Phong Tục và Truyền Thống

Christmas Day (25 December) is one of the UK's most important holidays. Families exchange gifts and eat roast turkey with Christmas pudding. The Christmas tree tradition was popularised by Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria. Boxing Day (26 December) is also a public holiday.

Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, falling in March or April. Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays. Traditional customs include Easter eggs and egg hunts.

New Year's Day (1 January) is a public holiday. In Scotland, the celebration is called Hogmanay. Edinburgh's Hogmanay is world-famous.

Bonfire Night (also called Guy Fawkes Night) on 5 November commemorates the failure of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when Guy Fawkes and a group of Catholics tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill King James I. People celebrate with bonfires and fireworks.

Remembrance Day on 11 November honours fallen members of the armed forces. People wear red poppies, and a two-minute silence is observed at 11 am. The main ceremony takes place at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London.

Bank holidays are official public holidays when most businesses and schools close. England and Wales have 8 per year, Scotland has 9, and Northern Ireland has 10.

Other celebrations include Valentine's Day (14 February), Mother's Day (Mothering Sunday, in March or April), and Father's Day (in June).

Halloween (31 October) is popular, especially for children, who dress in costumes and go trick-or-treating.

Patron saint days are also celebrated: St David's Day (1 March) in Wales, where people wear a daffodil or leek; St Patrick's Day (17 March), a bank holiday in Northern Ireland; St George's Day (23 April) in England; and St Andrew's Day (30 November), a bank holiday in Scotland.

Burns Night on 25 January celebrates the life and poetry of Robert Burns with a traditional supper. The Edinburgh Festival takes place every summer and is the world's largest arts festival.