Дидактичний матеріал "Wales ​​"в 8 класі.

Wales is a country on the western side of Great Britain. The Welsh name for Wales is “Cymru” that means “friend”.

Lamb is a popular dish because there are many sheep in Wales.

In 1292, the English king, Edward I, invaded Wales and built fourteen huge castles to control the Welsh people. But the Welsh wanted to be ruled by a prince of Wales, of royal blood, not speaking English or French.

The king showed them his newborn son and called him Edward, the Prince of Wales.

The king’s son, Edward II, became the first prince of Wales, since then all the kings and queens of England have given their eldest sons the title “Prince of Wales”.

The Welsh flag was officially adopted in 1959, but the red dragon has been associated with Wales for many centuries.

There are many legends about the Welsh dragon. One of the legends says that a long time ago a white dragon lived in a small village and froze everything.

 People were ill from the cold and starving. They asked a red fire dragon to free them from the icy misery.

The red dragon defeated the white dragon.

That’s why the Red dragon became the symbol of Wales.

St David was a Celtic bishop, who lived in the sixth century. He spread the word of Christianity across Wales. He died on the 1st of March in 589 and became the patron saint of Wales.

One legend says that David told Welsh soldiers to wear leeks on their helmets to look different from the enemies. This helped them to win their battle.

According to the other legend David studied with a blind monk who wanted to see the beautiful daffodils that bloomed in the monastery  in spring.

He prayed to God and heard a voice telling him to allow David to touch his eyes. David touched and his friend got his sight.

On Saint David's Day (1st March) Welsh people wear their national symbols -the leek and the daffodil. The Welsh word for daffodil is similar to the Welsh word for leek.  That’s why Wales has two national symbols.

Wales is called the Land of Songs. The Welsh people like to sing, they are proud of their good voices and it is difficult to find a village where there is not a choir.

  Welsh women play the harp. Eisteddfod |aɪˈsteðvɑːd| is the oldest Welsh festival of national poetry, music and songs. Singers, dancers, musicians and poets come from all over the world to compete for the awards.

          "Eisteddfod"  in Welsh means  "to sit". Traditionally the best poet or musician is awarded with a hand-carved Chair or the Crown on the Chairing and the Crowning ceremonies.

Snowdonia is a national park round the mountain Snowdon, the highest peak of the Welsh mountains ( 1,085 m). It is a very popular place for spending holidays.

The Welsh have a tradition of giving hand carved wooden spoons to a love sweetheart. 

The Welsh are crazy about  rugby.   It's their national sport.

There are about 400 castles. Cardiff, the capital of Wales, has a Roman castle.                                 Many towns begin with "Llan" (Llandudno, Llango- llen, Llanfair)."Llan"means a "church",to which a name of Celtic saints was added.

Answer the questions:

1. What does the Welsh name of Wales mean?

2. Why does the eldest son of British monarch get the title “Prince of Wales”?

3. Why did the Red dragon become the symbol of Wales?

4. Why does Wales have two national symbols - the leek and the daffodil?

5. Why is Wales called the Land of Songs?

6. What is Eisteddfod?

Complete the sentences:

1. The winners of Eisteddfod are awarded with …

2. A very popular place for spending holidays in Wales is …

3. Traditionally  love sweetheart gets a …

4. A favourite Welsh sport is …

5. Wales is famous for …

6. The names of some Welsh towns mean …