Mike moved to Cambridge in May, while the girls and I joined him in June. Up until this week then, the only holidays we'd experienced in England were bank holidays. It seemed a little odd to me that they don't seem to be celebrating anything in particular. It will just be called the "May Bank Holiday" or the "August Bank Holiday." Even though I treat a lot of holidays in America as just a day off, in the back of my mind I do like that they're celebrating something in particular and that somewhere - often not at my house - people are going all out decorating and planning special events to celebrate. So I was happy to be here for Bonfire Night/Guy Fawkes Day and see that some holidays in England are associated with special traditions and commemorating a particular event.
I hear that in times past people would make up a "Guy" (a scarecrow kind of thing) to drag through the town and throw on the bonfire. Kind of gruesome, but definitely distinctive. Not at all the kind of thing that would fly in America given our racial tensions history. I guess it doesn't fly in England anymore either.
Today is Veterans Day and yesterday was Remembrance Sunday. While Veterans Day isn't a day off here, I do think the observance is taken a little more seriously than in America. All around town people have been wearing paper poppies that they buy to honor the veterans. In church we observed two minutes of silence for the veterans (as did people across the country), and all the meeting's talks and music were focused on the Remembrance Day theme. At the same time, around town there were public services and processions.
I love seeing how holidays are celebrated in other countries. I'm glad the English holiday calendar isn't completely filled with "bank holidays."
They also held a "two minutes of silence" at the entrance of my work so I had to ask around to learn what this was about. I like that the spirit of the "holiday" is kept a little more here but it is also understandable considering how much more these wars devastated countries like England and France compared to us.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that you included this post - I've wondered what "bonfire night" was all about. I really like the idea of two minutes of silence. We are going to a little memorial service in town today for Veteran's day, but otherwise it will just be a day off from school. Your post reminds me to be more appreciative of the sacrifices made by so many, wherever we are.
ReplyDeleteWe had a nice Veteran's Day celebration here in Washington. Sometimes, I think the small towns do a better job then the big cities.
ReplyDeleteI definately feel a little let down about the holiday as I headed off to work this morning. I was even a little bummed we didnt even sing one patriotic song at church, well actually we did in YW cuz I played the piano lol!! Thanks for sharing about their traditions....
ReplyDeleteThe kids were out of school for Veteran's day. So we did something really patriotic and played basketball and swam at the rec center, followed by lunch at Chickfila. Impressed?
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