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The idea of the festival originated in the first post-war year when all over Europe rationing and restrictions were the order of the day. And in 1947 the Festival was inaugurated. Glyndebourne Opera, the Vienna Philharmonic

Orchestra, the Old Vic Theatre and Sadler‟s Wells Ballet were only a few of the participants of this first venture. The Festival was a success, and has been held annually ever since.

It is a good thing that the Edinburgh Festival hits the Scottish capital outside term time. Not so much because the University hostels are needed to provide accommodation for Festival visitors, but because this most exhilarating occasion allows no time for anything mundane. It gives intelligent diversion for most of the twenty-four hours each weekday in its three weeks (it is not tactful to ask about Sundays – you explore the surrounding terrain then). The programmes always include some of the finest chamber music ensembles and soloists in the world. There are plenty of matinees; evening concerts, opera, drama and ballet performances usually take place at conventional times – but the floodlit Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle obviously doesn‟t start till after dark, and late night entertainments and/or the Festival Club can take you into the early hours of the morning.

“Fringe” events bring performing bodies from all over Britain and beyond, and student groups are always prominent among them, responsible often for interesting experiments in the drama. Then there is the International Film Festival, bringing documentaries from perhaps 30 countries; Highland Games, and all sorts of other plays from puppet to photo shows.

Royal National Eisteddfod of Wales

The huge annual National Eisteddfod is certainly the most picturesque and most moving ceremony in Wales. For here the love of song and poetry of the Welsh is organised to provide a spectacle unique in the world. Presided over by white-robed druids with their attendant blue-robed bards, the Eisteddfod summons the people of Wales each year to send forth its singers and poets to participate in this colourful tournament.

The culminating event is the choosing of the winning poet, and so intense is the nationwide interest in this ceremony that special newspaper editions are snatched up eagerly by those, who, unable to go to the Eisteddfod, follow the

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proceedings with the anxiety that in England is reserved for dog races and football matches.

A visit to the Welsh National Eisteddfod is unforgettable, for there you will realise the passionate devotion of the Welsh to the things they have guarded so jealously throughout the centuries. And you will hear the Welsh sing! You will become as intoxicated as they with the subtle blending of voices and the plaintive beauty of the songs. The Royal National Eisteddfod of Wales is held annually early in August, in North and South Wales alternately.

In addition to the Eisteddfod, about thirty major Welsh Singing Festivals are held throughout Wales from May until early November. The habit of holding similar events dates back to early history, and there are records of competitions for Welsh poets and musicians in the twelfth century. The Eisteddfod sprang from the Gorsedd, or National Assembly of Bards. It was held occasionally up to 1819, but since then has become an annual event for the encouragement of Welsh literature and music and the preservation of the Welsh language and ancient national customs.

The programme includes male and mixed choirs, brass-band concerts, many children‟s events, drama, arts and crafts and, of course, the ceremony of the

Crowning of the Bard.

Notting Hill Carnival

People, who take part in Notting Hill extravaganza, dress up in fabulous costumes. The Notting-Hill event, organised by two separate local committees, is a Caribbean-influenced carnival with music and revelry. Steel bands play African and Carribian dance and blow whistles. Every back street seems to have its own sound, system with banks of speakers blasting out a heavy beat which echoes between the houses. It‟s the biggest carnival outside Brazil.

September

Royal Highland Games

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Perhaps the most distinctive event at a Highland Gathering is “Tossing the Caber” – or, as the sixteenth-century writer called it, “throwing the bar”. The caber is the trunk – of a fir tree 20 feet long and ten inches (25 cm) thick at the bigger end. Its weight is about 100 kilos and it needs two or three men to lift it upright with the thick end at the top. The competitor then takes hold of it and rests it against his shoulder. He takes two or three steps and then throws it so that it turns a complete somersault. The straightest throw, that is nearest to 12 o‟clock in direction, gets the most points. If none of the competitors is able to toss the caber, a bit is sawn off the end, and then, if necessary, another bit, until at last one competitor succeeds. Another feat of strength is throwing the hammer. For all events, except races, the kilt must be worn. For highland dances, of which there are many varieties, the competitors wear full highland dress. This includes a smart jacket worn with coloured buttons and a “sporran” or purse made of fur, which hangs at the waist. The most difficult and intricate of the dances is the sworddance, performed over a pair of crossed swords which must not be touched by the dancer‟s feet.

England’s Harvest Festival

The English have given thanks for successful harvests since pagan times. Local communities honour this day by singing, dancing and decorating their churches and villages with flowers, baskets of fruit and branches, in a celebration known as Harvest Festival.

