Chinese New Year

Kung Hei Fat Choy! Chinese New Year is less than two weeks away. In 2009, cities and towns all over the UK welcome the Year of the Ox with most celebrations taking place on the Sunday and Monday, 25-26 January.

Chatham, Kent
The Medway celebrations start with a welcome to the Year of the Ox, which will be held on Saturday, 24 January in Chatham High Street between 12 noon and 1.30pm and includes performances of the lion dance to welcome the new year.
www.medway.gov.uk/index/leisure/events/18092-2.htm

London, Trafalgar Square
Traditionally, the London Chinatown Association celebrates on the first Sunday after Chinese New Year. That’s February 1 in 2009
http://www.chinatownchinese.co.uk/

Coldest Day of the Year

St Hilary’s feast day on 13January has gained the reputation of being the coldest day of the year due to past cold events starting on or around this date.

One of the most severe winters in history began around 13 January in 1205, when the Thames in London froze over and ale and wine turned to solid ice and were sold by weight.

You can read more on our Facts about January page
www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/year/january.htm

This year the forcast for 13 January is ten degrees above freezing.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml

Plough Monday

This Monday (12 January) is known as Plough Monday, the first Monday after Twelfth Night. Molly dancing on Plough Monday was an important ritual for agricultural workers, as well as pulling a decorated plough and a man dressed head to toe in straw.

Visit our page on Plough Monday to find out more

River Thames Frost Fairs

13 January is St Hilary’s Day has gained the reputation of being the coldest day of the year due to past cold events starting on or around this date.

Can you imagine the River Thames freezing over so much that a fun fair could be held on the ice? Well that did happen about four hundred years ago. The worst cold spells in Britain occurred between 1550 and 1750. The climate during this time was known as the Little Ice Age, when winters were so cold that the Thames froze over each year.

Henry VIII is said to have traveled all the way from central London to Greenwich by sleigh along the river during the winter of 1536 and Elizabeth I took walks on the ice during the winter of 1564.

Find out more on our Facts about January page

Twelfth Night London

Twelfth Night is an annual seasonal celebration held on the Bankside by Shakespeare’s Globe, in London. It is a celebration of the New Year, mixing ancient Midwinter seasonal customs with contemporary festivity.

See the photographs from this years celebration

Woodlands Junior School Kent

Woodlands Junior was experiencing website problems from Christmas to the New Year which has caused it to be unavailable. Until this was fixed we moved all our British Culture and Customs pages on to our Project Britain website.

http://projectbritain.com/


Follow ProjectBritain on Twitter twitter.com/projectbritain

 

What are the Twelve Days of Christmas?

The Twelve Days of Christmas are the last six days of the old year (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 December ) and the first six days of the New Year (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 January).

Click here to read more about the Twelve Days of Christmas.

When is Twelfth Night?

Twelfth Night, the last day of Christmas, is the time to take down the decorations but many people are confused about the date and what to celebrate.

The Oxford English Dictionary reads that Twelfth Night is: “The evening of the fifth of January, preceding Twelfth Day, formerly the last day of of the Christmas festivities and observed as a time of merrymaking.”

Visit our Twelfth Night page to find out why Twelfth Night is the 5th January and not 6th January. The page also tells you about the traditions of Twelfth Night and what people used to do on this special day.