英国节日.ppt

British festivals New Years Day is the first day of the year. it is celebrated on January 1. ANCIENT NEW YEARSThe celebration of the new year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, the Babylonian New Year began with the first New Moon It is often celebrated with fireworks at the stroke of midnight as the new year starts. St. Valentines Day On February 14 loving couples exchange cards and gifts while single people can send love letters to people they fancy. But why do lovers celebrate it on this day? There are many different explanations about it. The most popular explanation is about Minister Valentine. During the third century, Valentine served in Rome. When King Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with families, he outlawed marriage for young men. ??Valentine, realizing the unfairness of the rule, disobeyed Claudius II and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius II ordered that he be put to death on February 14th A.D.270. From A.D. 496 on, February 14th was established as a day to honor Valentine.  According to some popular legends, he drove snakes out of Ireland. Snakes are Christian symbol of evil. People celebrate this day by wearing green, having green food, and attending parades. parade Eating green Christians consider eggs to be “the seed of life”. So they celebrate Easter Sunday as the day that Jesus Christ returned to life. The custom of an Easter egg hunt began because children believed that rabbits laid eggs in the grass. April Fools Day April Fools Day is a day to play jokes on others, No one knows how this holiday began but people think it first started in France. In the 16 th century, people celebrated New Year‘s Day from March 25 to April 1. In the mid—1560s King Charles IX changed it from March 25 to January 1. But some people still celebrated it on April