At one time, both the beginning and end of the harvest was accompanied by lively ceremonies and rituals – and it was also traditional for each day of the harvest to be welcomed by the tolling of church bells. In many neighbourhoods the cailleac, or last bundle of corn, which represents the spirit of the field, was made into a doll and drenched with water as a rain charm or burned as a symbol of the death of the grain spirit. The corn dolly often had a place of honour at the banquet table, and was kept until the following spring. The actions surrounding the cutting of the last bundle were known as Crying the Neck – the „Neck‟ being a columnarshaped strand of straws, representing the pole to which sacrificial victims in 8th century B.C. Phrygia were tied before being beheaded and having their blood offered to the soil.

A great many ancient customs are still observed to this day. For instance, the mayor of Richmond, who is also Clerk of the Market, presents a bottle of wine to

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the first local farmer who brings a „respectable sample of the new season‟s wheat‟, or the First Fruits of the Harvest. The wine is used to drink the mayor‟s health and the farmer is given a second bottle to take home.

October

The State Opening of Parliament by the Queen

This ceremony takes place in late October or early November and although it is unlikely that you will be able to get inside the Houses of Parliament on the day of its opening, you can enjoy some of the spectacle in the street.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh ride to Westminster on the famous gilded coach escorted by the brilliantly uniformed and superbly mounted Household Cavalry. As the Queen enters the Houses of Parliament the air shakes with the booming of heavy guns and all London knows that the processes that have so long protected England from oppression have once again been renewed with all their age-old ceremony.

On the opening of Parliament the Sovereign delivers the address from the Throne, a speech worded as though it emanated from the Crown, though actually it is written by the Prime Minister. This is a day when ceremony rules every gesture, and when officials appear to perform their appointed functions, whose exact role is not clear even to most Britons themselves – like Black Rod, who leads the parliamentarians into the hall to attend their ruler‟s address. The titles and functions of such officials, mysterious even to the British, and naturally doubly so to foreigners. For example, no one is able to define the precise functions of Lord Privy Seal, for he has none. He is one of several members of the government who give it great flexibility since, having no stated department under their control, they are available for assignment by the Prime Minister to such special and unusual problems as may arise in the course of his term of office.

Hallowe’en

Hallowe‟en meaning “holy evening” is a popular tradition celebrated on October 31, on the eve of All Saints‟ Day which is marked on November 1. It is a very special holiday – a combination of holidays, when it is time for games, fun and fortune telling, for ghost stories and making mischief. Also it is a holiday for the dead.

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Hallowe‟en originated from the Celts and Druids who were people‟s priests and teachers. The Celts had a holiday called Samhain (“end of summer”) which marked the end of the good-growing season. The Celts believed that spirits of the fruits and vegetables and also the ghosts of people and souls of the dead visited the earth on Samhain, which was October 31. Fearing that they might cause damage to their health and their property people tried to ward them off in different ways: they painted faces and draw magic signs, nailed horseshoes, put on masques and strange clothes, carried lights and lit huge bonfires. All this was done to scare the ghosts and evil spirits away, to mischief and mislead them.

When the Romans conquered Britain, they added to Hallowe‟en features of their traditional harvest festival. That festival was held annually on November 1 in honour of Pomona, goddess of fruit trees. Traces of the Roman harvest festival survive in the custom of fortune-telling with nuts and playing games involving fruit such as apple-bobbing (eating an apple from a tube of water without touching it with hands).

So the Samhain festival was a time of thanksgiving for the harvest and a time of fear, magic, mystery and wondering about the future.

Many Years later when the Celts became Christians they, as well as other Christians, celebrated All-Hallows Day (now All Saints‟ Day) on November 1. It was a day to remember important dead Christians who did not have name days of their own.

Nowadays on All Saints Day it is customary to visit family graves bringing food and decorating them with autumn flowers. So Hallowe‟en has mixed the customs of Druid Samhain, Roman Pomona Day and All Saints‟ Day, which has become one big autumn holiday. In England Hallowe‟en was nicknamed Nutcrack Night, or Snap Apple Night. Families sat before the fires to roast nuts and played different games involving apples.

Scotland and Ireland had many customs in common. Families paraded about the fields and villages with burning torches. These kept the fields and animals safe from witches and other spirits. Queen Victoria used to enjoy Hallowe‟en at Palmer

Castle in Scotland. There, an effigy of a witch was tried and condemned to be burned. The stuffed figure used to be brought forward to the sound of bagpipes. It symbolised all the bad things that had happened to the local clan. The evils, as it was believed, were burned with the figure of the witch.

