Everyone's experienced it: you're on holiday, looking forward to seeing the sights, and you suddenly discover that the whole country has closed down for a national celebration. The English-speaking world has a cluster of confusing holidays between September and Christmas. We explain them here so that you'll never be caught out again - and can impress your family and friends with your knowledge.
Labor Day (US)
Labor Day falls on the first Monday of September, and unofficially marks the end of summer. Many shops and offices will be closed. On this federal holiday, Americans meet friends and family at parades, parties, backyard barbecues or maybe even a last day at the beach.
However, Labor Day is far more than just summer's last party. Essentially, the day honours and acknowledges the social and economic achievements of America's labour movement, celebrating the contribution made by workers towards national prosperity.
Labor Day became a national holiday in 1894. President Grover Cleveland established it as a holiday for employees in response to the fight by labour unions and activists to introduce better working conditions. Fun fact for fashionistas: according to old-school style rules, you shouldn't wear white summer clothes after Labor Day.
Halloween (UK and US)
On 31 October, known as Halloween, most shops stay open, although some will shut early. Children dress up in costumes and masks, pretending to be vampires, skeletons or perhaps witches, and many go trick-or-treating from house to house.
Another popular Halloween activity is carving a frightening face into a hollow pumpkin or turnip, and lighting it up with a candle inside to create a "jack-o'-lantern". Other traditions include dressing up for costume parties; watching horror films; and apple-bobbing - where players dunk their heads into a bucket or large container of water to try to catch a floating apple with their teeth.
Halloween dates back to the ancient Celtic harvest festival of Samhain, which was celebrated on 1 November to mark the beginning of winter. People believed that the souls of the dead returned to visit their homes on this day. To keep evil spirits away, people lit bonfires and wore masks and disguises so that visiting ghosts wouldn't recognize them.
In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III chose 1 November as the day to honour the saints. The evening before that day became known as All Hallows Eve, and later as Halloween.
Guy Fawkes Night (UK)
Children in British schools grew up reciting the rhyme: "Remember, remember / The fifth of November / Gunpowder, treason and plot."
The nursery rhyme refers to the attempt by Guy Fawkes to blow up Parliament on 5 November 1605. He and several of his Catholic co-conspirators had hoped to assassinate the Protestant King James of England and replace him with a Catholic head of state. Fawkes was found hiding in the cellars under the Houses of Parliament with a stash of gunpowder. He was arrested, tortured and put to death.
In celebration of the king's survival, people lit bonfires. Even now, after more than 400 years, the tradition survives as "Bonfire Night", when "guys" - homemade effigies of Fawkes made out of rags and stuffed with newspaper - are burned on bonfires. Shops stay open on 5 November, but the evening skies across Britain light up with firework displays, as a reminder of Guy Fawkes's plan. Fun fact: bangers and mash, toffee apples and treacle toffee are popular foods on this usually chilly evening.
Veterans Day (US)
This federal holiday on 11 November honours veterans of the US armed forces. Previously known as Armistice Day to mark the end of the First World War, it was renamed Veterans Day in 1954 to honour American veterans of all wars. Each year, ceremonies are held at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, while floral tributes are laid on the graves of service men and women throughout the US.
In the UK, the second Sunday in November is known as Remembrance Sunday, the anniversary of the 1918 Armistice, which ended the First World War. Two minutes of silence are observed at 11 a.m. to commemorate the time and date of the armistice. Interesting fact: on Remembrance Sunday, people in Britain often wear red paper poppies as a symbol of remembrance. This was inspired by the poem "In Flanders Fields", written in 1915 by a Canadian army doctor, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, in memory of a friend who was killed on the Flanders battlefields, where blood-red wild poppies grew.
Thanksgiving (US)
This national holiday commemorates a three-day harvest feast that the English Pilgrims shared with Native American Wampanoag people in 1621.
Held today on the fourth Thursday of November, Thanksgiving is when Americans sit down with their loved ones to a meal of roast turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, followed by pumpkin pie. It's an opportunity to think about all the things they are grateful for.
Thanksgiving traditions include volunteering to help less fortunate people, and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in Manhattan. Interesting fact: the first Thanksgiving meal took place outdoors, and people ate from plates on their laps rather than at tables, because the colonists had little or no furniture.
Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October.
Black Friday (US and UK)
Black Friday is a shopping bonanza that marks the start of the Christmas shopping season. It began in the US, falling on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and is now also a tradition in the UK and the rest of Europe. Many shops offer discounts and open earlier than usual.
The expression "Black Friday" comes from 1950s Philadelphia, when local police used it to describe chaotic scenes at stores on the day after Thanksgiving.
Saint Andrew's Day (UK)
This bank holiday on 30 November celebrates the patron saint of Scotland. Scottish people come together to share traditional Scottish food and drink, and to enjoy ceilidh dancing. On this day, the flag of Scotland (the saltire or Saint Andrew's Cross) is flown across the country.
Religious holidays
There are, of course, many other, mostly religious, holidays celebrated around the English-speaking world in the autumn. Here are a few:
Eid Milad-un-Nabi (UK, US, India and Pakistan)
Every year in September, Muslims celebrate the birth and life of the Prophet Muhammad and mark his death. They wear new clothes, offer prayers and exchange gifts.
Rosh Hashanah (UK and US)
This is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days throughout the year. It's in September or October, based on the traditional Jewish calendar. Families share special food (such as honey cake), reflect on the past and make a fresh start in the new year.
Yom Kippur (UK and US)
This is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, when faithful Jews fast to purify their souls and atone for their sins. It's in September or October, nine days after Rosh Hashanah - the date is based on the traditional Jewish calendar.
Diwali (India, UK and US)
This "festival of lights" celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, and good over evil. Hindus, Newar Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains light candles and clay lamps, and enjoy sweets and other special foods. The date of Diwali changes every year, based on the traditional Indian calendar. In 2023, it's in November.