Does anyone else find it odd, that of all the opportunities the British have to let off fireworks outside the usual New Year shindig, we choose to celebrate the time someone tried (and failed) to blow up Parliament?
The Shackledraggers celebrate Australia Day, the French Bastille Day, and the Americans Independence Day (sensibly, these latter two are in July, far enough away from New Year/Christmas to make it time for a knees-up).
In a bar in Charleston last week, a colleague and myself were discussing this matter with Pete Binfield of PLoS. When should we have a national holiday in the UK? We do, already, celebrate May Day more than the Americans, but maybe we should also declare 4th July a public holiday. It could be argued that both nations started to grow up then. Perhaps 23rd April? But not only is that English, what does some Turkish cove who went around slaughtering harmless wildlife have to do with anything?
We’ve never declared independence from anyone, although 14th October is a good candidate for the English nation, at least. January 1st) is already taken up with New Year and is too close to Christmas. September 3rd, perhaps, when we finally woke up and did something? But it seems odd to celebrate the outbreak of a war, and celebrating VE Day might be in bad taste: similarly 18th June or 21st October (while it’s fun to annoy the French, this might be taking it too far). September 3rd also celebrates the end of the English civil war.
Similarly, anything marking a political anniversary is right out. Perhaps we should celebrate Sir Winston Churchill’s birthday? But again, too close to Christmas and New Year.
Maybe the first time the Kingdom was first joined? That would be 1st May, but we already dance around Maypoles and throw tomatoes at men in white shirts and wearing bells that day (as well as get busy with any fair young wenches who happen to be at hand… hmm. Potential). It also excludes Ireland.
The first date we dismissed last Wednesday night is, on reflection, possibly the best candidate of all. It is already the ‘National Day’ in our diplomatic missions, and civil servants (including everyone who is paid by one of our Research Councils!) get a ‘privilege day’. Let’s extend it to everyone else: the Queen’s Birthday. After all, apart from trying to blow up our politicians, there’s nothing more peculiarly British than our monarchy.
Huzzah, and pass the rockets.
oooh
aaah
(Next blog post I might actually consider some science: that behind gunpowder, naturally.)
The good thing about the Queen’s birthday is that even when the present queen abdicates, you don’t have to change the date. For example, in the Netherlands, Queens Day is actually still the ex-queen Juilana’s birthday, not Beatrix’s. Possibly because it’s too cold to party in the streets in January.
Indeedy. And we just change the name to “King’s Birthday”, although I must admit I’m not looking forward to that day.
Damn, there goes my knighthood.
Canada still celebrates the birthday of several Queen’s ago, on Victoria Day
It has nothing to do with independence, because it’s from before that time. But it’s always such a nice sunny weekend that late in May that nobody is complaining about having an extra day off. (Related: yes, that (the weather) is also the reason Holland didn’t switch holidays to accommodate the current queen’s proper birthday, and stuck to the late April date. And they won’t have to change it at the next throne switch: the future King’s birthday is in that same week.)
GAH!!! I saw the errant apostrophe as soon as I clicked on “submit”. I’m SORRY!!! (Why does clicking that button always suddenly open your eyes to typos?)
Hah hah! There must be something in that, Eva (the ‘submit’ button). Maybe we should patent it and sell it to copy editors?
Anyway, according to el Wiki the reason we have a [Queen’s|King’s] official birthday in June, completely independent of the current monarch’s actual birthday, is for the better chance of warm weather. Problem with that though is that it doesn’t get dark until around ten so the fireworks would have to be quite late (and any parent who has allowed a child to stay up late on a school night will tell you just how difficult that makes things).
You might be amused that the British Freecycle network has thrown off the shackles of its distant and patronizing American overlord and the rogue network is now known as Freegle. Perhaps October 1st (as opposed to, say, September 10th-11th) could be a good anniversary date for fireworks in there, somewhere.
But hundreds of years of English tradition would be against you.
Oh, that is fun. Not often we Brits get chance to be rebellious, an’all.
From that Freecycle/Freegle article: “The people we gave things to ranged from very keen to slightly unhinged with delight about it.” YES! That’s exactly what it’s like to give stuff away on Freecycle.
