Life in the UK test questions on festivals and bank holidays

Practise festivals and bank holidays

Questions and answers on festivals and bank holidays

The same 10 questions again, this time with the answers shown. Read the explanation even where you were right — the test asks the same facts several ways.

1. 1. What is celebrated on Christmas Day, 25 December?

   • The birth of Jesus Christ — correct answer
   • The end of the harvest
   • The new year
   • The crowning of the monarch

   Christmas Day on 25 December is the Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, and it is a public holiday. Handbook section 4.4.

2. 2. Which day directly after Christmas Day is also a public holiday?

   • Boxing Day, 26 December — correct answer
   • New Year's Eve, 31 December
   • Twelfth Night, 5 January
   • Advent Sunday

   Boxing Day on 26 December is a public holiday, so most people have both it and Christmas Day off work. Handbook section 4.4.

3. 3. Which date is New Year's Day, a public holiday across the UK?

   • 1 January — correct answer
   • 31 December
   • 2 January
   • 6 January

   New Year's Day on 1 January is a public holiday throughout the UK, and celebrations begin the evening before. Handbook section 4.4.

4. 4. What happens on Valentine's Day, 14 February?

   • People send cards to someone they love, often without signing them — correct answer
   • Children play tricks on adults
   • Families eat pancakes together
   • People light bonfires and set off fireworks

   On Valentine's Day people send cards and gifts to someone they love, and the cards are often sent anonymously. Handbook section 4.4.

5. 5. What does Easter celebrate for Christians?

   • The death of Jesus Christ and his rising from the dead — correct answer
   • The birth of Jesus Christ
   • The founding of the Church of England
   • The end of the harvest

   Easter marks the death of Jesus Christ on Good Friday and his rising from the dead on Easter Sunday. Handbook section 4.4.

6. 6. What do people traditionally eat on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent begins?

   • Pancakes — correct answer
   • Hot cross buns
   • Christmas pudding
   • Haggis

   Shrove Tuesday is often called Pancake Day, because people traditionally eat pancakes on the day before Lent starts. Handbook section 4.4.

7. 7. On which date is Halloween celebrated?

   • 31 October — correct answer
   • 5 November
   • 1 November
   • 31 December

   Halloween falls on 31 October, when children dress up and go 'trick or treating' around their neighbours' houses. Handbook section 4.4.

8. 8. Which two statements about Bonfire Night are correct?

   • It is held on 5 November — correct answer
   • It remembers a failed plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament — correct answer
   • It is a public holiday across the UK
   • It marks the end of the First World War

   Bonfire Night on 5 November remembers the failure of a plot in 1605 to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill the king. Handbook section 4.4.

9. 9. What do people in the UK remember on 11 November each year?

   • Those who died fighting for the UK and its allies — correct answer
   • The birth of the monarch
   • The end of rationing
   • The founding of the National Health Service

   Remembrance Day on 11 November honours those who died fighting for the UK and its allies; people wear poppies and keep a two-minute silence at 11am. Handbook section 4.4.

10. 10. What is Hogmanay?

    • The Scottish celebration of New Year — correct answer
    • A Welsh harvest festival
    • A Northern Irish spring parade
    • An English midsummer fair

    Hogmanay is the Scottish celebration of New Year, and in Scotland 2 January is a public holiday as well as 1 January. Handbook section 4.4.