Traditions, holidays and festivals in UK

In Britain
Easter, Halloween, Guy Fawkes night, Christmas Day, St. Valentine´s Day…these days are celebrated in Britain.
Christmas
Christmas is the biggest festival of the year in most of Britain. Celebrations start properly on 24th December, Christmas Eve, although there have been several weeks of preparation beforehand.
Christmas is a family celebration and many of the customs centre on children. When they go to bed on Christmas Eve, they hang up a stocking on the fireplace. When children are asleep, so the custom goes, Father Christmas comes. He travels from the North Pole in a sleigh which is pulled by reindeer. On Christmas Day morning children open the presents that were in their stocking.
Their traditional Christmas dinner consists of roast turkey with potatoes and vegetables. This is followed by Christmas pudding. Before the dinner people usually pull crackers. How the rest of the day is spent varies a lot from family to family and may include opening the rest of the presents that are under the tree, playing games, going for a walk…
26th December is called Boxing Day. On Boxing Day most people go out to see friends, watch sports events, go to the theatre to see a pantomime….During Christmas time people sing carols and songs.
Halloween (31th October)
In Britain is celebrated only in the North of England and Scotland, but is generally celebrated in the USA and Canada. On 31th October is the day when children are dressed in costumes (witches, ghosts). They have baskets or bags and they go to their friends and neighbors to get some sweets. They knock at the doors and say "trick or treat". When they get nothing they go away and are very noisy or they spill flour on the front of doorsteps. Symbols of Halloween are ghostly pumpkins.
Easter
The date of Easter is different every year. It’s celebrated after the first full moon in spring. It is a Christian festival which commemorates the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Many people go to church. Children wake up early on Easter Sunday and they find candy and decorative eggs which The Easter Bunny has hid for them in the house and the garden. The symbols of Easter are eggs and rabbits. They symbolize the fertility and rebirth.
Guy Fawkes Day (5th November)
This tradition is celebrated on 5th November. Children make a dummy of straw and old clothes. A dummy called "Guy" (like Guy Fawkes, one of the plotters who wanted to blow up  the Houses of Parliament on 5th November in 1605) is burned on a fire.
Valentine’s Day (14th February)
It is celebrated on 14th February. It is the day to show your love to the ones that you care about.
One of the symbols for this day is Cupid, the Roman god of love. This day has roots in  several legends that have been passed from one generation to another.
For example the legend about Christian priest Valentine who was thrown in prison for his faith and for spreading it among people. He loved the jailer’s daughter and before he was beheaded he had written a farewell letter to her signing it "From Your Valentine"
Every part of Britain has its own holiday:
    St.David’s  Day – March 1st (Wales)
    St. Patrick’s Day – March 17th (Ireland)
    St. George’s Day – April 23rd (England)
    St. Andrew’s Day – November 30th (Scotland)

Festivals and traditions in the USA
Americans celebrate many festivals and holidays. Some of them are similar as ours and some are different. The most important festivals and holidays are: Christmas Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, New Year´s Day, Columbus Day..
Thanksgiving day (4th Thursday in November)
Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on 4th Thursday in November. It is a very famous festival, is very important for Americans. This day commemorates the first settlers who came to America in 1620 when the ship named Mayflower brought one hundred and two English men, women and children to America. They were puritans, members of a religions sect. The winter was  cold and half of them died. In spring they planted corn and other plants with help and advice from the Indians. In autumn they celebrated good harvest and had a feast with much food. They called this day their day of Thanksgiving. It is a national holiday in the USA and Canada.
Traditional food which is eaten on this day is turkey with pumpkins, squashes and cranberries.
People give thanks for their being well, for happiness of their families. Many families begin Thanksgiving dinner with a prayer.
Independence day (4th July)
It´s main American national celebration. It´s celebrated on 4th July and it commemorates the day when the USA proclaimed its freedom from Britain with the Declaration of Independence (1776). It´s the occasion for parades, speeches celebrating American freedom and fireworks displays in the evening…People have barbecue.
Easter
It is not a national holiday. Most Americans spend Easter Sunday with the family, some people give children dyed eggs and sweets. It is celebrated in the same way as in Britain.
There is a traditional Easter Egg Roll in front of the White House in Washington.
Christmas
People in America celebrate their Christmas on Christmas Day too (25 December). The day before children hang up a stocking by the fireplace or bed where Santa Claus is supposed to bring presents. He comes by a chimney during the night of Christmas and leaves gifts.
 Traditional Christmas dinner usually consists of turkey with potatoes and other vegetables. In the USA they bake special biscuits called Christmas cookies. Than follows Boxing day – money are collected into Christmas box, which is broken on this day and money are given to poor people and people with poor job (postmen, milkmen, dustmen)
New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day
Celebrating these days start for many people (particularly for young people) several hours before midnight on 31st December they drink alcohol with friends, but official celebrating starts at midnight, when people welcome New Year's Day. They set off fireworks and they have a toast with champagne.
On 1st January (on New Year's Day) many people sleep very long, because they went to sleep late and many of them were drunk. On this day people eat lentils because lentils are symbol of money.
On this day it is often said: How on New Year's Day so all the year round. And people make New Year's Day resolutions.
St. Patrick’s Day
It is celebrated on 17th March; originally it was an Irish holiday. St Patrick is the patron of the Irish people. On this day everywhere is green colour. The symbol of the day is shamrock.

Columbus Day
It is celebrated on 12 October. This day reminds the "discovery" of America in 1492 by Christopher Columbus.
Another:
Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, President’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, Labor Day