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New Year's Day
On New Year’s Eve (31 December), it is traditional to celebrate midnight with your friends or family and to sing ‘Auld lang syne’, a folk song with words by the Scottish poet Robert Burns. The party can last well into New Year’s Day! Many people make ‘New Year’s resolutions’, promising to achieve a goal or break a bad habit in the coming year.
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Burns’ Night (Scotland)
Many Scottish people hold a special supper (dinner) on Burns’ Night, a celebration of Robert Burns, with toasts and readings of his poetry. Men might wear kilts, there may be bagpipe music, and people will almost certainly eat haggis (the traditional Scottish dish of sheeps’ heart, liver and lungs) with neeps (turnips) and tatties (potatoes). -
Chinese New Year
Outside Asia, the world’s biggest celebration of Chinese New Year is in London – each year there is a parade through Chinatown in the West End, with free performances of music, dance and acrobatics, a feast of food and fireworks. There are many more events around the UK, so find out what's on in your area – cities including Manchester, Nottingham, Liverpool and Birmingham usually host colourful street parties.
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Shrove Tuesday or ‘Pancake Day’
Lent is the traditional Christian period of fasting, which lasts for 40 days. Shrove Tuesday is the day before Lent, when households would traditionally use up their eggs, milk and sugar by making pancakes. Nowadays, even if they are not religious, many people still make and eat pancakes on this day. -
Valentine’s Day
Love is in the air! Historically the Feast of St Valentine, nowadays this is a celebration of romance. Many people in the UK go out for dinner with their sweethearts, and give them a Valentine’s card, chocolate or flowers. If you’re single, you might receive an anonymous card from a ‘secret admirer’! -
St David’s Day (Wales)
St David is the patron saint of Wales, and March 1 is a celebration of Welsh culture. People in Wales might wear a daffodil and eat cawl, a soup of seasonal vegetables and lamb or bacon. Events are held across Wales, including a large parade in Cardiff. -
Mother’s Day.
Mother’s Day is a day to celebrate motherhood, and to thank mothers for everything they do throughout the year. Many people give their mothers a card or gift, treat them to a day out or cook a meal. -
St Patrick’s Day (Northern Ireland)
The Feast of St Patrick is a national holiday in Ireland, and is now celebrated by Irish communities all around the world. In the UK, there are St Patrick’s Day events in cities including Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester and London, as well as Belfast. Many people go out with friends, wearing green or a shamrock symbol (the lucky clover) and drinking Guinness, the Irish dark beer. -
Holi Day
The 'festival of colours', the end of the winter season in the Hindu calendar, falls on this day in 2016. In several places in the UK, including London, Manchester, Bristol and Belfast, people celebrate the event by running through the streets and throwing coloured paint all over each other! -
April Fools’ Day
For one day of the year, it is acceptable – even encouraged! – to play tricks, pranks and practical jokes. Even newspapers, TV and radio shows often feature fake stories on April 1. It’s customary to reveal the joke by saying ‘April fool!’ (the person who falls for the joke is the ‘fool’), and to stop playing tricks at midday. -
St George’s Day (England)
The legend is that St George was a Roman soldier who killed a dragon to rescue a princess. He is now the patron saint of England, and this is England’s national day. April 23 is also known as William Shakespeare’s birthday, when events take place to honour the playwright... and 2016 will be the 400th anniversary of his death. -
Easter weekend
Easter is a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is always on a Sunday in March or April (called Easter Sunday), and the previous Friday (Good Friday) and following Monday (Easter Monday) are bank holidays. People celebrate Easter in different ways, but many give each other chocolate eggs and eat ‘hot cross buns’ (sweet buns with a cross design), while children decorate eggs or take part in Easter egg hunts. -
May Day
Beltane (or Beltain) is the Celtic festival of fire, which celebrates fertility and marks the start of summer. With its roots in ancient Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man, modern versions of the event are becoming more popular – some of the largest are in Edinburgh, Thornborough in Yorkshire and Butser Ancient Farm in Hampshire, where the traditional 30-foot Wicker Man is burned at sunset. -