Eva, ‘slightly unhinged’ is not a phrase I would
evaever associate with you.Surely nothing is more English than reminding those in charge that they serve at the will of the people and not the other way around?
As such if you’re going to give Guy Fawkes day the heave-ho then might I suggest the 30th January?
The first Charles got the heave-ho, permanently, that day.
You’re absolutely right, Nat, although I think fireworks is more appropriate than lopping off heads.
Maybe we should keep 5th November, but actually make it a holiday, with statutory rights et al.? Or the Friday closest, at least.
bq. Perhaps 23rd April? But not only is that English, what does some Turkish cove who went around slaughtering harmless wildlife have to do with anything?
It is international book day. In Finland it’s called ‘ruusun ja kirjan päivä’: The Day of the Book and the Rose. The tradition is that the man buys the wench some roses, and the wench buys the man a book. The only way I can see this working with my wife is if she buys a book she wants to read.
Incidentally, the reason it’s international book day is that Cervantes and Shakespeare both had their birthdays on St. George’s day, even if they were over a week apart.
Perhaps we should give a nod to rationality and establish 12th Feb as a holiday – Darwin Day?
Oh please.
That’s a lovely idea, Bob. Wonder if the proles will go for it?
When is Stephen Fry’s birthday? He seems to be the universally loved symbol of our nation.
Naw, he’s boring.
Well, it’s either David Attenborough or Gary Linekar, then.
Rabbitburrow would be preferable, but I still think we should do something moe ‘constitutional’.
There’s a movement to replace George with Alban as the Patron Saint of England. Then we could really celebrate the 23rd again!
Hoozah!
Oh, how perfectly splendid!
How about 15th June (Magna Carta day)?
Bonus: Robin Hood costumes and lots of men in tights jokes.
Ah… I was thinking Magna Carta, but didn’t realize it actually had a day. Midsummer, too. Yay.
Whatever date it is, I’d be against !4 October, which was – in 1066 – a black day for the English, when they were invaded by a load of
frogsunreconstructed Vikingsbally foreigners, bringing the English Civilization to an undignified close and spattering our fine language with a lot of running-around knees-bend poncey latinisms.I’d vote for whatever day it was around 200,000 years ago when the English Channel first formed (it happened rather quickly), first sundering the fair shores of Albion from the corrupting influence of those shifty European types, who as everyone knows have free school wine and eat garlic in bed.
And my birthday is 24 April. You’re welcome to use that as a public holiday. I won’t mind.
Commemorating the formation of the English channel would be superb. As would your birthday.
As we’re unlikely to know the precise date on which the English Channel formed, we could use my birthday. Or yours. Or anybody’s really.
I think we should have a two-day holiday, just because we can. 23/34 April.
Let’s write to our MPs.
You are nationalist,Henry, ¿You love your nation?
And I wanted you to invite Chile in 24 of April for knowing him, you can sleep in bedroom of Correa minor or on the sofa.
George Orwell wrote something about the differences between nationalism and patriotism, and I can’t be bothered looking it up right now but Google has it.
Hmm, perhaps interesting.
Perhaps all UK residents should be given an official birthday (all on the same day) and then we could celebrate that? The People’s Birthday.
In my house, in Chile, is very small.
Heh, nice idea, Frank.
Henry’s birthday sounds awfully close to Shakespeare’s. Maybe you can use that as excuse to sell it, and once it’s a national holiday you can go: “Haha! It was Henry’s birthday all along!”
Born a one article In England that say: “for the birthday of Henry, you have to buy a book or the other mode go to the jail”.
I remember being quite sad for the Queen when, as a young fella, I learned that everybody celebrated her birthday on the wrong day.
@Eva: when I first moved to Canada and was told about Victoria Day, I thought it meant Victoria as in the capital city of British Columbia, and that every province celebrated its own capital city on that day! It never occurred to me that Canadians might celebrate a Queen’s birthday that the British don’t.
Of course, most people just call it May Long. My friend’s brother, who used to live in San Francisco, mentioned this holiday once, and his colleagues all thought it was a Chinese name and complimented him on Canada’s multicultural celebrations.
Eh, yes: May Long sounds like a Chinese minister to me too.