Task 1. Read the text. There are six public holidays in Great Britain

There are six public holidays in Great Britain. They are: Christmas Day, observed on December 25, Boxing Day, on December 26, Good Friday, observed before Easter Sunday, after a full moon on or after March 21st, Easter Monday, observed next day after Easter Sunday, Spring Bank Holiday on the last Monday of June or on the first Monday of July, Late Summer Bank Holiday on the last Monday of August or on the first Monday in September. In Scotland, the New Year's Day is also a public holiday. Besides public holidays other festivals and traditions are observed.

In England the New Year is not as widely observed as Christmas. Some people ignore it. Many others do celebrate the New Year. The most common type of celebration is a New Year party. It begins at 8 pm and goes on until morning. There is a buffet supper of cold meat, pies, sandwiches, cakes and biscuits. At midnight everyone can hear the chimes of Big Ben and drink a toast to the New Year. Then the party goes on.Another way of celebrating is to go to a New Year’s dance. Dance halls are decorated and there arc everal ands playing merry music.

The most famous celebration is in London round the statue in Piccadilly Circus where crowds wel­come the New Year. In Trafalgar Square someone usually falls into the fountain.

Some people watch others celebrating on television. There are no traditional English New Year festivities, and television producers show Scottish ones. Some people send New Year cards and give presents and make “New Year resolutions”.

On New Year’s Day the “New Year Honours List” is published in the newspapers of those who are to be given knighthoods, etc.

New Year’s Eve in Scodand is called Hogmanay. It is time for merrymaking and giving of pre­sents. There is the flamebeaux procession of town folk in fancy dress. They throw the flamebeaux /torches/ into a pile and dance around the blaze.

In Scotland the old custom of First-Footing is still observed. The first person to enter a house on New Year’s Day should be a dark-haired /or fair-haired/ man. He should bring a piece of coal, a fish and a piece of bread.

Brass and silver must be glittering and fresh linen must be put on the beds. All work must be fin­ished, all bills must be paid and the letters written. There must be plum puddings, apples and lemons, tangerines and toffee. The traditional gathering place is the Mercat Cross. Towards midnight crowd awaits “the Chapplin o’ the Twai” – the nuking of 12 o’clock.

Saint Valentine’s Day is observed on February 14. The first Valentine of all was a bishop, who before he was put to death by the Romans sent a note of friendship to his jailer’s blind daughter. Roman soldiers had no right to get married. Valentine wed them secretly and for this he was sentenced. February 14 is the date of an old pagan festival when Roman maidens put love letters into an urn to be drawn out by their boy friends. It is the day when people exchange greetings of affection with a Valentine card.

“I’ll be your sweetheart, if you will be mine,

All of my life I'll be your Valentine”.

“The rose is red; the violets are blue,

The honey’s sweet and so are you”.

Comic valentines are also traditional: “Here’s the key to my heart, Valentine!”... “use it before I change the lock”.

Mother’s Day is observed in March on the fourth Sunday in Lent. The day known as Mothering Sunday dates from the time when many girls worked as domestic servants away from home. On Mothering Sunday they could go home to see their mother and give her a present from the houselady. This custom remained and is called “Mother’s Day”. People visit their mothers, give them flowers and presents or send them “Mother’s Day” cards. It is mother’s day off.

In England Easter is a time for the giving and receiving of presents /Easter eggs/, for the Easter Bonnet Parade and hot cross buns. Nowadays Easter eggs are made of chocolate but painting egg-shells is still popular in some country districts. Emblems of Easter are also fluffy chicks, baby rabbits, daffodils, catkins, and lily. They signify the Nature’s reawakening.

London greets the spring with Easter Parade on Easter Sunday. The parade begins at 3 p.m. It consists of many decorated floats bearing the Easter Princess and her attendants. The finest bands take part in the parade.

April Fool’s Day is named from the custom of playing practical jokes. It is related to the vernal equinox, when nature fools mankind with sudden changes. It is a season when all people are given an ex­cuse to play the fool. In April comes the cuckoo, emblem of simpletons. In Scotland the victim of a joke is called “cuckoo” or “gowk” [gauk]: “On the first day of Aprile, Hunt the gowk another mile”.

The 1^st of May was a pagan spring festival. It was celebrated with garlands and flowers, dancing and games. A Maypole wreathed with flowers was erected. The girls put on their best summer frocks, and plaited flowers in their hair awaiting the crowning of the May Queen. The most beautiful girl was crowned with a garland of flowers. After this there was dancing. The dancers dressed in fancy costume represented characters in the Robin Hood legend. Games were followed by refreshments in the open.

The Queen of May is still chosen in most counties. In many villages Maypoles are erected around which the children dance. At Oxford at 6 a.m. the college choir gathers to greet the coming of the new day with song.

