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The Coronation

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Will you be watching the Coronation on 6 May? We have all the insider info to guide you through the ceremony. Find out what to keep an eye out for on the big day!

Modern Christmas traditions

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Forget the turkey, the carols and the Christmas tree; now it’s all about the ads, the jumpers and the Christmas number one.

Ask a stupid question day

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Is Ask a stupid question day actually a thing? This is the day to ask all those questions which we usually think are too daft to say in front of others.

The Championships, Wimbledon

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Game, set and match! Settle down on Monday 27 June for more thrills and spills from the world-famous Centre Court at The All England Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon.

April Fool’s Day

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Despite its unclear origins, April 1st has become a global day for jokes and pranks. And at this current time, when our hearts are heavy a bit of comfort from some light relief is perhaps just what we need to keep the faith.

Christmas markets in the UK and USA

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It’s not only the Christmas tree tradition that has been exported from Germany; German Christmas markets have established themselves as a firm favourite in British and American Advent-time.

World Fun Fair Month

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Roll up! Roll up! For the second year, the world famous Oktoberfest has been cancelled, but don’t let that stop you enjoying some fun of the fair this September.

The Summer Olympics

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Like many public events over the past year, the Tokyo Olympics have been postponed for one year. Finally on 23 July 2021 we can all watch (the socially-distanced) 2020 opening ceremony.

World Book and Copyright Day

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Read, so you never feel alone – from Austen to Dickens, from Angelou to Wilde there is always someone to keep you company, while expanding your horizons. And you can let your reading be part of something worldwide: World Book and Copyright Day.

The history of Christmas

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Last minute shopping for presents, over-eating on mince pies, drinking too much sherry: Christmas wasn’t always like this!

The Great British Spring Clean – moved to September

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Clearing out and cleaning up are usually part of spring’s agenda – but this year the Spring Clean is the Autumn Clean!

World Emoji Day

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Emojis have become such a fundamental part of our online life it’s hard to remember a time without them.

Commonwealth Day

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Although the United Kingdom may have left the European Union, it still remains central to that bigger association of countries: the Commonwealth.

A right royal German Christmas!

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You may well know that Britons love their Christmas trees – but perhaps you didn’t know that it was Queen Victoria who was instrumental in popularizing this tradition.

Internet day

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Heaven or hell?  Is there life without your laptop, mobile phone, computer and the Internet? Using the Internet for booking flight tickets and train tickets, ordering books and new clothes, or scrolling through the news and funny pictures of cats. We take all this for granted now, but can you remember how it used to be? All that time queuing and travelling to make purchases and finding out information. Yet, it is less than 20 years since our lives changed so much.

The BBC Proms

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The Proms (or to use their full name, The BBC Promenade Concerts) have become a well-established feature of British cultural life since their founding by Henry Wood in 1895. From mid-July to mid-September there are over 90 daily concerts, which are organized and broadcast by the BBC, in the Royal Albert Hall and Cadogan Hall in London, and outdoor concerts ‘Proms in the Park’ events across the UK.

International Haiku Poetry Day

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You may remember having a go at writing a haiku at some point in your English lessons at school; it’s the Japanese three-line poem that has a strict 17-syllable count of five syllables in the first line, seven in the second and five in the third. And 17 April is the day for its international celebration.

Presidents’ Day

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The president who was only in office for one month, the one who resigned and the four incumbents who were assassinated in office: all US presidents are remembered on Presidents’ Day which falls on the third Monday in February.

Sing a song at Christmas!

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Do you like singing Christmas carols and other Christmas songs? Then you’re sure to enjoy finding out about their histories.

World card making day

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Births, marriages and deaths are not the only reasons people send cards. There are over one billion reasons why greetings cards are sent in the United Kingdom.

American Independence Day or Fourth of July

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A national holiday of fireworks and celebrations as the United States of America commemorates the day that it came into being in 1776.

Traditional folk-dancing

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Yes, it’s that time of year again, when the bells are dusted, the sticks are polished and flowers are arranged around the straw hats – it’s the Morris Dancing season in England.

Decimal Day

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In Feburary 1971, nearly half a century ago, the United Kingdom and Ireland changed from pounds, shillings and pence and joined the rest of the world’s metric currencies.

Christmas comes but once a year …

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… and when it comes, it brings good cheer.

Well, that’s what the saying claims, but for many people, Christmas and the holiday period can be very stressful. There are the cards to be written, the presents to be bought, the turkey to be stuffed and that’s without even thinking about all the other preparation that needs doing. And that’s not all…

Freshers' Fair

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It’s the start of the university year in October and that means it’s Fresher’s Week – and there is sure to be a Freshers’ fair.

National Quiet Day

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Shhh! Time to take a break from our noisy world on National Quiet Day.

National Fishing Month

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Angling for an invitation or fishing for compliments: we have hooked a lot of fishing expressions into English. And now we can celebrate all things fishy in National Fishing Month.