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Nowadays people do not believe in witches and evil spirits and Hallowe‟en is just an excuse for having a good time. It is celebrated in all the countries where the English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh people settled – the USA, Canada, Australia and many other places. Hallowe‟en was once a time for making mischief – many parts of England still recognise this date as Mischief Night – when people would disguise themselves as witches, ghosts and demons, skeletons, elves or warlocks in order to obtain food and money from nervous householders. People cut horrible faces in potatoes, pumpkins and other vegetables and put a candle inside which shines mysteriously through their eyes, nose and mouth. The grinning jack- o‟-lantern carved from a pumpkin is said to be the head of a man named Jack who came from an Irish legend. He was so mean that he was not allowed to enter heaven and he could not get into hell either. So he was destined to wander around forever waiting for Judgement Day. Different games are played and bonfires are lit. Children like to go trick-or-treating. Dressed up in white sheets or masks and costumes, they knock on doors and ask the resident if they want “trick or treat”. If the people in the house give the children a “treat” (usually money or sweets) the children go away, if they get nothing they play a “trick” on them, making a lot of noise, spelling flour on their front doorstep or smearing windows and cars with shaving cream or soap. Smashing bottles, throwing eggs, hiding things is also fun for some teenagers. Some of the fun of Hallowe‟en comes from scaring people or being scared by them.

Hallowe‟en has also become a great fortune-telling night (it was so with the Druids who were great fortune-tellers). Lots of fortune-telling is done by children for fun. All sorts of things could be placed under pillows to produce dreams about one‟s future husband. The most popular among them are apples called “Allen apple” as they are thought to be a link between men and the gods. You could tell fortunes from the peeling. First an apple is peeled round and round in one piece. Then the peel is thrown over the left shoulder and it should fall to form the first letter of your true love‟s name.

Hallowe‟en, like many other ancient festivals, has always provided an excellent excuse for eating and drinking! At one time, Mash o‟ Nine Sorts, with a ring hidden within, would be served to unmarried guests – whoever found it would next be married. Then of course, Toffee Apples are still extremely popular and Hallowe‟en Cakes are sometimes still baked in the North of England on what is known there as Cake Day.

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International Motor Show

Every second year car manufacturers from all over the world display their latest models at the National Exhibition Center (NEC) in Birmingham.

November

Guy Fawkes Day

In 1605 King James I was on the throne. As a Protestant, he was very unpopular with Roman Catholics. A small group of Catholics, under the leadership of Robert Catesby and Thomas Percy, decided to stage a truly dramatic protest by blowing up the king at the state opening of Parliament in 1605. The men were able to deposit several barrels of gunpowder in the cellars beneath the House of Lords, under the supervision of their co-conspirator, Guido, or Guy Fawkes, who had previously served with the Spanish army in the Netherlands and knew a great deal about mining and explosives.

The king had already postponed the opening of Parliament from October 31 in order to go hunting. But as the moment drew nearer, one of the accomplices started to worry about his Catholic acquaintances, who would inevitably die alongside the

„guilty‟ lords. He sent a letter to Lord Mounteagle on October 26, warning him not to attend Parliament on the chosen day. But the Lord remained loyal to the king and immediately passed the message on to Robert Cecil, the Earl of Salisbury, who was also Secretary of State. Consequently, on the night of November 4, Privy Council organised a search of cellars beneath Westminster Palace, which led to the discovery of Guy Fawkes standing guard over thirty-six barrels. Fawkes was tortured most dreadfully, until he revealed the identities of his accomplices. All the men involved were tried and then dragged to execution on January 31, 1606, to be hung, drawn and quartered. King James I declared November 5 a public holiday and from that day on, „gunpowder, treason and plot‟ was commemorated in

England. Not only in the fireworks and bonfires of November 5, but also in the ritual search of the cellars before the opening of Parliament. And while at that time the failure of the gunpowder plot was celebrated as a victory for British Protestantism over rebel Catholicism, today it has lost its religious and patriotic connotations. In most parts of Britain, Catholic children celebrate it just as enthusiastically as Protestant children.

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A Guy (effigy), fireworks and torch-lit processions are popular on this night, and children traditionally collect money (“a penny for the Guy”) for fireworks by making a scarecrow-like model in the image of Guy Fawkes. There are also many rhymes associated with the Gunpowder Plot and children in some areas blacken their faces and play lucky stones.

Many Bonfire Societies up and down the country also celebrate this night with lively enthusiasm. For example, in Lewes, East Sussex the five Bonfire Societies parade via different routes and meet at the War Memorial to lay wreaths, read bishops‟ sermons, salute the Protestant Martyrs and race tar barrels – tossing them in the river. They then join ranks and march through the High Street before splitting off to enjoy their individual bonfires and firework displays.

In general, on Guy Fawkes‟ Night there are „bonfire parties‟ throughout the country, at which the „guy‟ is burnt. Some people cook food in the embers of the bonfire, especially chestnuts or potatoes. But with so many fireworks being set off, several people are injured or killed in accidents every year. In an effort to make things safer, some local authorities arrange public firework displays and encourage well-organized celebrations. For example, in Winchester, Hampshire, college students prepare elaborate Guys, for which prizes are awarded. The Guy awarded the first prize has the honour of being the first to be cast upon the huge bonfire, the other prizewinners following in order of merit. There is also the Guy Fawkes Carnival, which is held at Bridgewater, Somerset, on the Thursday nearest to November 5. It is believed to date back unbroken except for the war years, to the original event in 1605.

