Britain is a multicultural and multi-faith society. The handbook devotes a section to the major festivals celebrated by the country's main religious communities.
Christian festivals
- Christmas Day (25 December) — celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.
- Good Friday and Easter Sunday — mark the death and resurrection of Christ; Easter falls in March or April depending on the lunar calendar.
- Whit Sunday (Pentecost) — celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit.
- Harvest Festival — autumn celebration of the year's crops.
Other religious festivals
- Eid ul-Fitr — Muslim festival marking the end of Ramadan.
- Eid ul-Adha — Muslim festival of sacrifice.
- Diwali — Hindu and Sikh festival of lights.
- Hanukkah — Jewish festival of lights.
- Vaisakhi — Sikh festival marking the founding of the Khalsa in 1699.
Secular and historical celebrations
- Bonfire Night (5 November) — remembers the failure of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.
- Remembrance Sunday (second Sunday of November) — honours the war dead.
- Burns Night (25 January) — Scottish celebration of the poet Robert Burns.
- Hogmanay (31 December) — Scottish New Year festivities.
Patron saint days
Each of the four UK nations has its own patron saint and saint's day, which we cover in the article on the four nations.
How festivals appear in the test
A common test question shows you a date and asks what is celebrated, or names a festival and asks which religion it belongs to. Recognising the list above is enough to answer almost every variant.
Keep going
- Read the full study notes for Modern Society.
- Try a practice test on this chapter.
- Sit a full 24-question timed mock.
- Browse our complete topic explainer library.