Festivals, Holiday and Traditions

A holiday or a tradition is a belief or behavior passed down within a group or society with a symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past.
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect of that community and its religion or cultures.
UK
Saint Patrick´s Day is a cultural and religious celebration held on the 17th of March. The day commemorates Saint Patrick a the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. People usually drink a lot of beer, wear shamrock(plant=symbol of Ireland) and organise festivals.
In the UK Easter is one of the major Christian festivals of the year. It is full of customs, folklore and traditional food. In Britain Easter occurs at a different time each year. It is observed on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. This means that the festival can occur on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25. Not only is Easter the end of the winter, but it is also the end of Lent, traditionally a time of fasting in the Christian calendar. It is therefore often a time of fun and celebration. Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter. Christians remember it as the day of the Last Supper. On Good Friday before Easter, Christians commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Symbols : The cross, easter eggs, easter bunnies, special pastery.
Halloween is a celebration observed in several countries on the 31st of October. Halloween activities include trick or treating, wearing scary costumes, attending parties and making jack-o-lanterns from pumpkins.
Guy Fawkes Day or Bonfire night is a british obsrvance of commemorating the unsuccessful try of The Gunpowder Plot to blow up the House of Parliament on November the 5th. Celebrated with parades, fireworks, bonfires and food.
Remembrance day is a memorial day observed on the 11th of November in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty.
Christmas is mostly celebrated on the 25th of December when children and adults wake up early in the morning to observe what gifts they have been given by Santa Claus while they were asleep. During the preceding day, people put out those big christmas socks where Father Christmas can insert gifts. On the 25th people usually have a traditional supper and after that the go watching TV.
New Year´s Eve is celebrated on the 31st of December as the last day of the year. It can be distinguished by social gathering at home or in pubs where people drink, eat and dance as they wait for the new year.
New Year´s Day, celebrated on the 1st of January as the first day of the year, is probably the most widespread observance in the world. It is accompanied by fireworks at the stroke of midnight as the new year starts in each time zone.
USA
Independence Day is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The Continental Congress declared that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as free and independent states, the United States of America, and were no longer connected to the British Crown. It is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, picnics and many other kinds of fun.
Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas on October 12, 1492.
Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in Canada, the United States, some of the Caribbean islands, and Liberia. It began as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year on the fourth Thursday of November.
Veterans Day is an official United States public holiday observed annually on November 11, honoring military veterans, that is, persons who have served in the United States Armed Forces. It coincides with other holidays including Armistice Day and Remembrance Day.
Czech republic
We, the czech nation, celebrate many holidays which I have already talked about simultaneously with the UK and the USA such as New Year´s holiday, Christmas and Easter. We do not have anything like Thanksgiving here. While observing Christmas, we differ in two ways- we do not have Santa Claus, but Jesus Christ and we do open our presents on the 24th of December.
Saint Martin on the 11th of November, we commemorate the start of the winter and we eat goose with dumpl ings and kraut.
Burning of John Huss on the 6th of July, who was a church reformer and an inspirer of Hussitism. He is a symbol of the strenght of czech people. Constance.