London May Queen Festival has been held since 1880. Visitors from many parts of the world gather in Kent to witness the Crowning of London’s May Queen. Over a thousand children take part. Forty May Queens from different parts of the country are present. Their dresses are beautifully made. The actual crowning takes place at 3 p.m.

There are no special customs associated with Whitsun, the seventh Sunday after Easter Sunday. The Morris men can be seen at Whitsun. The Morris is a rustic merry-making introduced by Eleanor of Castile, wife of Edward I /1272-1307/. The dances are performed by sets of dancers accompanied by tradi­tional the Man-Woman, Hobby Horse and the Fool. Basic dress is a white shirt, and. trousers tied at the knee, rib boas, and handkerchiefs. On Whit Monday large crowds gather at Cooper’s Hill in Gloucestershire, to watch the cheese-chasing contest at 6 p.m. The huge cheese is set on the top of the hill. The starter gives the signal and the cheese is set rolling down the hillside. After the cheese the contestants chase. The first person to retrieve the cheese keeps it. There are prizes for the runners-up to.

On Bank Holiday the town folk usually flock into the country and to the coast. They take a picnic-lunch and enjoy their meal in the open. Seaside towns near London are invaded by thousands of holiday-makers.

Bank holidays is also an occasion for big sports meetings. There are large fairs, a Punch and Judy show, and bingo. Many Londoners will visit Whipsnade Zoo. There is also much boat activity on the Thames and other rivers.

Guy Fawkes /1570-1606/ was one of the English conspirators who tried to destroy Parliament and King James I as a protest against anti-Papist measures. They dug a tunnel where they stored 36 barrels of gunpowder. On October 26, one of the conspirators warned Lord Monteagle about conspiracy. On Novem­ber 5 the gunpowder was found, together with Guy Fawkes. He revealed the names of the conspirators. Fawkes was hanged.

The Plot is still commemorated by an official ceremonial search before the opening of Parliament, burning of Fawkes’s effigy and the explosion of fireworks every November 5.

Guy Fawkes Night is one of the most popular festivals in Great Britain. There is extremely well-organized celebration at Winchester. People prepare elaborate guys, for which prizes are awarded. The guy awarded the first prize is the first to be cast upon huge bonfire. The thousands of onlookers sing:

“Remember, remember The Fifth of November.

Gunpowder, treason and plot,

For I see no reason

Why gunpowder treason Should ever be forgotten”.

Very young children should be kept indoors. Some can be frightened by fireworks. The nasty accidents usually happen on November 5.

Remembrance Day /Poppy Day/ on Sunday before November 11 is observed in commemora­tion of British warriors who fell during the two World Wars. On that day special services are held in the churches. Wreaths are laid at war memorials throughout the country.

At London’s Cenotaph, people observe two-minute silence and perform the Remembrance Day ceremony. The silence begins at the first stroke of Big Ben booming 11 o’clock. The members of the Royal family and political leaders lay wreath at the foot of the Cenotaph.

Then comes the march past the memorial of ex-servicemen and women, followed by ordinary citi­zens. On that day artificial poppies, a symbol of mourning, are traditional sold in the streets everywhere. The money is later used to help the men who had been crippled during the war.

Christmas Day is observed on December 25. In Britain this day was a festival long before the con­version to Christianity. On that day people began the year and it was called “modranecht” – mother’s night. Many Christmas customs go back to pagan times. In 1644 the English puritans forbade the keeping of Christmas by Act of Parliament. At the restoration Charles II revived the feast in 1660.

On Christmas Eve everything is rush. Offices close at one o’clock, but the shops stay open late. London and big cities are decorated with coloured lights. In the homes there is a great air of expectation. The children are decorating the Christmas tree with baubles and coloured lights. The house is decorated with holly and mistletoe under which the boys kiss the girls. Christmas cards are hung round the walls.

The housewife is busy in the kitchen. The Christmas bird usually a turkey, is being prepared. The pudding is inspected and the cake is iced. In villages carol-singers come and sing Christmas carols. They expect Christmas box for their a musical efforts. The money collected is then donated to some deserving cause. In Trafalgar Square stands an enormous Christmas tree. It is a gift from the people of Oslo for help during the war. The tree is over 15 feet high. It is brightly decorated. This sparkling tree seems to catch the Spirit of Christmas.

Boxing Day is observed on December 26. It is a legal holiday in England, Wales, Northern Ire­land, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. Scotland observes Boxing Day on January 12. Christmas boxes /tips/ are traditionally given to dustmen and a few other public servants.

This is the day when one visits friends. Tradition demands a visit to the pantomime to watch the story of Cinderella, Dick Whittington or whatever it may be. There are pantomimes on ice, with a well-known pop singers or pantomimes with a famous comedian.

In the country there are usually Boxing Day Meets for fox-hunting.

HOLIDAYS IN THE USA

Дата добавления: 2014-11-08