UK Snap General Election

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Not another one! The British electorate are getting fed up with going to the polling stations and making decisions. As Brenda in Bristol said: There’s too much politics going on at the moment!

British Sandwich Week

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It might only be two slices of bread with a filling, but the sandwich has a big role in the British kitchen. And you can celebrate all things ‘sandwich’ from 14th to 20th May.

Easter traditions around the world

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From cathedrals in the United Kingdom to parsley and potatoes in the garden, there’s plenty to consider over Easter. And don’t forget chocolate bilbies!

World Water Day on 22 March

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Water: tasteless, odourless and almost colourless – but it’s essential to our existence.
And that’s why the UN created World Water Day.

New Year’s Eve Traditions

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Going first-footing, eating twelve grapes, singing 'Auld Lang Syne': there are some interesting traditions at New Year. Read more …

The American election: a two-horse race every four years.

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The United States Presidential Election comes around in the same year as the Olympics and it shares some similarities: contestants get knocked out, they need a great deal of stamina to finish and the winner takes all.

British accents

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We all know Received Pronunciation – that’s the version of British English that is used in coursebooks and dictionaries. But what about all the other accents around the British Isles?

The Cheltenham Literature Festival

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Cheltenham is world famous for three things: the Gold Cup Horse Race, the Ladies’ College and the Literature Festival, the longest-running festival of its kind in the world.

European Day of Languages

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Hello! Bonjour! Bok! Ahoj! Terve!

Try saying hello in as many languages as possible on 26^th September – the European Day of Languages.

Life’s a picnic!

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Everyone loves a picnic and June is just the right time for a picnic in the park.

Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her four score years and ten

God save our gracious Queen, Long live our noble Queen – but who would have thought she would still be going strong at ninety? Last year, Elizabeth II became the UK’s longest reigning monarch. And this year she celebrates her 90th birthday.

Forget your chops and your steaks: it’s National Vegetarian Week

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The Vegetarian Society of Great Britain runs the National Vegetarian Week to raise the profile of vegetarian issues. And in 2016 this is from 16 to 22 May.

The centenary of the Easter Rising

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Easter 2016 – the Irish will be thinking of more than Easter eggs and bunnies in this centenary year of the Easter Rising.

Hats off to mothers!

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The British and the Irish always like to be different from the rest of Europe – and it’s the same with Mother’s Day ...

Go wild in the New Year – Dook, Bear, Hurling and Helly!

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You’ve managed to eat your way through Christmas and made some resolutions on New Year’s Eve. Now see what awaits you as the new year really gets underway.

Giving thanks on Thanksgiving

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Do you know what is happening in America on Thursday 26 November? It’s Thanksgiving, when families come together to share a meal, traditionally turkey and pumpkin pie. And it’s followed by Black Friday, a day when Americans go shopping and spend, spend, spend!

Get your tongue in a twist with Tongue Twister Day

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Introduce some variety into the classroom and get your students’ tongues twisting around the sounds of English. An excellent way to improve pronunciation – and have some fun on the way!

More than jam and Jerusalem

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The Women’s Institute is an organisation known for its jam-making and its inofficial anthem 'Jerusalem', but it is more than that – it campaigns, educates and supports. And on 15 September the UK Women’s Institute is going to celebrate its 100th birthday.

Swim, swan, swim!

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If you go down to the Thames at the end of July, you may see the Royal Swan Marker and his fellow Swan Uppers – busy upping swans …

Mud, yurts and music: It must be Glastonbury!

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For the last 45 years on the last weekend in June, dairy farmer Michael Eavis has hosted what is now the world’s biggest pop festival on Worthy farm in Somerset. The cows are moved to other quarters, the multiple stages are erected and the thronging crowds are welcomed.

The general election

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The UK general election is just like a horse race: whoever is first past the post on 7 May has won and gets the keys to 10 Downing Street.

Pets, pets, pets

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The British really love their pets – in fact they have a special fund-raising period dedicated to them – National Pet Month, 1st April to 4th May.

Prepare for the year of the goat

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You may have just finished celebrating Christmas and New Year, but now comes another global festival – the Chinese New Year. And in 2015 we welcome the year of the goat.

Try something different this New Year’s Eve

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Everyone is familiar with New Year’s Eve on the South Bank in London, in Times Square in New York and at the Harbour Bridge in Sydney. But what about something smaller and more unusual this year?

1914 - a very memorable Christmas

A cold winter’s night on the western front. For a few hours humanity shone in the cruelty of war: a football match between the enemy sides.

The Lord Mayor’s Show – 8 November 2014

Most people have heard of the Mayor of London, the bouncy, publicity-loving, Latin-speaking Boris Johnson. But not many people know that there is another mayor of London, the Lord Mayor of the City of London – a far more ancient office.