The Queen’s Official Birthday
Although the Queen’s real birthday is on the 21st of April, it has been a tradition since 1748 to celebrate the king or queen’s birthday in June. A military parade known as Trooping the Colour is held in London, attended by the Royal Family -
Father’s Day
Father’s Day is a day to show appreciation to fathers, grandfathers, stepfathers and fathers-in-law. Many people in the UK give their father a card or gift, have a meal together or go out for drinks. -
Summer solstice
The ancient monument of Stonehenge in Wiltshire has its true moment in the sun as people celebrate the longest day and shortest night of the year. Stand inside the monument facing northeast, toward a stone outside the circle called the Heel Stone, and you'll see the sun rise like a blazing fire – a sight that brings in pagans and sun-lovers of all beliefs! -
Wimbledon Tennis Championships
Wimbledon, the world’s oldest tennis tournament, is a summer highlight for sports fans. Held at the All England Club in London since 1877, Wimbledon is known for the tennis players’ white dress code and the tradition for spectators to eat strawberries and cream. -
6-25th Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The largest arts festival in the world, ‘the Fringe’ features over 40,000 performances and more than 2,500 shows at 250 venues. Any type of performance may participate, across theatre, comedy, music and dance, and many students visit Edinburgh to put on their own shows.
For more, read our Edinburgh Festivals guide -
Notting Hill Carnival
Held in west London over a bank holiday weekend, Notting Hill Carnival is Europe’s biggest street festival. Around 1 million people go to see colourful floats and dancers in flamboyant costumes, hear music from salsa to reggae, and taste Caribbean food from street stalls. Bring your party spirit, enough cash and a lot of patience – it can be very crowded. -
London Fashion Week
London Fashion Week sets the global fashion agenda, alongside the other big shows in Paris, Milan and New York. These are for industry insiders, but you can get tickets to London Fashion Weekend for a taste of the fashion show experience. There are two each year – the first London Fashion Week is in February, with the Weekend on 19-23 February. Students get involved too, with events including student and graduate showcases and networking opportunities. -
Halloween
he modern way of celebrating Halloween is based on the Christian feast of All Hallows’ Eve and the Celtic festival of Samhain. Children go trick-or-treating (knocking on neighbours’ doors to ask for sweets) or carve pumpkins, while older students go to parties and Halloween events at pubs, clubs or Students’ Unions. The important thing is to dress up as gruesomely as you dare! -
Movember
If you’re seeing more moustaches than usual, you’re not imagining it – throughout November, the charity campaign of Movember invites men to grow a moustache and raise awareness of men’s health issues. -
Bonfire night
Historically, this marks the anniversary of Guy Fawkes’ plot to blow up the House of Lords and assassinate King James I in 1605 – the failed 'gunpowder plot' is remembered in the children’s rhyme ‘Remember, remember the 5th of November; gunpowder, treason and plot’. Today, it is commemorated with spectacular displays of fireworks. -
Remembrance Day
Each year in the UK, November 11 is a memorial day to honour members of the armed forces. The aim is to remember those who lost their lives in battle, so many peace campaigners also support the event. The Royal British Legion charity sells paper poppy flowers to raise funds for veterans and their families (the poppy is a symbol of Remembrance Day), and it is customary to observe a two-minute silence at 11am. -
Christmas
Most people in the UK celebrate Christmas, even if they are not religious. There will be Christmas trees, presents, carol singing, mulled wine (warm, spiced red wine), mince pies (small pies with a sweet fruit filling) and if it snows, snowmen and snowball fights! The traditional Christmas dinner is a whole roast turkey with roast potatoes, vegetables, gravy and Christmas pudding for dessert (a steamed sponge pudding with dried fruit) – but each family has its own variations. -
Boxing Day
The day after Christmas is called Boxing Day, and is a bank holiday in the UK. It’s believed to have been named after the ‘Christmas box’ of money or gifts which employers used to give to servants and tradesmen. Nowadays, there are no particular Boxing Day customs, but most people spend the day with their families, going for a walk, watching sports or eating the Christmas leftovers. -
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