Додаткові матеріали для вивчення теми "Customs and traditions in Great Britain"

CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS IN GREAT BRITAIN

 You cannot speak about England without speaking about its traditions and customs. Englishmen are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up.

 The English are stay-at-home people. «There is no place like home», they say. When they don’t work they like to spend they days off at home with their families.

 There are only six public holidays a year in Great Britain, the days, on which people need not go to work. They are: Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Spring Bank Holiday and Late Summer Bank Holiday. Most of these holidays are of religious origin. All the public holidays, except Christmas Day and Boxing Day, are movable, they do not fall on he same day each year.

 In England the New Year is not so widely celebrated as Christmas. Some people ignore it completely and go to bed at the same time as usual on New Year’ Eve. Others celebrate it arranging either a family party or visiting the one’s arranged by a group of young people. The type of celebration is varied very much according to local customs, family traditions and personal tastes. Another popular way of celebrating New Year is to go to New Year dance. Most hotels and dance halls hold a special dance on New Year’s Eve.

 On February the 14^th is St. Valentine’s Day when boys and girls, sweethearts and lovers, husbands and wives, friends and neighbours exchange greetings of affection and undying love. But the tradition is to do it anonymously.

 Mother’s Day is traditionally celebrated on the first Sunday in Lent. On this holiday mother is rewarded for all her work about the house during the year. Her husband and children give her presents and traditionally bring her breakfast in bed.

 Easter is also a time when certain old traditions are observed. It is a time of giving presents, and the Easter eggs is the most popular emblem of this holiday.

 On Late Summer Bank Holiday the townsfolk usually flock into the country and to the coast. If the weather is fine, many families take a picnic-lunch or tea with them and enjoy their meal in the open air. It is also an occasion for big sports meetings.

 Remembrance Day (Poppy Day) is celebrated throughout Britain in commemoration of the million or more soldiers, sailors and airmen who lost their lives during the two World Wars.

 Christmas Day is observed on the 25^th of December. Children decorate the fir-tree with colored lights and toys. The houses are decorated with holly and a bunch of mistletoe. The Christmas bird, nowadays usually a turkey, is cooked and stuffed by housewives.

EXERCISES

EXERCISE 1. Give the Ukrainian equivalents for the following English words and word-combinations:

 Public holidays; ignore completely; arranged; exchange; affection; Lent; emblem; townsfolk; flock; bunch of mistletoe; stuff.

EXERCISE 2. Answer the following questions:

 1. What public holidays are there in Great Britain?

 2. How is New Year Holiday celebrated in Great Britain?

 3. When do English people celebrate St. Valentine’s Day? What kind of holiday is it?

 4. When and how is Mother’s Day traditionally celebrated in Great Britain?

 5. When is Christmas Day observed in Great Britain? How do English people celebrate it?

EXERCISE 3. Finish the sentences:

1. New Year’s Day is celebrated on … .              
2. St. Valentine’s Day is celebrated on … .              
3. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on … .              
4. April Fools Day is celebrated on … .              
5. Christmas Day is celebrated on … .              

EXERCISE 4. Ask the questions to have the following answers:

 1. The English are stay-at-home people.

 2. In England the New Year is not so widely celebrated as Christmas.

 3. On this holiday mother is rewarded for all her work about the house during the year.

 4. It is a time of giving presents, and the Easter eggs is the most popular emblem of this holiday.

 5. The houses are decorated with holly and a bunch of mistletoe.