Customs and traditions

Test atoms

Learn these as compact test facts. Then practise recognising the same fact in different wording.

Spot the correct statement

The real test often asks you to recognise a correct sentence, not write an answer from memory. You should be able to spot statements like these:

• Bonfire Night is on 5 November and is linked to the failed Gunpowder Plot.

Dates and customs

Christian festivals

• Easter includes Good Friday and Easter Sunday; Lent lasts 40 days before Easter.
• Shrove Tuesday is also called Pancake Day and comes before Lent.

Religious festivals

• Diwali is a Hindu and Sikh festival often called the Festival of Lights.
• Hannukah is a Jewish festival lasting eight days.
• Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan.
• Eid ul Adha remembers Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son.
• Vaisakhi is a Sikh festival on 14 April linked with the Khalsa.

Public traditions

• Bonfire Night is linked with Guy Fawkes and the failed 1605 plot against Parliament and the king.
• Remembrance Day is 11 November and includes poppies, two minutes’ silence and ceremonies for war dead.
• Bank holidays are public holidays; Northern Ireland also has a July holiday for the Battle of the Boyne.

Common traps

• Match major festivals to dates and religious groups.
• Lent is before Easter. Shrove Tuesday is before Lent.
• Link Bonfire Night to Guy Fawkes and 1605.
• Link Remembrance Day to 11 November, poppies and the First World War armistice.
• Recognise what a bank holiday is.

Words to recognise

Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Easter, Good Friday, Lent, Shrove Tuesday, Diwali, Hannukah, Eid al-Fitr, Eid ul Adha, Vaisakhi, Hogmanay, Halloween, Bonfire Night, Guy Fawkes, Remembrance Day, Cenotaph, bank holiday, Battle of the Boyne.

Bonfire Night connects to Tudors and Stuarts. Practise this topic in culture and traditions practice.

Quick check