THIS Friday (May 8) is the 75th anniversary of VE Day, or Victory in Europe Day.

The day marks the formal acceptance by the allies of the Second World War of Nazi Germany's surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, May 8, 1945 - and was the day huge parties were held around the world.

READ MORE: FIVE places to get a cream tea for VE Day

Due to the lockdown, lots of celebrations have had to be put on hold, but Reading Museum has provided a whole host of fun and festive activities on their website.

From school resources to photos, an activity cart and a celebration pack - they have thought of every way to get Reading involved in VE Day 75 from the safety of their own homes.

Sarah Goad, visitor services officer at Reading Museum, spoke to The Chronicle about the importance of marking the day despite lockdown.

She said: “Initially, it seemed hard to think how we could celebrate VE Day as a town or as a country when all the previous plans made were for large scale events like street parties with family and neighbors and concerts.

“But I think the thing that is special about these kinds of commemorative celebrations is the way that they bring a country, a town, a street together. And being in lock down, we all need that more than ever!

“I’m really excited to see everyone decorating their windows, coming out to sing ‘We’ll Meet Again’ together and all the other creative ways neighbourhoods and families think of to celebrate together.” Sarah said, while creating the online resources for VE Day, she had doubts about whether people would get behind the idea.

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“Then I tried to buy some bunting for my garden, and I couldn’t find any in stock anywhere online,” she said. "That is a great sign that everyone still wants to celebrate.

“We launched our VE Day page on our website last Friday, and by Tuesday the page views from it were already making up 30 per cent of our entire web views.

“We also know several schools have shared our resources with their students. It’s fantastic to see how many people are using the resources already.

“Part of our VE page includes a series of photographs that the Reading Chronicle (formerly the Berkshire Chronicle) took of the VE Day celebrations around Reading - they are so nostalgic and already proving popular viewing.

“We’ve already had people message us on social media saying that they have spotted family members in the photographs which is lovely.

“We’ve also asked the public to send us any memories they have so that we can share them with everyone.”

When asked about the best way that people can mark the day from home, Sarah said: “Do something that you wouldn’t usually do.

“We’ve been in lockdown for 7 weeks now, and if you haven’t had the chance to try something new then this bank holiday weekend is your chance.

“Our celebration pack includes material for you to sing wartime songs, learn to dance the Lindy Hop or try the original Huntley and Palmer factory recipes!

“Connect with your families and friends in whatever way you can and feel proud to be British, everyone in this country is doing such an amazing job and we deserve to celebrate our country.”