David`s Day is celebrated in Wales on 1 March, in honour of St David (Dewi Sant), the patron saint of Wales.
This is the flag of St David. It is not the flag of Wales
.
The national emblems of Wales are daffodils
and leeks
On St David`s Day, some children in Wales dress
in their national costume,
which consists of a tall black hat,
white frilled cap and long dress.
The national flag of Wales, depicting a fiery red dragon
(Y Ddraig Goch)
against a green and white background, is also flown.
4) St. Patrick`s Day (The National Day of Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland )
St. Patrick`s Day is celebrated in the whole of Ireland on 17 March,
in honour of St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.
This is the flag of St Patrick
The national emblem of Ireland is the Shamrock.
Patrick used the three-leaved shamrock to explain how the
Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit could exist as
separate parts of the same being. His followers
took to wearing a shamrock in celebration.
St.Patrick’s Day is celebrated with parades in the large cities,
the wearing of the green and drinking Guinness
(traditional drink of Ireland).
5) St George`s Day (England`s national day. )
St. George`s Day is on 23 April
St. George is the patron saint of England
St George`s Emblem
The Flag of England
A symbol of England
One of the best-known stories about
Saint George is his fight with a dragon
St George is known throughout the world as the dragon-slaying patron saint of England.


On the Sunday nearest to 23 April, scouts and guides throughout England
parade through high streets
and attend a special St George`s Day service at their local church.
7) St Andrew`s Day ( The national day of Scotland
St Andrews Day is on 30 November. On this day, Scots all around
the world celebrate their national day.
St Andrew`s Day is often a celebration of general Scottishness
with traditional food, music (especially bagpipes) and dancing.
The Flag of Scotland - St Andrew`s Saltire
Around midnight on Nov. 29, the day before St Andrew`s Day, it was traditional for girls to pray to St. Andrew for a husband. They would make a wish and look for a sign that they had been heard.
The thistle is widely regarded
as the emblem of Scotland.
6) Trooping the Colour
The official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II is marked each year
by a military parade and march-past,
known as Trooping the Colour (Carrying of the Flag).
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 Trooping the Colour is tradition going back to the days
when the Colours (regimental flag of the regiment) was trooped
in front of soldiers to make sure everyone could recognise their flag in battle.
7) Swan Upping on the River Thames
The Swan Upping event takes place in July each year,
commencing on the third Monday at Sunbury and
ending at Abingdon on the Friday.
The swans on the River Thames are Mute Swans (Cygnus olor).
They are not actually mute, they can honk and hiss alot
The Swan Uppers catch and check the health of the swans
and their cygnets through five counties,
from Sunbury-on-Thames, Middlesex, to Abingdon, Oxfordshire
8) Remembrance Day in Britain
Remembrance Day is on 11 November. It is a special day set aside to remember
all those men and women who were killed during the two World Wars
and other conflicts.At one time the day was known as Armistice Day
and was renamed Remembrance Day after the Second World War.
A war memorial in Sevenoaks Kent
The "Last Post" is traditionally played to introduce the two minute
silence in Remembrance Day ceremonies. It is usually ` played on a bugle.
(In military(wan doj) life, `The Last Post` marks the end of the day and the final farewell.)


At 11am on each Remembrance Sunday a two minute silence
is observed at war memorials and other public spaces across the UK.