Category: United Kingdom and Ireland

Coasts & Water, 2020 Year of (UK): 2020

Annual

Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters, a year that will spotlight, celebrate and promote opportunities to experience and enjoy Scotland’s unrivalled Coasts and Waters, encouraging responsible engagement an...

January

Dry January (UK/US): January

Monthly

Formerly Sober January, this event began in the United Kingdom in 1942 and has since become popular in the United States as well. The objective of Dry January is to abstain from alcohol for the entire mon...

January

Dydd Santes Dwynwen (C)(UK): January 25

Daily

Dydd Santes Dwynwen or St Dwynwen’s Day celebrates the Saint Dwynwen a Welsh princess from the 4th Century who gave up on true love (her father the king had arranged marriage with another). She fled the a...

January

EM Forster Day (1879): January 1

Daily

EM Forster was born on January 1, 1879 and lived until June 7, 1970. The English author is best known for his novels: Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905), The Longest Journey (1907), Room with a View (1908)...

January

Fashion Week London, Men's (UK): January 4...

Weekly

London's Men's Fashion Week focuses on Men's fashions for the upcoming seasons. It is one of four major Men's fashion shows held twice a year.

January

First Foot Day (UK): January 1

Daily

First Foot Day, Scottish in origin, celebrates the first-foot (the first dark haired gentlemen), to cross the threshold of a home on New Year’s Day. This person is seen as the bringer of good fortune for...

January

Hertfordshire Year of Culture (UK): 2020

Annual

Celebrate, Share and Explore Hertfordshire’s arts, culture and heritage Also known as HYOC2020, Hertfordshire Year of Culture 2020 is a year to showcase Hertfordshire as a county of creative and cultural...

January

Irish Coffee Day, Ntl: January 25*

Daily

Irish Coffee Day in January is one of two such events. The second is November 10, and marks the 1952 anniversary of the Irish Coffee arriving in the United States and becoming one of the world’s most belo...

January

J.R.R. Tolkien Day (1892): January 3

Daily

J.R.R. Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Tolkien is universally accepted as the father of modern fantasy literature. The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Silmarillio...

January

Manuary™ (CA/US/UK): January

Monthly

Established in 2010, Manuary™ is dedicated to raising funds to supporting cutting edge research and improving clinical care for patients suffering with head and neck cancer. Men are four times more likely...

January

Plough Monday (UK): January 13

Daily

Epiphany has passed, closing out the Twelve days of Christmas for another year. On the Monday following Epiphany, it's back to work and time to plow the fields for this year's crop. Ploughs are blessed. P...

January

Puzzle Day, Ntl. (UK)(1767): January 29

Daily

National Puzzle Day in the United Kingdom and United States celebrates brain teasers. It’s an opportunity to test your wit at problem solving intellectually or spatially. Riddles have been around for t...

January

Recycle your Christmas Cards Month (UK): J...

Monthly

January is Recycle Your Christmas Cards Month in the United Kingdom. Sponsored by the Woodland Trust, it aims to reduce the number of trees being cut down to produce paper. For every 1,000 cards, a tree...

January

Saint Dwynwen's Day (UK): January 25

Daily

Saint Dwynwen is the Welsh saint of love and friendship. He died in 460AD and was one of several saints who lived a secluded life in the famous island Abby at Llanddwyn Island. For the Welsh people, this...

January

Shortbread Day: January 6

Daily

Shortbread Day celebrates the Scottish medieval biscuit that is twice-baked with sugar and spices. Its origins date to the early 12th century when sugar was introduced to Europe via the Crusades. Other...

January

The God Who Speaks, A Year of the Word (C)...

Annual

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has announced that 2020 will be 'A Year of the World-The God Who Speaks. It is the 10th anniversary of Verbum Domini - Pope Benedict XVI’s Apostolic E...

January

Toffee, English Toffee Day, Ntl.: January...

Daily

National English Toffee Day in both the United States and the United Kingdom celebrates the sweet made from molasses, butter, sugar and almonds. The sweet rose to popularity during the 1800s and quickly b...

January

Up Helly AA (UK): January 28

Daily

For all you Viking fans, the town of Lerwick, Scotland has an annual celebration to close out the Yule season you'll love: Up Helly Aa Up Helly Aa centers on the burning of a Viking Galley each year. In...

January

Veganuary (US/UK/AU): January

Monthly

Veganuary is a charity inspiring people to try vegan for January and throughout the rest of the year in the United Kingdom. Recipes and activities are available on the event's website. This event first r...

January

Whittlesea Straw Bear Festival (UK): Janua...

Daily

First held in 1980, this whimsical British festival features a straw bear leading a parade and ushering in the upcoming planting season with a decorated plough. Throughout the weekend music, food and fun...

January