Chapter 4 · A modern, thriving society
Customs and traditions: Life in the UK test study notes
The UK's calendar mixes Christian festivals, the festivals of other faiths and many secular traditions. Christmas Day (25 December) marks Jesus's birth and is followed by Boxing Day; both are public holidays. Easter, which falls in March or April, remembers Jesus's death on Good Friday, while Easter Sunday celebrates his resurrection. Before it comes Lent, the 40 days that begin on Ash Wednesday, the day after pancake-eating Shrove Tuesday. Festivals of other faiths are widely celebrated too: Diwali (Hindus and Sikhs), Hannukah (Jews), Eid al-Fitr and Eid ul Adha (Muslims) and Vaisakhi (Sikhs). Other popular occasions include New Year and Scotland's Hogmanay, Valentine's Day, April Fool's Day, Mothering Sunday, Father's Day and Halloween. On 5 November, Bonfire Night recalls the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605, and on 11 November the country remembers those who died in war. Bank holidays add further days off that have no religious meaning.
Key facts to remember
- 25 December – Christmas Day, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ; 26 December – Boxing Day. Both are public holidays.
- A traditional Christmas dinner – roast turkey, mince pies and Christmas pudding often feature.
- Easter (March or April): Good Friday marks the death of Jesus and Easter Sunday his rising from the dead. Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays.
- Lent is the 40 days before Easter and begins on Ash Wednesday; the day before is Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day).
- Diwali – a five-day Festival of Lights for Hindus and Sikhs, usually in October or November, celebrating the victory of good over evil.
- Hannukah – an eight-day Jewish festival in November or December remembering the struggle for religious freedom.
- Eid al-Fitr – marks the end of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting.
- Eid ul Adha – remembers the prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son when God commanded it.
- Vaisakhi – a Sikh festival in April celebrating the founding of the Khalsa, with parades, dancing and singing.
- 1 January – New Year's Day, a public holiday. Scotland calls 31 December Hogmanay and has a further holiday on 2 January.
- 14 February – Valentine's Day; 1 April – April Fool's Day, with jokes played until midday.
- Mothering Sunday – three weeks before Easter; Father's Day – on the third Sunday of June.
- 31 October – Halloween, rooted in a pagan festival marking the start of winter. Young people dress up in scary costumes to go 'trick or treating', and many people carve lanterns out of pumpkins.
- 5 November – Bonfire Night, marking the failure of the 1605 Gunpowder Plot to blow up Parliament and kill King James I.
- 11 November – Remembrance Day: a two-minute silence at 11 am, red poppies and wreaths at the Cenotaph in Whitehall.
- Bank holidays (early May, late May or early June, and August) have no religious significance; Northern Ireland also has a holiday in July for the Battle of the Boyne.
- Many major sports began in Britain, including football, cricket, rugby, golf and lawn tennis.
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These notes summarise the official handbook, Life in the United Kingdom: A Guide for New Residents (3rd edition), which all the test questions come from. Try the free chapter 4 questions.