What is Bonfire Night? The history of November 5

Why do they have Bonfire Night and fireworks displays every November 5 in the UK? 

What is Bonfire Night?

On November 5 people across the UK celebrate Bonfire Night.

There are small fireworks parties in back gardens along with big organised displays in public parks.

The reason they do it is because it's the anniversary of an attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament led by a man called Guy Fawkes.

It's called the Gunpowder Plot, and bonfires are lit to burn the "Guy" - a kind of dummy that represents Fawkes.

Image captionGuy Fawkes (second from right) and the conspirators of the Gunpowder Plot

What was the Gunpowder Plot?

Guy (Guido) Fawkes led the Gunpowder plot in 1605. It was a plan to blow up King James I and his government. 

Fawkes and his group put 36 barrels of gunpowder in cellars under the Houses of Parliament in London, ready to set off a massive explosion.

One member of the group sent a letter to his friend who worked in Parliament, warning him to stay away on November 5.

Image captionThe plot was to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London

The King's supporters got hold of the letter and the plot was rumbled!

Guards broke into the cellars where the gunpowder plotters were waiting. They were arrested, tortured and executed.

The Gunpowder Plot was about religion. England was a Protestant country, and the plotters were Catholic.

The group wanted to return England to the Catholic faith. They thought they could do this by killing King James I and his ministers.

  Bonfires are lit all over the UK every November 5

From CBBC Newsround

The history of Halloween - how it all started

Halloween began as the festival of Samhain. It was part of the ancient Celtic religion in Britain and other parts of Europe.

At the end of summer, the Celts thought the barrier between our world and the world of ghosts and spirits got really thin.

This meant weird creatures with strange powers could wander about on Earth.

The Celts had a big party. It was all about scaring away the ghosts and spirits.

Later, with the Christian religion, the day became known as All Hallows' Eve - the day before All Saints' Day on 1 November.

America picks up the pace

It's in America that Halloween has really taken off.

Irish immigrants to the United States raised the popularity of Halloween during the 19th century.

During the 20th century it became more and more popular, with traditions like pumpkin carving and trick or treating becoming part of TV shows, books and movies. (CBBC Newsround)

Fish and chips the play makes its stage debut

Britain's love of fish and chips is so great that a play has been written about it.

One of Each is a tale of storms at sea, saucy secrets and sibling rivalry centred around two fish and chip shops who are battling to win the coveted title of "Golden Fish Fork". (BBC News)

Fish and chips is a hot dish of English origin, consisting of battered fish, commonly Atlantic cod or haddock, and deep-fried chips. It is a common take-away food.

Fish and chips became a stock meal among the working classes in England as a consequence of the rapid development of trawl fishing in the North Sea, and the development of railways which connected the ports to major industrial cities during the second half of the 19th century, which meant that fresh fish could be rapidly transported to the heavily populated areas. Deep-fried fish was first introduced into Britain during the 16th century by Jewish refugees from Portugal and Spain, and is derived from pescado frito. In 1860, the first fish and chip shop was opened in London by Joseph Malin.

Deep-fried chips (slices or pieces of potato) as a dish may have first appeared in Britain in about the same period: the Oxford English Dictionary notes as its earliest usage of "chips" in this sense the mention in Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities(published in 1859): "Husky chips of potatoes, fried with some reluctant drops of oil".

A blue plaque marking the first chip shop in Britain, in Oldham

The modern fish-and-chip shop ("chippy" or "chipper" in modern British slang) originated in the United Kingdom, although outlets selling fried food occurred commonly throughout Europe. Early fish-and-chip shops had only very basic facilities. Usually these consisted principally of a large cauldron of cooking fat, heated by a coal fire. During World War II fish and chips remained one of the few foods in the United Kingdom not subject to rationing.

In the United Kingdom the Fish Labelling Regulations 2003 and in Ireland the European Communities (Labelling of Fishery and Aquaculture Products) Regulations 2003  respectively enact directive 2065/2001/EC, and generally mean that "fish" must be sold with the particular commercial name or species named; so "cod and chips" now appears on menus rather than the more vague "fish and chips". In the United Kingdom the Food Standards Agency guidance excludes caterers from this. but several local Trading Standards authorities and others do say it cannot be sold merely as "fish and chips". (in Wikipedia)

Christmas traditions Around the World

Christmas around the world from Nines Picado

A hologram of Father Christmas is entertaining crowds outside a house in Derby.

He can be seen moving around, looking out of the window and waving as he prepares for his busiest time of the year.

A jolly Mrs Claus can be seen waving from an upstairs window.

The holographic video footage was set up by the person who lives at the house, electrician Carl Holdsworth.

From CBBC newsround

What is Halloween?

Halloween is the scariest night of the year. All around the world, people celebrate spookiness.

On 31 October there are loads of Halloween traditions. If you go to a party, expect stuff like:

• Scary fancy dress
• Making pumpkin lanterns
• Trick or treating
• Bobbing for apples
• Telling ghost stories

But not everyone likes celebrating Halloween.

Some religious people believe that making a game out of evil spirits and witches is wrong.

From CBBC newsround

Would you like to play some Halloween games? Yes?

Try these links:

• http://www.webpaws.com/games.php?cid=19&s=Halloween
• http://www.nick.com/games/halloween-games/
• http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/category/topics/halloween
• http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/word-games/find-the-pairs/halloween
• http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/play-with-friends/quiz-halloween

Easter Traditions in Britain

The Traditional Egg Gift

These eggs were painted in bright colours to give them further meaning as a gift.

As chocolate became more wide spread in the 20th Century, a chocolate version of the traditional painted egg was developed. The size of the chocolate egg has grown over the years and is now more likely to be the size of an ostrich egg rather than a small birds egg.

Easter cards

Easter cards arrived in Victorian England, when a stationer added a greeting to a drawing of a rabbit. The cards proved popular.

Easter Egg Hunt

Small chocolate eggs are hidden for the children to find on the traditional Easter Egg Hunt. In recent years this game has been linked to the Easter Bunny, which only arrived in England relatively recently.

Click on the link to know more about Easter traditions

http://projectbritain.com/easter/easterday.htm