London to Brighton Antique Car Run

When the veteran cars set out on the London-Brighton run each November, they are celebrating one of the great landmarks in the history of motoring in Britain

– the abolition of the rule that every “horseless carriage” had to be preceded along the road by a pedestrian. This extremely irksome restriction, imposed by the Locomotives on Highways Act, was withdrawn in 1896, and on November 14th of that year there was a rally of motor-cars on the London-Brighton highway to celebrate the first day of freedom – Emancipation Day, as it has been known by motorists ever since.

Emancipation is still celebrated on the Brighton road each November, usually on the first Sunday of the month, but nowadays there is an important condition of entry – every car taking part must be at least 60 years old. Hence the annual

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celebration has become known as the Veteran Car Run, and it provides the gayest motoring spectacle of the year and a wonderful opportunity to see these fine old cars taking the road in all the glory of immaculate paint and polish. Since 1930 the event has been organised by the Royal Automobile Club.

At dawn, on the first Sunday of November, some 250 beautifully preserved and rare specimens assemble by the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park, London, in preparation for the start of the 53-mile journey.

At 8 o‟clock comes the “Off” and the nostalgic exhaust notes of late Victorian and Edwardian days sound among the trees in the park. The Run is not a race. Entrants are limited to a maximum average speed of 20 miles per hour. The great thing is not speed but quality of performance, and the dedicated enthusiasts have a conversation all their own.

The Lord Mayor’s Show

The splendid civic event known as the Lord Mayor‟s Show is watched by many thousands of people who throng the streets of the City of London to see this interesting procession and admire its glittering pageantry. The ceremony is the gesture of pride in the City‟s history and strength as a world commercial centre. The ceremony seems still more bright and colourful because it is always held on the second Saturday in November when the city is often wrapped in mist or rain.

The election of the Lord Mayor is a ceremony which can be traced back to

King John‟s Charter of May 9, 1215, issued a few weeks before he sealed Magna Carta at Runnymede. This Charter gave to the citizens of London the privilege of the annual election of their mayor.

The origin of the celebration dates back more than 600 years, when it began as a waterborne procession with ornate barges sailing down the River Thames. Dressed in his fur-trimmed scarlet gown, a Cap of Dignity, and wearing the great five-foot- long gold chain of office, the newly elected Lord Mayor first watches a cavalcade of decorated floats‟ pass by his stand at his official residence, Mansion House. Then he steps into his gilded State Coach and takes up his position of honour at the rear of the procession. Accompanied by the pikemen in their half-armour, the Lord Mayor is driven in his gilded coach to the Royal Court of Justice, where he takes his oath of office before the Lord Chief Justice. A body guard of Pikemen and Musketeers march beside the coach. Many people in the procession wear

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traditional historic costumes. Each year a theme relating to London life or history is chosen and floats decorated with tableaux on this theme precede the Lord Mayor‟s coach. After the oath has been taken, the entire procession returns via Victoria Embankment to the original point of departure.

On the following Monday evening the Lord Mayor gives a splendid Inaugural banquet at Guildhall. This glittering occasion is attended by many of the most prominent people in the country and is usually televised. The Prime Minister delivers a major political speech and the toast of the hosts on behalf of the guests is proposed by the Archbishop of Canterbury. One can imagine how high the costs of the show and banquet are, but a Lord Mayor regards such financial sacrifices as worthwhile because of the prestige, since in his year of office he is second in importance in the City only to the Sovereign.

The City has not only its own Mayor, but also its own government and its own police force. Even the Sovereign (Queen) has to stop at the City‟s frontiers until the Lord Mayor allows admittance.

Remembrance Sunday

Remembrance Day (second Sunday in November) is observed throughout Britain in commemoration of the million or more British soldiers, sailors and airmen who lost their lives during the two World Wars. On that day special services are held in the churches and wreaths are laid at war memorials throughout the country and at London‟s Cenotaph, where a great number of people gather to observe the two-minute-silence and to perform the annual Remembrance Day ceremony. The silence begins at the first strike of Big Ben booming 11 o‟clock, and is broken only by the Crash of distant artillery and perhaps by the murmur of a pawing jet. When the two-minute silence is over, members of the Royal Family or their representatives and political leaders come forward to lay wreaths at the foot of the Cenotaph. Then comes the march past the memorial of ex-servicemen and women, followed by an endless line of ordinary citizens who have come here with their personal wreaths and their sad memories.

On that day artificial poppies, a symbol of mourning, are traditionally sold in the streets everywhere, and people wear them in their buttonholes. The money collected in this way later used to help the men who had been crippled during the

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