British Holidays and Festivals Quiz

Answer: Wales

St David's Day is celebrated in Wales each year on 1st March, and by the Welsh community throughout the world. Dewi Sant was a sixth century bishop who died in 589 and was later elevated to patron saint. People who celebrate sometimes wear the traditional Welsh costume, but it is normal to see people without costume and just wearing a leek or daffodil in their lapel. Welsh traditionalists also celebrate by consuming a soup stew called Cawl.

Answer: Morris dancing

Morris dancing has been around since the latter part of the 15th century. Although it has declined during recent years, it is still a traditional sight to be seen outside village greens on May Day. Men, or women, dress up in pantaloons, billowing shirts, braces and straw boater hats. They have bells which tinkle and handkerchiefs that swing in the air. The quiet charm of this dance is disturbed by the sudden clattering of sticks or swords while they dance orchestrated steps.

Answer: Caber tossing

Tossing the caber has been a sport in Scottish history since the late 16th century. The event used to be called "wappinschawes", or weapon showing, which would attract kilt wearing Scotsmen who wanted to show off their strength and ability. In battle, logs were thrown across streams to make a temporary bridge. The Scottish Highland games are held each year and include the Braemar Gathering and Cowal Highland Gathering, the latter being the largest games in Scotland.

Answer: Shamrock

The three-leafed shamrock is the national emblem for the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland. Prior to St Patrick's death in the fifth century, he preached Christianity and it is believed that he used the three-leafed plant to explain about the Trinity: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Celebrations are now held worldwide and you often see people dressed in green, waving the Irish flag and drinking a fine glass or three of Guinness.

Answer: Poppy Day

Prior to World War II, this solemn occasion was called Armistice Day. Since World War II, it has been called Remembrance Day to recognise all those who lost their lives through war and conflict. Prayers are said on the second Sunday in November and wreaths of poppies are left outside churches and cenotaphs.

The date is significant as it is the nearest Sunday to the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" which marked the end of the war in 1918. Poppies have been laid since 1920 and were the chosen flower because of the famous war poem "In Flanders Field", written by John McCrae.

Answer: Houses of Parliament

Otherwise known as Bonfire Night, or Fireworks Night, this yearly celebration is held on the evening of 5th November. Fireworks, rockets and sparklers are set alight, filling the air with colour and the smell of cordite. Around the bonfire we would huddle while an effigy of Guy Fawkes was set alight.

This was followed by eating jacket spuds, hot soup and warm parkin. Guy Fawkes was not let off so easily. When the failed plot was discovered, he was found guilty of treason, and hung, drawn and quartered.

Answer: Stonehenge

The summer solstice is celebrated in many places, but none more impressive than the sacred megalithic monument at Stonehenge in Wiltshire. Druids dress in flowing robes, sometimes with garlands of leaves and flowers on top of their head. Ordinary people dress in tops and jeans. Between 20,000 and 30,000 visitors camp overnight and then wake early to watch the sun rising on the longest day of the year. If they are unlucky, the clouds may be too low to see the sun as on a number of occasions it has rained...and rained...and rained. Revellers knee-deep in mud still have a whale of a time!

Answer: Summer bank holiday

The carnival started back in 1964 when race relations in Britain were very poor. Afro-Caribbean communities got together with a mixture of song, dance, food and creative costumes, leading to an explosion of sound in what was normally a quiet borough in London.

Although smaller than the carnival at Rio de Janeiro, the Notting Hill Carnival in north London now attracts approximately one million visitors each year.

Answer: Robert Burns

Burns Night celebrates the life and works of Robert Burns. Burns was born on 25th January, 1759, and the first Burns supper was held a year after his death. A typical celebration would include eating haggis, drinking Scotch whisky and reciting poems written by the great poet. One of his most famous poems was the 1788 "Auld Lang Syne", which included the lyrics:

"Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never thought upon;
The flames of love extinguished, and fully past and gone:
Is thy sweet heart now grown so cold, that loving breast of thine;
That thou canst never once reflect on old long syne."

Answer: June

Father's day is celebrated on the third Sunday of June. Greetings cards, gifts and small parties are normally given, and the recipient does not have to be a blood relation. Anyone who is considered special can be included in the celebration and these can include grandfathers, stepfathers, fathers-to-be, or somebody who has been like a father.